Israel

An American Warship In Israel

By Christopher P. Cavas in Intercepts, International, Israel, Marine Corps, Navy, Operations No Comments

Tourism Trumps Terror in the Gulf of Aqaba, Where Israel and Jordan Vie for Visits from US Warships

The amphibious assault ship USS KEARSARGE berthed at the commercial port in Eilat, Israel on May 15. The Jordanian shore is visible across the northern end of the Gulf of Aqaba. (photo by Barbara Opall-Rome)

By BARBARA OPALL-ROME

EILAT, Israel — Old Glory waves alongside Harrier jump jets on the aft deck of the USS Kearsarge docked just a short distance below my rooftop apartment in the Red Sea port town of Eilat. On the other side of this flagship of the Kearsarge Amphibious Ready Group, hosting the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit on an 8-month deployment in the region, the zoom on my Iphone can make out a squadron of MV-22 Ospreys and a few other rotary wing aircraft.

I tried to get a closer look by driving down to the dock, but security guards quickly waved me away. Turns out my rooftop vantage offers one of the best views not only of the first visit of a U.S. warship here in 14 years, but of the dynamics at play in the Gulf of Aqaba between Israel and Jordan, its precarious peace partner of nearly 19 years.

Across these inviting aquamarine waters, Israel and its Hashemite neighbor strive on multiple fronts to shield bilateral relations from the spillover of escalating regional tensions. Here, in the Gulf of Aqaba, tourism and commerce trumps the war on terror as the two nations vie for revenue from merchant vessels, travel agencies and the right to host the U.S. 5th Fleet for rest, relaxation, maintenance and repair services.  More

F-22s Parked Less Than Six-Minute Flight from Iran

By Marcus Weisgerber in Air Force, DoD, Intercepts, International, Iran, Israel, Operations, Policy No Comments

Five US Air Force F-22 Raptors on the ramp at Al Dhafra Air Base in the United Arab Emirates. (Google Earth)

At a dinner in downtown Washington Thursday, US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel touted the Pentagon’s deployment of advanced weaponry, including the Air Force F-22 Raptor, to the Middle East.

The stealthy fighters, as well other “high-end air, missile defense, and naval assets,” have been positioned in the region “to deter Iranian aggression and respond to other contingencies,” Hagel said during his remarks to The Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

It just so happens that satellite imagery of those F-22s in the Middle East has popped up on Google Earth. More

SecDef Chuck Hagel Returns to His Personal Political Lions’ Den

By John T. Bennett in Budget, Capitol Hill, DoD, Industry, International, Israel, Policy Tags: , , , , ,

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel enters his personal political lions' den Wednesday morning: the Senate Armed Services Committee. (Smithsonian National Zoological Park photo)

“Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more.” That famous quote dates to 1598 and the “Cry God for Harry, England, and Saint George!” speech in William Shakespeare’s play “Henry V.” But it will apply this morning when Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel faces the Senate Armed Services Committee, the panel that so roughed up Hagel during his Jan. 31 confirmation hearing.

Okay, perhaps today’s dual hearing on the Pentagon’s 2014 budget request and the situation in Syria won’t quite be Shakespearean. But make no mistake, for Hagel, if the House Armed Services Committee is something of a Capitol Hill safe haven, the Senate Armed Services Committee is his political lions’ den. More

Heritage Action Rides to Defense of Embattled Texan Sen. Cruz

By John T. Bennett in Budget, Capitol Hill, DoD, Israel, Policy Tags: , , , , , , ,

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, rides the elevator in the Senate. Cruz has faced criticism for his suggesting that defense secretary nominee Chuck Hagel has been 'backed by Iran' and took funds directly from North Korea. (Photo by Chris Maddaloni/CQ Roll Call)

As Texas Sen. Ted Cruz emerged from a closed-door GOP caucus meeting last Thursday afternoon, the tea party Republican was in no mood to chat.

With his head down and face frozen in a less-than-jolly expression, he waved off a couple reporters milling about, and then twice waved off your Intercepts correspondent. There were whispers later that Cruz had a bad cold. He also had a rough week, taking critical fire from Senate Democrats and Republicans, as well as a clubbing in the media. More

Reporter’s Notebook: Mopping Up the Messy Chuck Hagel Vote

By John T. Bennett in Capitol Hill, DoD, Intercepts, International, Israel, Policy Tags: , , , , ,

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., takes a call outside the Senate chamber on Thursday outside a GOP caucus meeting. (Photo by John T. Bennett | Defense News)

The scene for about five hours Thursday afternoon on the Senate side of the Capitol was nothing shy of controlled chaos. Senators, staffers and journalists darted about from gaggle to gaggle, meeting to meeting like frenzied bees around a nest.

