Israel May Get Bomb-Sniffing Dogs From U.S.

After all the talk of high-tech equipment and American know-how, Washington’s top contribution to Israel’s intensified antiterrorism drive may turn out to be dogs--the kind that sniff out explosives.

U.S. security operatives rely heavily on trained dogs to locate hidden bombs and contraband at airports and along potential smuggling routes--a method that is simple, inexpensive and generally effective.

But in the Middle East, the technique is rarely used. Now, U.S. officials are offering to train Israel’s storied security services in the use of bomb-detecting animals.

“We have the best dogs, and we know the most about how to use them,” a senior U.S. official said Friday when asked what U.S trainers could teach Israel, which may have the most effective security force in the world.

Secretary of State Warren Christopher and CIA Director John M. Deutch huddled Friday with Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres and his top aides to talk about ways to spend the $100 million in counter-terrorism assistance promised Thursday by President Clinton.

Christopher said the meeting produced “substantial progress” toward hammering out the details of a counter-terrorism agreement that Peres and Clinton are expected to sign when the Israeli prime minister visits the United States next month.

In addition to the dogs, the U.S. government is ready to ship sophisticated explosive-detection and X-ray equipment to Israel for use at roadblocks that separate it from Palestinian-controlled areas of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Christopher said the U.S. equipment should ease the impact of Israel’s security measures on the Palestinian population by allowing Israeli troops to speed the flow of traffic through checkpoints.

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Christopher also announced a March 28 meeting in Washington of “sub-Cabinet-level” experts from the 29 nations and organizations that attended this week’s antiterrorism summit in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el Sheik. He said the purpose of the meeting will be to devise specific steps the international community can take to convert the hopes of the summit leaders into action.

U.S. officials said that if the March 28 session produces results, it will be followed in two or three weeks by a meeting of foreign ministers.

Christopher met with Peres at Israel’s military headquarters in Tel Aviv. He later flew to Brussels, where he is scheduled to meet today with officials of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.