Israel Arms Trade-Cozying Up to Latin Armies
Slaughter, Ronald
During the summer and fall of 1978, unmarked transport planes landed in Nicaraguan airports after evening curfew to provoke as few questions as possible. Inside the planes were military...
...If Congress is reluctant and unresponsive in providing further increases in military aid, the Reagan Administration can be comforted in the knowledge that Israel is ready and willing to supply governments with the necesary arms...
...An assortment of small weapons, including such items as the renowned Uzi submachine gun, mortars and explosives have been sold to a number of countries...
...industry, State 49update * update . update * update Department and Defense Depart- ment officials are becoming in- creasingly concerned over Israeli use of Foreign Military Sales credits not only to obtain U.S...
...The arms business in Latin America has until recently been the special province of the major powers, particularly the United States...
...Under the Reagan Administration, this willingness to look the ARMS DELIVERIES Dassault Mirage-5 Fighters* Nesher Eagle Fighters Gabriel Missiles Shafrir Missiles 6 Arava (STOL) Transports Bolivia Chile 150 1 2 Colombia Dominican Republic Ecuador El Salvador Guatemala Shafrir Missiles Radar System Reshef Class Fast Patrol Boats 3 Arava (STOL) Transports 9-mm Uzi Submachine Guns 10 Arava (STOL) Transports Ammunition Rockets Explosives 17 6 18 200 200 11 10 15,000 4 Arava (STOL) Transports Fouga Magister Trainers* Dassault Ouragan Fighters* 80-mm Rocket Launchers 9-mm Uzi Submachine Guns Ammunition Spare Parts Arava (STOL) Transports RBY Mk Armored Cars 5.56-mm Galil Assault Rifles Field Kitchens NACLA Report ISRAELI ARMS TRANSFERS TO LATIN AMERICA 1970 - 1980update * update . update . update other way, if not openly facilitate the matter, will surely encourage future Israeli efforts to come to the aid of besieged governments in the region...
...Israel had negotiated a $150 million sale of 24 of its advanced Kfir combat fighters to Ecuador...
...By all estimates, total sales during the 1980s will approach the two billion dollar mark...
...Obviously a violation of the act, U.S...
...Much to the delight of the I.A.I., Reagan's victory makes the potential for Kfir exports to Latin America now look very good...
...El Salvador and Guatemala, both facing serious internal challenges, have recently negotiated significant arms purchases from Israel, including weapons such as armored cars and specially designed Arava transport planes tailor-made for counterinsurgency operations...
...Most remarkable about the Israeli arms industry is its rapid growth...
...corporation, Raytheon...
...Carter's approval of the Kfir sale would have opened the floodgates to further sales of the most advanced weaponry...
...The craft's basic design is patterned after a U.S.-built plane towhich the I.A.I...
...reaction...
...officials questioned Israel but eventually allowed the sale to proceed...
...Fifty have already been sold to Latin America...
...government has the right to review all retransfers of weapons containing U.S...
...According to the respected Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Israel is surpassed only by Brazil among third world weapons exporters and ranks eleventh worldwide...
...Israel has also become a prime supplier of advanced combat fighters to the region...
...Concerned about his reelection and yielding to pressure from the Israeli lobby, Carter lifted the ban, okaying negotiations on possible sales of the Kfir to Mexico...
...Total sales in 1976-domestic and foreign-equalled $270 million...
...technical data packages into Israeli weapons for sale to a third country...
...Since the program's initiation in the 1960s, it has been utilized in at least seven countries, including Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, Colombia, Panama, Venezuela and El Salvador...
...Since then Israel has become a major arms exporter...
...See chart...
...51update * update . update * update Precipitating something of a small arms race between historical adversaries, Honduras reacted by purchasing 12 Super Mystere fighters from Israel...
...6 To date, Argentina has been the single largest buyer of Israeli advanced combat fighters...
...The Shafrir is considered by industry experts to be a copy of the AIM90/G and AIM9-L missiles manufactured by the U.S...
...In a study of the Israeli programs, Edy Kaufman addresses their military objective saying they are designed to help "in building a positive and constructive image of the armed forces in their respective nations...
