IDF Chief Gantz in Washington for Top-Level Talks

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz landed in the United States Sunday for a week of talks, hosted by U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin E. Dempsey.

The meetings were planned in advance but comes less than a week after Israel’s undeclared attack, apparently on a convoy of advanced anti-aircraft missiles en route from Damascus to Hizbullah in Lebanon.

Israel and the United States have stayed diplomatically quiet over the bombing of the convoy, but comments from anonymous sources to various media outlets lead to the unmistakable conclusion that Washington supported, or at least did not oppose, the pre-emptive strike.

Israel has recently warned that it would not allow Hizbullah to gets its hands on “game changing” weapons, such as Soviet-made SA-17 anti-aircraft missiles that could leave Israel helpless in the event of an attack from the north.

The Gantz-Dempsey meetings will “discuss current security challenges, the regional security status in the Middle East and military cooperation,” according to an IDF statement.