Israel moves closer to hook-up with NATO: "Israel's armed forces are adopting NATO's system of identifying and classifying equipment among its member nations, underlining Israel's buildup of ties with the Atlantic alliance.
For years, Israel has kept NATO at arm's length to preserve the Jewish state's strategic independence while it confronts its Middle Eastern adversaries.
The adoption of the NATO Codification System may seem a modest move, but it's an important institutional step toward strengthening links with the Western alliance, which now has 28 members."