Check DefenseNews.com for our coverage from a memorable Thursday — there’s more to come in the next few days as we wrestle with what it all means. But it’s the nature of the journalism business that some things don’t make it into published coverage. After the jump are some leftover nuggets from your correspondent’s notebook and recorder as we mop up the messy first round of the Hagel nomination. More

Will Dems’ Plan to Thwart the Not-a-Filibuster on Chuck Hagel Hold?

By John T. Bennett in Afghanistan, Capitol Hill, DoD, Intercepts, International, Israel, Policy Tags: , ,

Former U.S. Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., leaves the office of Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., after the two met on Jan. 22. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Don’t call it a filibuster. Or, wait, maybe it actually is. Whatever one calls Senate GOP tactics, Senate Democratic leaders are again searching for five Republicans to vote with 55 Democrats Friday morning to end the not-a-filibuster-turned-filibuster and move to a final (simple majority) vote on Hagel’s nomination to become U.S. defense secretary. More

‘SNL’ Weighs in on Senate Republicans’ Treatment of Chuck Hagel

By John T. Bennett in Capitol Hill, DoD, Intercepts, International, Israel, Policy Tags: , ,

Those wacky social commentators from “Saturday Night Live” went so far as to run through a skit about the now-infamous Senate Armed Services Committee’s hearing on Chuck Hagel’s nomination to become U.S. defense secretary.

The skit didn’t make the final cut, but it has surfaced on the Internet. We’ll let you judge the content. We’ll just give a big Intercepts hat tip to the SNL hair and make up folks for nailing the looks of their fictional Hagel and SASC Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich. (Video via Salon via Hulu.)

Sen. Rand Paul Embraces Iran Containment Option. And Ronald Reagan.

By John T. Bennett in Capitol Hill, DoD, International, Israel, Operations, Policy Tags: , , , , , ,

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., highlighted the foreign policy approach of the late President Ronald Reagan (left) in suggesting Washington should not rule out a policy designed to contain a nuclear-armed Iran. (Staff graphic from wire photos)

Kentucky GOP Sen. Rand Paul, the tea party darling, will never be U.S. defense secretary. That is, if he was held to the standards established last week by his own party.

In a speech Feb. 6 at the Heritage Foundation in which Paul touted his vision for a true “conservative foreign policy,” Paul suggested a policy of containment toward a nuclear-armed Iran might not be such a bad idea. At worst, it should be one of several options considered by American officials. More

Sen. Inhofe Calls for U.S.-Led Regime Change in Egypt

By John T. Bennett in Capitol Hill, DoD, Intercepts, International, Israel, Operations, Policy Tags: , , ,

Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., questions former Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., last Thursday about Hagel's nomination to be secretary of defense. Inhofe wants the U.S. to oust Egyptian leader Mohammed Morsi and install a pro-U.S. Egyptian leader. (Chris Maddaloni/CQ Roll Call via Getty Images)

It came over seven hours into an eight-hour hearing. It was buried beneath Washington’s frenzy over defense secretary nominee Chuck Hagel’s lackluster performance. And it was overshadowed by Republican senators’ relentless day-long attacks on Hagel over Iran, Israel and nuclear weapons.

But it happened. Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., used his debut performance as Senate Armed Services Committee ranking member to call for regime change in Egypt. After Washington’s expensive — in terms of bot blood and treasure — and controversial attempts at regime change in Afghanistan and Iraq, Inhofe wants America to give it another go by installing a more pro-U.S. leader in Cairo. More

Chuck Hagel’s Magic Number: Three

By John T. Bennett in Acquisition, Afghanistan, Budget, Capitol Hill, DoD, Industry, Intercepts, International, Israel, Operations, Policy Tags: , ,

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Three United States senators. Securing their collective support is all that stands between Chuck Hagel, President Obama’s pick to be defense secretary, and confirmation.

To kill the threat of a nomination-killing filibuster on the Senate floor, Hagel needs 60 votes. There are 55 Democrats in the chamber, meaning he needs five GOP senators to support him.

Republican Sens. Thad Cochran of Mississippi and Mike Johanns of Hagel’s own Nebraska say they will vote “yay.” That means Hagel’s magic number, to borrow a baseball term, is three. More

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