...vexation, the military version has been exported to a number of Latin American countries while the executive jet model has captured 12% of the U.S...
...Argentina has also purchased the equally sophisticated Gabriel seato-sea missile which can be fired from a small patrol boat...
...At a 1979 press conference in Paris, I.A.I...
...The issue first arose in 1977 when Israel sold 12 Super Mystere fighters to Honduras...
...products...
...According to the Arms Export Control Act of 1976, the U.S...
...In establishing programs of this type, Israel seems to be following a pattern set by the United States in its own counterinsurgency efforts...
...Among the aircraft, the country's most successful export has been the Arava (STOL) which is described as a short takeoff and landing transport able to carry troops or cargo to primitive landing fields...
...Israel, led by the country's main arms Ronald Slaughter is a doctoral candidate in Political Science at Atlanta University...
...officials claimed Carter's action resulted in the loss of a potential $3 billion market, with over $1 billion lost in Latin America sales alone.' The Carter veto did not appear to be part of a campain to safeguard U.S...
...A U.S...
...Resales Spark Displeasure A key question raised by the new Israeli initiative centers on U.S...
...Israel Aircraft Industries (I.A.I...
...the construction of schools, community centers, public health facilities and roads...
...The Westwind is marketed as an executive jet as well as a military air reconnaissance plane...
...firm, the Garrett Corporation...
...engines made by the Pratt and Whitney Corporation...
...market...
...It is unknown whether the ad52 visers represented the Israeli military or were working as private citizens...
...Yearly increases followed: JanlFeb1982 1977-$400 million...
...displeasure was brought to light in 1976 when a leading arms industry journal, Aviation Week and Space Technology, commented on the problem saying, "...U.S...
...Again to U.S...
...sold six Fouga Magister trainers and 18 Dassault Ouragan fighters to El Salvador...
...These sales introduced the first supersonic aircraft to Central America...
...By cleaning up the military's image in the eyes of the people, it is hoped the local populace will not cast their lot with revolutionary groups...
...Outmoded French models, the planes were overhauled and fitted with Pratt and Whitney motors...
...What is known is that Israel has already successfully penetrated the Latin American market, and to such an extent that this market is largely responsible for the colossal growth of the Israeli armaments industry...
...The Kfir was among Israel's first major weapons projects...
...600 9-mm Uzi Submachine Guns 106-mm Rifles 12 Dassault Super Mystere Fighters* 4 Arava (STOL) Transports 1 Westwind Reconnaissance Plane 106-mm Mortars 14 RBY Mk Armored Cars 106-mm Rifles 5 Fast Patrol Boats (unconfirmed) 10 Arava (STOL) Transports 2 Arava (STOL) Transports Rifles Ammunitions Patrol Boats Radios Panama Paraguay 1 Westwind Reconnaissance Plane 6 Arava (STOL) Transports Peru Parachutes Radio Equipment Ammunition Small Arms Venezuela Bombs Rockets Tactical Communications Equipment 'Indicates rebuilt planes from the Israeli Air Force...
...Last February, the Reagan Administration released the Kfir from all third country export restrictions...
...Later that year, the United States and Israel again locked horns in what was to become a major confrontation between the long-time allies...
...8. Information on the Special Assistance programs is taken from Edy Kaufman, "israel's Foreign Policy Implementation in Latin America," in Michael Curtis and Susan A. Gitelson, eds, Israel in the Third World (New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Books, 1976...
...The Carter Administration blocked the deal...
...Moreover, in instances such as the current Salvadorean crisis, Israel has become a crucial ally of the United States...
...6. Cynthia Arnson, "Arms Race in Central America," The Nation, March 10, 1979, p. 267...
...1979-$600 million 1 Significantly, about 50% of these totals stem from exports...
...7 No deliveries have yet been made on the plane...
...Less than 20 years ago, the country produced virtually no weapons and was dependent on foreign supplies for its own substantial war effort...
...Unwilling to prolong the bloodshed openly by sending further arms shipments, the Carter Administration could sleep easily knowing that Israel had picked up where the United States had left off in shoring up the Somoza dictatorship...
