Chief of Staff: "Ready for any threat - from near and far"
IDF Spokesperson 10 March 2010 , 13:15
Jonathan Urich
On Tuesday evening, the Chief of the General Staff, Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi,
during his visit to the United States, spoke at the annual dinner hosted by
the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF). "I am telling you from this
stage: We will triumph over those who seek to destroy us. We will win thanks
to the courage of our soldiers and their moral compass," said Chief of the
General Staff in his speech, at an event held at New York's Waldorf Astoria
Hotel.
In his speech, Lt. Gen Gabi Ashkenazi emphasized that "Iran was the main
threat to world peace, and gradually attempting to harvest regional
instability through its proxies: Hezbollah, Hamas and other terrorist
organizations. Therefore the international community must stop the Iranian
nuclear program for its own sake.
"All options should remain on the table. We are developing advanced weapons
and technologies and increasing the number of military exercises and
training, while raising reserve troops' readiness for war. We are doing this
to be ready for any threat - from near and far," he added.
Close cooperation between the IDF and the U.S.
On Tuesday morning (Mar. 9), the Chief of the General Staff attended several
short work meetings in Washington, during which he met with senior officials
at the White House, Senate and Pentagon including a meeting with National
Security Advisor Jim Jones. In addition, he met with U.S. Chairman of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Michael Mullen, who recently visited Israel.
The meeting lasted about an hour and a half, and focused on the Iranian
threat.
During his speech at the FIDF dinner in New York, Lt. Gen. Ashkenazi
referred to the close cooperation between the IDF and the U.S. army and
noted that one
example of our successful cooperation was the Juniper Cobra 10 - an exercise
which tested the missile defense system collaboration. He continued by
stating that "these steps reflect significant progress in expanding the
dialogue, cooperation and readiness of the two armies."
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