The Israeli military announced on Jan. 5 that it will be joining with troops from the U.S. for a military exercise in the next few weeks. The U.S. and Israel said the joint drill, which has been dubbed “Austere Challenge 12” and will involve thousands of U.S. and Israeli troops, will be the largest such exercise in their history.
It comes at a time of heightened tension as Iran is threatened by increasingly severe sanctions and provocative U.S. military threats such as movement of an aircraft carrier to the Persian Gulf. U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta spoke of the planned joint exercise in December, saying it showed the Obama administration’s efforts “to back up our unshakeable commitment to Israel’s security.”
Although Israeli military officials said the exercise was not tied to the recent tensions, Martin van Creveld, a military historian at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, noted that the intent was not simply to test military maneuvers, but also to pressure Iran.
