[Dr. Aaron Lerner - IMRA:

Yes, the Iron Dome system is useful.

But it is puzzling to see their deployment put in the context of gizmos that
could somehow justify the borders set for a Palestinian state.

After all, for every gizmo there is ultimately a counter gizmo. And the
border one accepts relying on the gizmo won’t be changed when the counter
gizmo is deployed.

This, by the way, is the problem behind the argument made by those who
suggest that we can replace the Golan with a gizmo.

As for the Iron Dome gizmo, it should be noted that it requires a distance
of several kilometers from the source of fire in order to operate.
Neighborhoods in Kfar Sava, for example, are too close to Kalkiliya to be
protected by the Iron Dome. Ditto for parts of Jerusalem (depending on the
borders) and many other places.

On the other hand, is this a more sophisticate move than what it appears to
be?

Is Mr. Netanyahu ultimately going to share with the Israeli public the
assessments of the limitations of the gizmos in order to explain why the
borders Israel can accept are substantially different from the lines so many
people have been throwing around for years?]

PM: Iron Dome system crucial to peace with Palestinians
By HERB KEINON The Jerusalem Post 06/30/2011 03:31
http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?id=227212

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is starting to prepare for US help in
purchasing additional Iron Dome anti-missile batteries, bringing the issue
up on Wednesday during a meeting with three key Democratic congressmen.

Netanyahu, who met with Reps. Gary Ackerman and Nita Lowey of New York, and
Henry Waxman of California, said the Iron Dome will play an important role
in peace, since it will make an agreement with the Palestinians possible.

The three representatives participated this week in the World Jewish
Congress’s International Consultation of Jewish Parliamentarians taking
place in Jerusalem.

Netanyahu, according to a government official, spoke of two critical
security aspects of any agreement with the Palestinians. The first being a
long-term Israeli military presence on the Jordan River to combat the
smuggling of arms and terrorists into the West Bank from Jordan. The second
being the deployment of Iron Dome batteries along the border of a future
Palestinian state to prevent missile attacks from the West Bank on Israeli
cities.

The prime minister told the delegation that Israel would pay for the
batteries, but would also need American assistance.

Netanyahu said the Iron Dome benefits America as well because it is a system
that can be used to protect American bases abroad.

Israel currently has two Iron Dome systems in operation, and a third to be
delivered by the end of the year.

US President Barack Obama’s approval earlier this year of $205 million in
the 2011 budget for the system will allow Israel to buy four more.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak has said that by the middle of the decade Israel
hoped to have 13 to 15 of these batteries, which provide protection against
rockets and artillery shells with a 70-kilometer range.

The Iron Dome is one part of a three-tiered anti-missile umbrella that
includes the Arrow, which is already operable and defends against long-range
ballistic missiles, and the David’s Sling, still in development, which will
protect against medium-range cruise missiles.

Netanyahu told the congressman the Iron Dome was important to create a
security envelope within the context of a peace agreement.

On another issue, Netanyahu told Ackerman – who is going to Egypt from
Israel – that US economic support for Egypt was important for stabilizing
the democratic process there.

He also said it was important for the congressional delegation to articulate
its expectation that the Egyptian government maintain the peace agreement
with Israel.