[MilCom] exercises

[Chris Corley]

Joint US-Israeli military exercises begin

American and Israeli air forces on Sunday began week-long joint exercises in
southern Israel, simulating dog-fights and bombing targets on the ground,
the army said.
Dozens of aircraft are taking part in the exercises in the southern Negev
desert, it said.

Army radio said the exercises were taking place in the context of recent
discussions between Israel and its main ally on the controversial nuclear
programme of the Jewish state's arch-foe Iran.

But an Israeli military source told AFP that the exercises were "planned two
years ago and are not linked to the situation in any country."

Washington, Israel and many Western countries fear that Iran's nuclear
programme is a guise for developing atomic weapons. Tehran says it is meant
for civilian uses only.

Israel, widely believed to be the sole if undeclared nuclear power in the
Middle East, considers the Islamic Republic its arch-foe after repeated
statements by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that the Jewish state should be
wiped off the map.

CHRIS CORLEY
WEST CENTRAL GA