...Its first sale was in 1975 when I.A.I...
...According to the Israelis, marketing success is based on their weapons' sophisticated quality, low cost and, as sales brochures proudly argue, "battle tested capability...
...This penetration is due primarily to a vigorous campaign to export armaments in place of developing other kinds of trade relations...
...These include youth programs...
...Accordingly, Israel is believed to be currently negotiating possible Kfir deals with Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico and Venezuela...
...The Shafrir missle and the Super Mystere deals had already circumvented the policy's aims, yet, not viewed as major advances, they were allowed to proceed...
...To the dismay of the U.S...
...This has been particularly evident in Central America...
...For Israeli policy-makers, conscious of the strategic importance 53update * update * update . update of the Latin American military, this was an effective and respectable way of maintaining their presence close to the location of political power," he comments...
...weapons for its inventory but also to import technical data packages that eventually may be exported in competition with U.S...
...5. Benjamin F. Schemmer, "IAI Goal: $100-Million in Sales to DOD," Armed Forces Journal International, August 1979, p. 12 and Kraar, p. 73...
...But the supplies did not come from the Nicaragua's traditional ally in Washington...
...Exact sales figures are a closely guarded secret and therefore difficult to determine...
...components...
...Perhaps the most publicized example of this type of aid was the secretive 1978 deliveries to the embattled Somoza regime...
...The Kfir fighter jet: a French Mirage look-alike...
...1978-$450...
...Stealing The Young Lion Conflicts between the United States and Israel have surfaced repeatedly over the selective application and enforcement of the Arms Export Control Act...
...Israel exhibited a classic case of this mentality in 1978 when it sold combat fighters to Argentina while negotiating to sell similar aircraft to Chile...
...In becoming a partner in rightwing oppression, Israel reaped strong international criticism and earned the nation a reputation as an arms profiteer with little regard for moral and political considerations...
...With Reagan's removal of export restrictions on the Kfir, Israel will no doubt be central to a dramatic rise in more sophisticated aircraft in the region...
...In the second category of arms sales, Israel has sold the Shafrir missile to Argentina and Chile...
...The projects are carried out under the joint command of Israeli military-defense personnel and the various Latin American military establishments...
...and World Armaments and Disarmament-- SIPRI Yearbooks 1969170 and 1971-1981...
...Speculation had it that Israel was repaying an old debt by violating its usual cash-only policy and extending loans to Nicaragua...
...4 Seeking to put an end to constant fighting in the Middle East, France had invoked an embargo on offensive arms in 1967 to countries involved in the conflict, and extended it to all military materials to Israel in 1969...
...government and arms manufacturers, Israel has exported the Shafrir to both Argentina and Chile...
...50 Kfir-Hebrew for young lion-was developed from plans Israel arranged to have stolen from the Zurich plant licensed to build the French Mirage...
...The Isrealis fitted their model with General Electric J-79 engines, thereby giving the United States the right to veto any foreign sales...
...JanlFeb1982 Another aspect of Israel's counterinsurgency-oriented activities in Latin America comes under what is dubbed "Special Assistance.'8 With Israeli guidance, local militaries have begun providing a variety of social services to the civilian population...
...The Somoza family had offered diplomatic and military support to the fledgling Israeli nation in 1947...
...Israel openly undermined this effort, replacing the United States as a leading weapons supplier to right-wing dictatorships, including among others the governments of Argentina, Chile, Guatemala and pre-Sandinista Nicaragua...
...Gidor's prediction proved correct...
...While its exports have not yet challenged the vast arms transfers of dealers such as the United States and France, Israel has nonetheless made its presence felt and promises to become an even more formidable rival in the very near future...
...With the presidential election close, Gidor also noted that he expected export restrictions on the Kfir to be eased, saying, "After all, you (United States) have an election every four years...
...4. Ibid...
...It is clear that both the United Haiti Honduras Mexico Nicaragua States and Israel now stand ready to provide military assistance to suppress popular liberation movements...
...technology, but to be motivated by political considerations...
...government raised no objections to Israel's efforts to help the dictator...
