President Trump has ordered that the top U.S. military command for the Middle East be expanded to include Israel, in a last-minute reorganization of the U.S. defense structure that pro-Israel groups have defended for a long time, U.S. officials said Thursday.
The decision means the U.S. Central Command would oversee U.S. military policy involving both Israel and the Arab nations, a decades-long exit from the U.S. military command structure established due to the acrony between Israel and some Arab allies of the Pentagon.
It is the latest in a series of moves by the Trump administration’s policy to shape the national security agenda that President-elect Joe Biden will inherit. Trump recently ordered the change, but it has yet to be made public. A Biden transition official declined to comment on the move.
The U.S. military responsibility over Israel had long been assigned to its European command. This agreement allowed the American generals in the Middle East to interact with the Arab states without having a close association with Israel, which at the time was considered an adversary in the Arab world.
Following Abraham’s agreements that led to the normalization of Israel’s relations with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, pro-Israel groups have stepped up their push for Central Command to take responsibility for military operations and planning. involving Israel to foster greater cooperation among Israel. and its Arab neighbors.
“Now, General Frank McKenzie can go to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Israel and visit everyone in his newly expanded parish,” a U.S. official said, referring to the four-star Marine General who heads the command. central.
The Jewish Institute of National Security Affairs, a Washington-based group that supports close U.S.-Israel military cooperation, urged change in December as a way to encourage emerging alignment between Israel and Israel. the key Arab states against Iran.
Anthony Zinni, a retired naval general and former head of Central Command, said Thursday that “the time may be right to do so.”
“We could see that more Arab countries recognize Israel, so it makes sense to incorporate them all under a unified American command,” General Zinni added. “It will improve security cooperation. It would have made no sense in the past because there was too much mistrust. At the time, it was feared that if Israel was in central command, there would be information from US intelligence with Israel about its Arab neighbors. “
Write to Michael R. Gordon at [email protected] and Gordon Lubold at [email protected]
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