Ari Sacher
I remember January 17, 1991 vividly. Saddam Hussein had just invaded Kuwait. After repeatedly ignoring demands to withdraw his troops, the U.S. attacked Iraq, igniting the First Gulf War. Israel was not part of the allied coalition, but Hussein made repeated threats to fire at the Jewish nation if the U.S. attacked. He kept his promise, and Iraq opened fire on Tel Aviv and Haifa.
One week earlier was my friend’s wedding. He was a major in the Israel Air Force (IAF) and many high-ranking IAF officers were in attendance. Everyone agreed, “Hussein will never fire on us and if he does, then we will reduce Iraq to rubble.” They fired, and we did nothing.
This was a watershed moment. The Iraqi attacks made it clear that the Israel home front and infrastructure were under threat and must be protected. Until then, every shekel spent on defense was one less spent on an offensive weapon. One of the critical lessons learned was that Israel must invest in missile defense.
Today, Israel is the only country in the world protected by a multi-layer missile defense system consisting of Iron Dome, David’s Sling, Arrow-2, and Arrow-3. Soon, these systems will be joined by Arrow-4 and the Iron Beam laser. Having played a part in developing these systems that have intercepted thousands of missiles and saved countless lives, this is a source of pride for me.
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