US army chief: Delay of drill with Israel to yield 'better outcome'
Dempsey says meetings with top Israeli officials 'reinforced deep and special relationship shared by Israel and US'
Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Friday that Israel and the US agreed to postpone a joint air-defense drill and hold it later in the year "to achieve a better outcome," the New York Times reported.
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Col. Dave Lapan, the Special Assistant for Public Affairs in the Office of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in a statement issued on the tail end of Dempsey's short visit to Israel that each of the US army chief's meetings with top Israeli officials "reinforced the deep and special relationship shared by Israel and the US" and “served to advance a common understanding of the regional security environment.”
According to the statement, Dempsey and Israeli counterpart Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz discussed "military-to-military relations, the new US defense strategy, budget and economic issues and regional security challenges.”
'Immediate steps.' Netanyahu and Dempsey (Photo: Moshe Miner, GPO)
During a visit to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum, Dempsey wrote in the visitor's book, “We are committed to ensuring that such a human tragedy never happens again.”
The US Joint Chiefs of Staff chief left Israel on Friday, before the onset of the Sabbath.
During his meeting with Dempsey on Friday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for immediate steps to halt Iran's nuclear program, with a focus on Tehran's central bank and oil industry.
Dempsey said during a meeting with Gantz and Defense Minister Ehud Barak, "My presence here, I hope, reflects the commitment we have for each other. I'm here to assure you that's the case."
President Shimon Peres told the US military chief "I’m sure that in this fight (against Iran) we will emerge victorious. It is a fight that does not belong exclusively to the US or Israel, but a global struggle to create a safe world for all peoples.”
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