On Monday, the US and Israel launched massive military drills, which one Pentagon official speaking to NBC News described as the “most significant exercise between the United States and Israel to date.”
The drills, dubbed Juniper Oak 23, will last until Friday and will involve about 6,400 US troops, 1,100 Israeli personnel, 142 different types of aircraft, and 12 warships. The exercise is taking place in Israel and the eastern Mediterranean and is seen as a message to Iran and other US “adversaries” in the region.
The different types of aircraft include B-52 bombers, fighter jets, and refueling aircraft, and a US aircraft carrier strike group is among the warships participating. According to US Central Command (CENTCOM), the drills will involve a “large-scale live-fire event.”
“Juniper Oak is a Combined Joint All-Domain exercise which improves our interoperability on land, in the air, at sea, in space, and in cyberspace with our partners, enhances our ability to respond to contingencies, and underscores our commitment to the Middle East,” said Gen. Michael Kurilla, the head of CENTCOM.
The Pentagon official who spoke with NBC said that the drills show the US has not forgotten about the region even as it is focused on its proxy war against Russia and a military buildup in the Asia Pacific aimed at China. “We still have the excess capacity to be able to flex to another high-priority area of responsibility and conduct an exercise on this scale,” the official said.
The official insisted the drills weren’t aimed at any particular country, but they come at a time of heightened tensions between the US and Iran. Over the past few months, the US has been increasing sanctions on Iran, expressing support for protests inside the country, and threatening military action.
The Pentagon official said Iran would take notice of the US and Israel’s capability and would likely respond. “My guess is the next time they do a military exercise, they’ll say, even if it was planned for months, they’ll say it was reaction to this,” the official said.
The drills also come at a pivotal moment in Israel as the new government under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is stirring controversy over a judicial overhaul and plans to significantly expand settlements in the West Bank. “This is a sign that we continue to have Israel’s back at a time where there’s a lot of turbulence and instability across the region,” the official said.
The massive drills only took a few months to organize and came after Israel’s former army chief visited Washington in November and said the US and Israel would expand joint military cooperation. Israel was brought under CENTCOM’s area of responsibility in 2021 following the normalization with the UAE and Bahrain, allowing more military cooperation between the US’s allies in the region.
The US and Israel’s ultimate goal is to expand normalization with more Gulf states to form an anti-Iran NATO-style alliance in the Middle East. Netanyahu is pushing for normalization with Saudi Arabia, but Riyadh insists it won’t happen until the Palestinians are granted their own state.
I suspect, there is a foul plot afoot. A surprise attack will certainly keep Russia off balance.
Russia has its hands full now-Crush and assimilate Ukraine-destroy the dollar with a gold backed currency,and provide 3 Billion Chindians with NRG.
Juniper Oak, a war game for Apes.
All of this is practice for what the USA is best at, aggressive warfare. How could any of it be described as “defensive?” Ultimately, though, we will over-reach, over-extend, and becomne entangled in a catastrophic war with Russia that will be the end of the USA, Russia, and most of humanity. It’s almost as if that was the plan all along.
2 centuries of relentless warfare and all the wars the US was involved in were aggressive. This time they may have crossed the Rubicon. The attacked a big nuclear power willing and able to fight back.
Russians had time to increase their military power getting ready to fight against NATO aggression.
Every empire has within it the seeds of its own destruction. In our case we have Manifest Destiny, the notion that some Europeans were chosen by God to expand and possess the whole of the North American continent. And now we are trying to subdue a nation that has nukes, lots of them.
“”We still have the excess capacity to be able to flex to another high-priority area of responsibility and conduct an exercise on this scale,” the official said.”
Perhaps we’d get into less trouble if we had less such excess capacity, no? Also, such excess demands a review of funding … perhaps the money could be returned to the payers or spent on real needs?
“The official insisted the drills weren’t aimed at any particular country, but they come at a time of heightened tensions between the US and Iran.”
What other country has Israel been pushing the US to go to war with for the last 40 years? And what ” heightened tensions” are there between the US and Iran if Israel wasn’t in the picture? What a load of bullsh*t.
What country has had its scientists assassinated as well as a General visiting another country at the time of his murder?
and good ridance!
One simply can’t overestimate how Israel has dominated US foreign policy ever since the presidency of Lyndon Johnson. Not only did he enable Israel to have nukes, but he let them attack the USS Liberty and get away with it.
He did not enable.He was presented with a fait accompli,and a very good one.
Kennedy would have demanded that Israel allow inspection of its secret Dimona nuclear site. Johnson relented and allowed Israel to develop nukes with French support, just like he let Israel attack the USS Liberty and get away with it.
Israel’s nukes were certainly more of a necessity that French nukes-Israel was and is a free country that can and should do as it pleases. What was JFK going to do about it?
He would have held Israel to the same standard as any other nation. Why the secrecy? Oh, ya. By deception we shall wage war. Where have I heard that one before?
