In Washington, US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta told his visiting Israeli counterpart Ehud Barak that the US plans to give Israel an extra $70 million this year for its short-range missile defense program known as “Iron Dome.” The unique system was designed to shoot down rockets and mortars fired from Gaza or Lebanon into Israel and has proven to be very effective, but costly. Panetta said that additional funding would be sought over the next three years. Israel already receives some $3.1 billion in annual US military aid, the bulk of which has to be spent in the United States.