Safriz
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If Israel Sold Patriot Secrets . . .
Published: March 20, 1992
The United States rushed Patriot missiles to Israel during the Persian Gulf war to defend
against incoming Iraqi Scuds. Now intelligence reports say Israel sold Patriot technology
to China. If so, that would violate Israel's obligation not to transfer cutting-edge U.S.
technology to others -- a dismaying act by a valued ally. The reports provide ammunition to Israel-bashers. And they disturb experts concerned
with keeping control of advanced military technologies. Washington has long shown
extraordinary tolerance toward Israeli transfers of American technology, raising doubts
about U.S. commitment to stopping the spread of arms. If the latest reports prove true,
Washington needs to impose stern sanctions on Israel and the companies involved. Israel, of course, has the know-how to produce advanced weapons on its own. It sells
many of them to China and other nations to offset the costs of defending itself. But
installing U.S. components in such exports would violate its obligations. So would
reverse engineering -- taking a U.S. weapon apart to discover its design secrets and
then making a copy for sale to others.
Published: March 20, 1992
The United States rushed Patriot missiles to Israel during the Persian Gulf war to defend
against incoming Iraqi Scuds. Now intelligence reports say Israel sold Patriot technology
to China. If so, that would violate Israel's obligation not to transfer cutting-edge U.S.
technology to others -- a dismaying act by a valued ally. The reports provide ammunition to Israel-bashers. And they disturb experts concerned
with keeping control of advanced military technologies. Washington has long shown
extraordinary tolerance toward Israeli transfers of American technology, raising doubts
about U.S. commitment to stopping the spread of arms. If the latest reports prove true,
Washington needs to impose stern sanctions on Israel and the companies involved. Israel, of course, has the know-how to produce advanced weapons on its own. It sells
many of them to China and other nations to offset the costs of defending itself. But
installing U.S. components in such exports would violate its obligations. So would
reverse engineering -- taking a U.S. weapon apart to discover its design secrets and
then making a copy for sale to others.