That right-Britain and
France had theirs.Pakistan and India,,so why not Israel? US inspectors were shown a false control panel-very very good. Why should the US have any more rights to nukes than Biwakia?
Kennedy could demand and fart all he wanted-who inspected the Indian nuke works,or the Pakistanis? He was still a president who needed democratic voters.As far as the Liberty goes-it may well have been LBS plan to go into Cairo.In any event-spy on someone when they are being pounded is unwise. The poor sailors were used as pawns by a pro Arab navy and State Dept. A few tidbits to Saudi Arabia would mean cash in the pockets of retired US generals and Admirals.
DUH-did you ever hear of the seizure of the US embassy in Iran,or the current attempts to replace the dollar by the BRICS,or the killing of 283 marines in Beirut,or the Iranian IEDs killing GI’sin Iraq? I guess not.
Did you ever hear of the coup in 1953? And how in the world is replacing the dollar not up to Iran and why would it be something to do war games over? And the killing of soldiers on the other side of the world in 1983 is the reason the US is doing war games aimed at Iran 40 years later? Same with IED’s killing American soldiers on the other side of the world conducting an illegal invasion of Iraq. But if we’re talking about Iranian weaponry killing American soldiers how about the weaponry we sent Saddam to kill Iranians on the other side of the world from 1980 thru 1988? DUH indeed.
The coup was evil-surprised I agree with you? Iran is not stupid-they rather get paid for their oil with a gold backed currency-as they are getting paid for their drones killing Ukranians.By the way,invading an Embassy is an act of war.
And nothing you say makes war games aimed at Iran justified. Which was and has been my point from day one. I don’t defend Iran. I oppose the US f*cking with any country, especially when we call the Saudi’s allies. Iran is not a threat to the US or Israel no matter how hard you stomp your feet and proclaim that they are. Sure, invading the Embassy was an act of war. So, what would the coup and the 26 years of rule by the US installed puppet that preceded that be called?
The Shah has been gone for 40 years.When the USSR had plans to grab Iran,the US threatened them. Let Iran move on.
How can Iran move on? They agreed to the JCPOA, the NPT on steroids, and while in compliance were put under economic devastating sanctions. They aren’t allowed to move on.
Iran opposed Oslo-its better to talk to someone you hate,rather that stab them.Stop massing and arming Hezbolla-extend a token sign of reduced tension.Putin said to the US-we are not your enemies-
Iran does the opposite.
And what token sign of reduced tension is the US/Israel sending towards Iran? Maximum pressure campaign? Assassinating nuclear scientists and sabotaging nuclear facilities? Israel begging the US to go to war against Iran for the last 40 years? Or how about the recent war games aimed at them? You really like to ignore everything that the real aggressors are doing and exaggerate anything and everything Iran is doing. There is no real comparison. But sure, it’s Iran that does the “opposite”.
Very simple-announce it will desist from hate cartoons-costs nothing-sends a positive message.State that if Israel and Palestine can work out a two state solution,Iran would support it.
Sure, no more “hate cartoons” and Israel would be fine with Iran’s nuke program.
Hezbollah and its 100,000 missiles most certainly is a threat to Israel,no matter how loud you flatulate.
But it’s ok for Israel to have the most advanced weapons in the world? Others shouldn’t be concerned about that threat?
Anyone who can not see the war clouds on the horizon in Iran is blind and delusional.
But Iran is way stronger than Iraq. After trying to sanction the world’s biggest commodities producer, they want to pick on Iran?
A lot of people were listening too much to their mommies. No, you’re not special.
Pentagon official: Iran will “take notice of the US and Israel’s capability and…likely respond. ‘My guess…next time they do a military exercise, they’ll say, even if it was planned for months, they’ll say it was reaction to this,’ the official said.”
O I see, nothing the US does or doesn’t do in the region has any real impact on Iran.
So US exhibitions of kill power won’t read as provocations or spike military instability or further bury chances of weapons control – cuz Iran was always gonna do whatever it does regardless.
Yippy, then can US fighters buzz Tehran – should be wicked pisser fun.
It will fulfill Iran’s hatred
Terrorism is a wargame well-played by the two largest exporters/enactors of violence in the world today.
And of course all the climatic pollution created by these 2 nutjobs is a wonderful side benefit right boys and girls?
Iran is gonna develop nukes any minute now,really, trust us. Now that rule does not apply to israel so…
Yeah, I heard about this from my dentist.
WTF. There are no “war games”; there is only “war practice”. A sign that “we” have IsraHell’s back due to IsraHelli-induced turbulence across the region? What does the United Snakes plan to do, bomb Gaza and the West Bank, in addition to Iran?
And F*CK the idiotic name of this insane operation. How dare they name their nefarious actions after two of Mother Nature’s most sacred beings?
7,500 troops is massive? Not in Eurasian terms.