U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) commander Gen. Michael Kurilla is visiting Israel as scheduled on Monday, a trip that would not have happened had it not been for President Donald Trump’s decision to include Israel in CENTCOM.
The US divides its military policy geographically, allocating countries to different regions based on their location, but Israel, being in the Middle East, has long been included in the US European Command (EUCOM) due to Arab hostility towards the Jewish state.
Pro-Israel groups had argued that joining EUCOM would put Israel at a disadvantage because U.S. military authorities in the Middle East have closer ties with Arab countries than Israel does.
The Abraham Accords opened up new possibilities, and Iranian aggression united targets.
In January 2021, President Trump transferred Israel from EUCOM to CENTCOM before leaving office. The Wall Street Journal report:
President Trump has ordered the expansion of major U.S. military commands in the Middle East to include Israel, U.S. officials said on Thursday, in a last-minute reshuffle of America’s defense posture that pro-Israel groups have long pushed for to encourage cooperation against Iran.
The move means U.S. Central Command will oversee U.S. military policy involving both Israel and Arab countries, a shift from a U.S. military command structure that has been in place for decades because of Israel’s hostile relations with some of the Pentagon’s Arab allies.
The move is the latest in a series of policy changes by the Trump administration aimed at shaping the national security agenda that President-elect Joe Biden will inherit. The changes were recently ordered by Trump but have not yet been made public. Biden transition officials declined to comment on the move.
Biden has reversed some of Trump’s last-minute changes, including a decision to put the Iran-backed Houthis on the list of terrorist organizations, a move that has troubled him as the Houthis threaten shipping in the Red Sea.
But Biden did not reverse the decision to move Israel to Central Command, a change that, like Trump’s decision to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, many administrations saw as necessary but only Trump actually implemented.
Kurilla is reportedly scheduled to meet with Israeli military officials to discuss preparations for an expected Iranian attack. In April, the United States and other countries, including Arab nations, helped intercept Iranian missiles and drones fired at Israel.
Without Trump, this alliance would never have existed, and General Kurilla would not have been in Israel to coordinate the second joint defense operation. This is a reminder of why Israel, despite being officially neutral, will strongly support Trump in 2024.
Joel B. Pollack is executive editor of Breitbart News. Breitbart News Sunday The show airs Sunday nights from 7 to 10 p.m. (4 to 7 p.m. ET) on SiriusXM Patriot. He is the author of “Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days,” which is available for preorder on Amazon. He also wrote,Trumpian virtue: The lessons and legacy of Donald Trump’s presidency” is available on Audible. He is the 2018 recipient of the Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter. Joel Pollack.
