The Pentagon's new chief held
talks with Israeli Minister for Military Affairs
Ehud Barak, on Tuesday and pledged to ensure U.S. budget cuts have no
effect on funding for military assistance to Israel, officials
said.
In his first meeting with a
foreign counterpart as the newly minted U.S. defense secretary, Chuck Hagel
chose to host Barak after facing allegations from some senators that he was too
tough on Israel and naive in his views on Iran.
Hagel met Barak for two hours,
including an hour of one-on-one discussions, officials said. For the first half
of the meeting, Hagel and Barak were joined by the U.S. military's top officer,
General Martin Dempsey and the Israeli ambassador to the United States, Michael
Oren.
With automatic U.S. budget cuts
going into effect over the weekend, Hagel sought to reassure Barak that he would
work to prevent disruption to Washington's funding for rocket and missile
programs for Israel.
"Secretary Hagel expressed his
strong commitment to Israel's security, including maintaining Israel's
qualitative military edge and continued U.S. support for missile and rocket
defense systems in spite of fiscal constraints," Pentagon spokesman George
Little said in a statement.
Hagel "is committed to working
with members of Congress to ensure that there is no interruption of funding for
Iron Dome, Arrow, and David's Sling rocket and missile systems, despite the
fiscal uncertainty due to congressional inaction" on the automatic budget cuts
and a proposed defense budget, said a defense official, who spoke on condition
of anonymity.
Hagel greeted Barak on the steps
of the Pentagon entrance before an honor guard shortly after 10 am local time
(1500 GMT), giving the Israeli minister an informal
salute.
The two embraced and then walked
into the building for discussions that focused on Iran's nuclear energy program
and Syria's unrest, officials said. AFP
Chuck Hagel, an ex-senator from
Nebraska and Vietnam veteran, came under fierce criticism from his Republican
former colleagues during his nomination process, with lawmakers painting him as
hostile to Israel and unwilling to impose some sanctions on Iran.
AFP However, in his first interview
after being nominated as the next U.S. secretary of defense, Chuck Hagel told
his hometown paper, the Lincoln Journal Star in Nebraska that he will show an
“unequivocal, total support for Israel.” He said critics have "completely
distorted" his record. Many observers who expected
Hagel, who had a reputation for issuing harsh criticisms of Israel, to
differentiate the U.S. relationship with Israel at least slightly, have thus far
been disappointed by his close adherence to the Obama administration’s approach
over the last four years. Antiwar Hagel rankled many with comments
he made in a 2006 interview with former State Department Mideast peace
negotiator Aaron David Miller in which he said that the “Jewish lobby
intimidates a lot of people" in Congress, in a reference to AIPAC and other
pro-Israel groups. LA Times AIPAC lobbyists guarantee
billions of dollars in military aid for Israel each year. AlterNet
Israel receives about $3 billion
from the U.S. in direct foreign assistance each year, which is roughly one-fifth
of America's foreign aid budget. ifamericansknew.org
AHT/ARA
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