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Foreign Policy Articles U.S. Declines Israeli Offers of Aid
Rand Fishbein,
Ph.D. Flames were still
smoldering in the rubble of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon when
word reached the White House that Israel was prepared to rush a relief
and recovery mission to the U.S. to aid in locating survivors. Within
hours an Israeli military plane was being readied to fly. Israel has one of the world's best disaster response teams, having cut its teeth on numerous relief operations, including the Mexico City earthquake of Sept. 19, 1985, and the Turkish earthquake of Aug. 17, 1999. The techniques and technologies developed out of these experiences are now in use by some of the most elite emergency response teams both inside and outside the U.S. It remains a mystery why the U.S. spurned Israel's offer of assistance when, from the very early hours of the crisis, it was clear that relief teams were overwhelmed and that casualties from the two disasters were likely to run into the thousands, if not tens of thousands. It was Oct. 23, 1983, when the Israeli government received news that a terrorist bomb had just exploded outside the U.S. Marine Barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, and that dozens, perhaps hundreds, of American servicemen were either dead or injured. Wishing to be of maximum assistance to an ally in distress, Israel's prime minister urged the U.S. to evacuate the wounded to Israeli hospitals. Instead, President Reagan declined the offer, preferring to transport the critically injured Marines on a four-hour flight to U.S. facilities in Germany rather than travel the 30 minutes to Israel. With years of experience treating the worst forms of acute trauma, much of it resulting from terrorist attacks, Israel was ideally suited to provide the much-needed assistance. Most importantly, its hospitals were close by. When the dust finally settles on the latest terrorist disaster, Americans will have to ask why their government spurned a valuable offer of international assistance even as the state's government issued an all-points call for aid. Over three hundred of New York's finest first responders lay dead following the initial collapse of One World Trade Center. In those first precious hours, the city struggled to organize the tools and expertise needed for the recovery effort. At a point when every hour makes a difference, it is quite possible that lives were lost because authorities refused the Israeli offer of aid and so were unable to reach many of the buried victims in time. The explanation given by administration sources is that the U.S. was under lockdown, its airspace closed to all flights, both foreign and domestic. No takeoffs or landings were possible. That may be so, but would it not have been possible for a single Israeli relief flight to have been diverted to a Canadian airport, just across the border, where its supplies could have been trucked to Manhattan? Would it not have been possible for a nearby military base, perhaps New Jersey's McGuire AFB, to be opened temporarily to receive the urgently needed supplies? McGuire's 305th Air Mobility Wing was mobilized to assist in the relief operations. Officials estimate that in addition to thousands of Americans, perhaps 130 Israelis, at least 500 Britons and hundreds of individuals of at least 50 different nationalities perished in the World Trade Center bombings. At a time when the president is looking to build a world coalition to fight terrorism, surely it would have made sense to acknowledge those who were eager to show their solidarity with America. Yet for reasons only the administration can explain, Israel was given the cold shoulder. Israel's prime minister was one of the first world leaders to express his country's profound sympathy for the U.S. loss and ordered a national day of mourning less than 24 hours after the attack. Even so, the State Department was at pains to avoid highlighting that fact. Not so in the case of Yasir Arafat. His remarks were posted on the department's website despite his long-standing encouragement of terrorism and his known involvement in the murder of Americans. Sharon's message was strangely absent from the State Department site. At a press conference held on Monday, Sept. 17, a reporter declared before Secretary Powell that Prime Minister Sharon had been unsupportive of the U.S. in its efforts to bring calm to the simmering Middle East crisis while the Arab states have been particularly cooperative. Powell was unresponsive, allowing the statement to stand and giving the impression to the world that not only was this true, but that he believed it. The White House has taken the opposite position. By distancing itself from Israel, the U.S. has permitted terrorists to drive a wedge between Washington and one of its closest allies, unwittingly helping them to fulfill one of their nefarious objectives. It is during times like this that great allies stand together, providing comfort, political support and even emergency assistance when the need arises. On Sept. 11, Israel met that test and will continue to do so in the days and weeks ahead. Even though their own cities are being struck daily by dozens of terrorist attacks, hundreds of Israelis lined up around their country to donate blood for the victims of the U.S. attacks, hoping that they could make a difference. In their sorrow, as in their joy, both nations stand together. Yet if anyone should be openly condemned by the administration, it is those Arab and Islamic states that have harbored or supported terrorists or the organizations that sustain them like the PLO, Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah. As details begin to emerge, it is clear that many of those states that the Bush administration is now courting for inclusion in the war against terrorism gave inspiration, if not actual assistance, to those who carried out the recent U.S. attacks. U.S. intelligence is well aware that allies like Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Yemen, Syria and Jordan have long sheltered anti-Western and anti-American groups. Instead, Washington is critical of Israel, terrorism's most persistent victim. It is the one country that never falters in its support for the U.S. even when made to feel unwanted. Reports have now surfaced that one month before the attacks in Washington and New York, Israel warned American intelligence officials of terrorist plans for a major attack on the U.S. Contained in this alert was information that cells of up to 200 individuals were operating in the U.S. with possible links to Osama bin Laden. According to media accounts, U.S. officials dismissed these reports as overly alarmist and never pursued the lead. Israel, perhaps more than any other country, understands the pain and anguish now being experienced in the United States. Tragically, for the citizens of the Jewish state, terrorism is a daily occurrence. Feelings of empathy run deep in the Israeli consciousness. Their support for the U.S. in its hour of greatest need is a reaffirmation that they are not alone in this fight. It is also an expression of gratitude to the U.S. for the many times it has aided Israel in the past. How ironic, then, that just as Washington struggles to build a coalition in the fight against terrorism, Israel finds itself isolated by its one true friend. Go figure.
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