Israel Wary of US Armed Drone Initiative

Israel Wary of US Armed Drone Initiative

By: Barbara Opall-Rome, September 1, 2016

http://www.defensenews.com/articles/israel-wary-of-us-armed-drone-initiative?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=EBB%20Mil%209.2.16&utm_term=Editorial%20-%20Military%20-%20Early%20Bird%20Brief

TEL AVIV  – In Israel, where combat-capable unmanned systems constitute a significant share of exports and form the backbone of counter-terror operations, a new Obama administration’s push for international guidelines governing strike drones is being viewed with skepticism, if not outright alarm.

As much as the Israeli government wants to support its closest ally, officials and experts say the nascent US initiative is diplomatically dubious, practically unenforceable and potentially crippling to a critical sector of Israel’s defense industrial base.

Beyond all that, a former national security advisor to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it could prove operationally self-defeating in the war against terror. http://www.defensenews.com/articles/israel-wary-of-us-armed-drone-initiative?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=EBB%20Mil%209.2.16&utm_term=Editorial%20-%20Military%20-%20Early%20Bird%20Brief