Professor Henry Srebrnik

Professor Henry Srebrnik

Monday, January 07, 2019

Israel Sells Arms to Make Friends

By Henry Srebrnik [Saint John, NB] Telegraph Journal
 
What’s the best way to make friends and influence people, especially if they’re leaders of countries? 

If you’re Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, the answer is simply: sell them weapons.

On Nov. 25, the president of Chad, Idriss Déby, visited Israel. A poor, corrupt country in the Sahel region of Africa, it is plagued by political violence and ranks very high on the failed-state index. 

Déby has dealt with rebellions and coups d’état attempts since he first became president in 1990. So Chad has little to contribute to Israel -- except on the diplomatic front. 

Some 13.5 million people live in Chad, 55 per cent of whom are Muslim. In 1972 it severed ties with Israel under pressure from Saudi Arabia, Libya and other Arab countries in order to isolate Israel. 

Déby was highly influenced by former Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi, who had treated Chad like his country’s personal backyard and a center from which to expand Libya’s influence throughout Africa. But that has all ended, of course.

Netanyahu is trying to move into the breach: in exchange for Israeli military technology, he can get excellent media exposure. Exporting arms and cyber weaponry to rulers like Déby, plus waging public relations campaigns on their behalf, equals highly publicized visits to Israel.

The prime minister described the visit in the context of his attempt to re-establish an Israeli presence in Africa. Noting that in the past two years he had paid three visits to states on the continent, Netanyahu told Déby that “I hope to come to the center of Africa. 

“And I wish to bring with me Israeli entrepreneurs, Israeli experts, Israeli companies, everything that can improve the life of the peoples of Africa, which is something we believe in. Israel is coming back to Africa, Africa is coming back to Israel.”

But the real reason for the visit dealt with arms sales and the fight against Islamists. A secret meeting in New York at the end of September, between Foreign Minister Mahamat Zene Cherif of Chad and Israel’s national security adviser Meir Ben Shabbat, set the stage for Déby’s formal visit. 

So the visit was really focused on security and skirted around Chad’s less than stellar record in the realm of human rights. Chadian authorities have banned peaceful assemblies and arrested and prosecuted activists and journalists.

In April Chad’s parliament approved a new constitution that expanded Déby’s powers and could allow him to serve until 2033.

Israel has supported the Chadian army in the domain of satellite eavesdropping on rebel groups operating in the north of the country. Part of its armored equipment was bought from Israel. 

Netanyahu wants Israel to be a significant partner in the African regional coalition against extremist Islamist terrorism. Déby agreed. “We have a shared struggle,” he said. It’s not nice, but it’s realpolitik.

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