It is important to present to certain Arab governments the benefits of military cooperation with Israel • A joint exercise will also send a deterrent message to Iran
United States Army forces in practice in the UAE // Photo: AP
Israel and the United Arab Emirates agreed last month on a historic agreement that, following the expected signing by the White House next week, will make the Emirates only the third Arab country to make peace with Israel.
Washington and Jerusalem hope that more Arab countries will follow in the footsteps of the Emirates and extend the olive branch to Israel.
Continued positive developments with the Emirates and the moderate Gulf states may depend, among other things, on whether the US and Israel act quickly to demonstrate as many tangible benefits to the Emirates as possible, following the signing of the agreement and a move towards lasting peace.
Undoubtedly, peace in itself should be sufficiently rewarding, but there are Arab governments for which it is very important to demonstrate and prove to their people and the public the clear benefits of making peace with Israel, both in the civilian and military sectors.
The clear national interest of the US and Israel is to help them do just that.
The bilateral efforts to promote ties between Israel and the Emirates are in full swing.
During the visit of the Israeli delegation headed by the head of the National Security Council, Meir Ben Shabbat, several agreements were signed, including on issues such as financial services, joint investments, prevention of terrorist financing and money laundering. , Water, space, science and commerce.Commercial delegations make their way between countries, and trade relations, which were previously conducted under a cloak of secrecy, are published and expanded.
Preservation of military advantage
There is no doubt that it is very important to continue these efforts, but with Iran being its closest neighbor, it is understandable why UAE leaders also place national security considerations high.
Accordingly, the United Arab Emirates has been interested for years in acquiring innovative military systems such as the F-35, the most advanced aircraft in the world, which has recently made headlines, along with other systems and technologies they want to purchase from both the US and Israeli companies. F-35 and they recently performed two joint exercises, which among other things were intended to improve the ability to work together, but also to convey a deterrent message to Tehran.
American F-35s regularly fly around AL Dhafra Air Force Base in the Emirates and perform various missions in the area.
However, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly stated, despite media attempts to present another fact-based presentation, Israel has opposed and is opposed to the sale for fear that selling F-35s to the Emirates would hurt its qualitative military advantage (QME).
Preserving this advantage is a very important policy that is also enshrined in American law, which requires Congress to consider preserving Israel's qualitative military advantage in any case where such deals come to its table for approval.
In any case, Washington will ultimately decide whether the United Arab Emirates accepts the F-35, one way or another.
In the meantime there are many other opportunities related to national security and since they are less controversial it will be possible in our opinion to get them faster and certainly start with them.
The IRON UNION military exercise, which the U.S. military has been conducting with the UAE ground forces for years, provides such a promising opportunity. During the exercise, U.S. troops join their counterparts from the Emirates to form a combined command post and hold several joint weeks of combined training planning.
The activity ends with a combined live fire drill.
The last exercise took place on a small scale due to the COVID-19 crisis.
However, the exercise traditionally includes joint fire controllers, mortars and artillery, including mobile and advanced artillery systems of the two armies.
The exercise usually also includes a command element, air support and infantry units with support systems. The purpose of the exercise is to build personal and unit readiness, alongside building joint action capabilities of the U.S. military and the UAE and creating mutual acquaintance and trust.
Here is an interesting idea in the spirit of the opportunities mentioned above: Why not invite Israel to send a unit or two from the IDF and participate in the expected exercise towards the end of the year? IDF officers can participate in both the planning and the training itself.
An IDF artillery unit can also participate in a live-fire exercise, while intelligence-gathering units and systems can participate and support efforts to create a battlefield image. If it is decided that it is too early to cooperate on such a scale, or perhaps it is too late to add an outside participant to the upcoming exercise, They will be able to participate and act in the exercise as observers, at the very least, towards future cooperation.
Regardless of the decision related to the F-35 or other systems, these first steps could form the basis for an Arab state's military cooperation with the IDF, which could grow in scope each year, including against the common enemy, the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Deterrence to Tehran
In addition to the military benefits, the IDF's involvement in the US-Emirates-Israel triangle exercise will send a clear message to the Arab world about how the emirates' level of security is already rising as a result of the peace agreement with Israel.
Imagine what an important diplomatic and historical achievement it would be when Arab, Israeli and American soldiers trained shoulder to shoulder in the name of peace and security.
Such an exercise would send a clear, unmistakable message of deterrence to Tehran.
He will also begin to erase once and for all the ridiculous fiction in the Arab world that Israel and not Iran poses a threat to security.
And perhaps if we do so, the chances increase that more moderate Arab states in the Gulf and the region will follow the UAE in making peace with Israel.
As it seems to us, and from informal talks in the country, it appears that the political and military leaders in Israel will welcome the IDF's opportunity to participate in such a joint exercise, but Israel will of course need an explicit invitation and soon from the US and the UAE.
During a hearing held after the last joint exercise, an American officer was quoted as saying that the exercise allowed "building and creating a relationship of trust between the parties and joint training, which promoted greater confidence in the Gulf region."
This is exactly what joining the IDF in the exercise can do for the Middle East.
Brad Bauman is a senior director of a center that deals with the military and political power of the Foundation for the Protection of Democracies (FDD).
Brigadier General (Res.) Prof. Yaakov Nagel is a senior fellow at FDD and a visiting professor in the Faculty of Aeronautics and Space at the Technion. He served as the Chief of Staff for National Security and as the National Security Adviser to Prime Minister Netanyahu.