Readers will probably not remember this, but Israel had to cancel a military deal with China after the U.S. angrily pressured Ariel Sharon not to upgrade UAVs that had already been sold to China. Here’s what happened to Israel:
The agreement aims to resolve a dispute that arose last year over Israel’s plans to provide spare parts for a fleet of Harpy armed drone aircraft it sold to China in the 1990s with U.S. approval. U.S. defense officials objected on the grounds that the spare parts constituted a significant upgrade of the anti-radar aircraft, possibly including the addition of sensors that could even detect radar sites that are turned off.
The Pentagon ended cooperation with Israel on at least one joint weapons project and ceased contact with a senior official in the Israeli Defense Ministry. Under the terms of the agreement, as outlined by Haaretz, the Israeli government will not return the drone components to China and expects to pay compensation. The senior official, Maj. Gen. Amos Yaron, the ministry’s director general, will retire in a few months, as he said he has planned.
Turkey is planning to supply China with an anti-missile defense system. Turkey is a member of NATO, and has already betrayed Israeli spies to Iran. Is there any reason to think it won’t give up NATO secrets to China, including supplying them with anti-missile defenses specifically keyed to NATO member nations’ (hint: That’s us) missiles? So how does the Obama Administration treat this egregious betrayal? Like this:
The United States is talking to Turkey about its concerns regarding Ankara’s decision to co-produce a long-range air and missile defense system with a Chinese firm that is currently under U.S. sanctions, U.S. Ambassador Francis Ricciardone said on Thursday.
“We are very concerned about the prospective deal with the sanctioned Chinese firm. Yes, this is a commercial decision, it is Turkey’s sovereign right, but we are concerned about what it means for allied air defense,” Ricciardone told reporters.
Turkey, a member of the NATO military alliance, announced in September it had chosen the FD-2000 missile defense system from China Precision Machinery Import and Export Corp, or CPMIEC, over rival systems from Russian, U.S. and European firms.
Let us compare and contrast. The U.S. canceled a joint weapons project with Israel. Israel was forced to cancel a deal with China. Its defense minister was forced into retirement because the U.S. refused to talk to him. Turkey? Well, we are “talking” to them about not going into this deal with a Chinese company under sanctions for violating UN sanctions on Iran.
Israel is our most reliable ally in the Middle East. Turkey is working with our enemies. This administration has proven over and over again that it treats our enemies better than our allies. And it is obviously not about to change.