...Two examples of Israeli military hardware that reflect this concern are the Defense Ministry's Shafrir infrared guided air-to-air missile and I.A.l.'s Westwind aircraft...
...Armored cars have been sold to Guatemala and Honduras...
...7 DMS Market Intelligence Reports, Foreign Military Markets: South AmericaAustralasia, 1981, p. 10...
...The rebuilt French fighters were powered by U.S...
...cars and small arms...
...But the last decade has brought important changes in traditional relationships...
...We would not like to see him toppled in an armed revolt.'" It is worth noting that the militarily victorious Sandinistas have refused to repay Somoza's arms debt to Israel...
...Tailor-Made Aid To Right In addition to Israel's general willingness to sell weapons to repressive regimes, the country has particularly focused military assistance to governments involved in active counterinsurgency...
...The Israeli reaction was bitter and the government openly expressed displeasure with the Carter decision...
...As one arms analyst put it, "They will sell to anybody...
...Kaufman's statement points up the crux of the matter: Israel has chosen the military as the focal point of future relations with the region...
...2 The missile does in fact contain various technical components developed and manufactured in the United States...
...They represented a serious upgrading of Salvador's World War II vintage fleet...
...The pattern of arms sales and other military activities in Latin America suggests that this is indeed the case...
...does not publish an annual report...
...Inside the planes were military supplies much needed by Somoza to beat back the popular insurrection...
...As a State Department official explained: "If Somoza goes we would prefer to see him go peacefully...
...and agricultural projects...
...The rough terrain in many Latin American countries and lack of adequate airfields have made the Arava an attractive buy...
...While falling short of placing any serious obstacles in Israel's way, the government has nonetheless expressed concern over the incorporation of U.S...
...The two countries were at the time on the verge of war over territorial rights to islands in the Beagle Channel...
...His Administration had sought to limit the proliferation of sophisticated weapon systems into Latin America...
...Sources: DMS Market Intelligence, Foreign Military Markets: South America-Australasia, 1981, p. 9; various issues of The Weekly Report on Strategic Latin American Affairs...
...U.S...
...I.A.I...
...Said one observer, "It would not be an exaggeration to state that by now the economic value of Israel's export of military equipment to Latin America has by far surpassed the other more conventional items in trade relations...
...2. Clarence A. Robinson, Jr., "Israel Arms Exports Spur Concern," Aviation Week and Space Technology, December 13, 1976, p. 14 3. Louis Kraar, '"Israel's Own MilitaryIndustrial Complex, ' Fortune, March 13, 1978, p. 73...
...South Africa is the largest recipient of Israeli arms followed by Argentina...
...manufacturer, Israel Aircraft Industries Ltd., has begun to make major inroads in the region's weapons trade...
...Despite their earlier assurances to Carter that the Kfir was not intended for export, Israeli leaders were stunned...
...Rights Push S.purs Sales While Gidor's quip masked genuine Israeli anger, he conveniently chose to ignore that it was the same Administration's human rights policy which opened the JanlFeb1982 way for Israeli penetration of the Latin American market in the first place...
...COUNTRY Argentina 26 22 50 Despite its own cutoff of military aid, the U.S...
...blessing, is prepared to fulfill its role as a junior partner of imperialism in aiding the forces of repression in the region and in encouraging the proliferation of more deadly and sophisticated weapons...
...The assistance programs are directed by a special agency in the Israeli Ministry of Defense called the Department of International Relations and Cooperation...
...bought the rights in 1967.3 In addition, the Westwind is powered by an engine manufactured by another U.S...
...president Gabriel Gidor remarked, "There's a joke going around that NACLA Reportthe French industrialists are plugging Carter for re-election because he's brought them so much business...
...Thus, Israel, with U.S...
...journalist recently returned from Guatemala reported discussions with Guatemalan military police who had participated in a twoweek urban counterinsurgency course taught by Israeli advisers...
...Footnotes 1. Business Week, April 2, 1979, p.40...
...Kaufman adds that Israel gains certain benefits by developing close and continual ties with the various militaries...
...Carter's policy imposed a selective arms ban on a number of consistent human rights violators...
Vol. 16 • January 1982 • No. 1
