As the Obama administration moves closer to imposing tough economic sanctions against Iran, the US military has reportedly installed and upgraed the capability of land-based Patriot defensive missiles in Kuwait, Bahrain, UAE and Qatar. The Patriot missile systems, which originally were deployed in the region to shoot down aircraft, now can hit missiles in flight. [AP, 30 January]
The US has now deployed eight Patriot missile batteries - two each in the four countries
The US Navy is also reportedly deploying a number of Aegis ships in the Persian Gulf capable of knocking down hostile missiles in flight.
One military official has told AP the adjustments in the Gulf should be seen as prudent defensive measures designed to deter Iran from taking aggressive action in the region.
16 comments:
Interesting, no "grand announcement" of Patriot defenses for Iraq.
those Patriot missiles destined for Arab countries are the beta versions with 20% efficiency. The Arabs pay sky-high prices for these unusable systems at the same time the Alpha ones stationed in Israel has a 45% efficiency.
Believe me dude, had they been as efficient as propagated by the westen a la hollywood media, they would have attacked Iran.
Its as we in Iran call it " Jange Zargari" as long as USA kill the Taliban in Afghanistan and Saddamis in Iraq, they can spit and curse Iran as much as they want.(that goes for their Patriot missiles too)
loooool
Anon 9:57,
I beg to differ, and if your thinking on the recent military development in the Persian Gulf reflects those of the Iranian government, then they may be in for a surprise. The Patriot deployment cannot be viewed as a Jang Zargari, it is part of a general pattern of upgrading the defensive capabilities by the Arab states of the Gulf.
For example, UAE purchase of over 80 F-16s and now the planned purchase of Rafale's, Patriot antimissile batteries and advanced anti-missile systems upgrades add up to billions of dollars investment in their military. Don't believe that these are just for the show (or Jang Zargari as you call it).
Saudi Arabia is even investing more in its military infrastructure, including upgrade of their defensive force to protect their oil wells and pipelines.
Partly as a result of Iran's missile/nuclear development programs, the region is in the midst of an arms race, with Iran's neighbors, like UAE, developing military capabilities (i.g. the new UAE air force) that we had not seen before. Israel and US forces in the region are not the only credible forces in the region anymore.
Dear Uskowi,
I see you are pointing your finger on the spot.
Billions of Dollars of Arab wealth, being spent on Military hardware, which can hardly be used by the buyers.
simplify: Arabs pay 10 dollars for a 1 dollar bullet, the 9 dollars are to finance either a war or a new project or..etc.
Believe me Sir, It is NOT about Iran and it has never been. I think Iran is playing its part well. :)
I Think, It is about creating a Boogieman, to scare the Arabs into paying out their wealth for military "shrot" .Not that the Arabs are too silly not to see this, but they have to play the fool to keep their systems runing...
i generally agree with anonymous post #2.
At the end of the day, these gulf arab states don't have the volume to contain iran, and they don't train as well as the iranian military. Uskowi, even if UAE has 80 f-16s, It can still be invaded by iRan! What happened to Israeli patriot systems in 2006? How come so many hezbollah rockets still landed in Israel? the track record of the older patriot systems is not stellar.
Kemjika
do some reading regarding the Israeli Patriot missiles back in 1991 during the Gulf War with Iraq, I think there were two battalions sent from Holland to shoot down the Scuds, and they only had a 10% success rate at best!
Ha ha. Thats even worse Paul!THese anti missile systems haven't proven themselves very well. THe bottom line is that Iran's military is robust and underrated. THe GCC countries lack size and they are so vulnerable.Iran has been underseige for many years,so this is just more "technological" than effective.Many of these arab states have sold out their rights in the eyes of many in the middle east. KSA is just seen as a US stooge, UAE is too small and wont stand a fight with Iran on any given day,Egypt is run by an old-wont-let-go dictator;and Iran,Turkey and Syria alliance is where the power is in the middle east. US troops based in GCC states will end up being the achilles heel for those same GCC countries. In the case of any conflict, US troops in those countries will probably be targetted,so these countries are basically committing to military action in their country by hosting US troops..THe US will lose Iraq to Iran in a few years.THis drawdown by august 2010 is going to be an Iranian God-sent and thats more good news for Iran, but bad news for the west. what can you say? :)
Guys,
i am arguing that UAE and other Arab states are getting ready to attack Iran. Their new hardware, however, should be taken into account very seriously. If Iran was to attack US interests in the gulf for example, these hardware can and will be used against iran.
On military hardware, pls note 80 F-16s is 80 F-16s, regardless if the Arabs paid too much for it.
Correction, i meant to say that i was NOT arguing that Arab states of the gulf are planning to attack Iran
Dear Sirs,
I presume, these movements of hardware are mostly to please the Israeli Lobby to safeguard the US health care reform.
Sounds silly ? I know. But the AIPAC group is giving the Obama admin a hard time on the Bill and the US admin is making sure the Israeli wish of the Iran disintegration is at least a step further (at least AIPAC should think so)
The sanctions are supposed to be implemented and Iranian Ships harrased to initiate a retaliation and thus (they hope) a controlled conflict.
But it wont work, and the US knows this. The Israelis hope for the worse but happy to get a bit of damage to Iran.
Whatever the case,I believe everybody is playing a game here.
I would not bet on a big deal, Iran has seen worse at its weakest times from an America much stronger than today.
Simply trust the Iranian way of dealing with the present super power of the world, as it dealt with the others in the past.
Iran can close the strait of hormuz, and probably keep its steady flow of oil disrupted, and the GCC countries will all hurt from this,but they can't do much against Iran-Iran has a clear, strong advantage when it comes to military positioning in the strait..
Kemjika,
what you say about closing the Strait of Hormuz is true to a certain extent, but they only have a very, very limited advantage, you're talking at best being able to close the Strait for a week if they catch the US completely off guard, but that is highly unlikely at the moment
The deployments are also partly intended to counter the impression that Iran is fast becoming the most powerful military force in the Middle East, to forestall any Iranian escalation of its confrontation with the West if new sanctions are imposed.
YOu're right Cheap....but the fact that they are now acting to thwart that perception just shows you whose really bluffing and whose not.GCC states acquiring anti-missile systems won't change the fact that Iran is now the boss in their neighborhood. Its too bad for the US that Iran is right next to where it needs the most help-Afghanistan and Iraq;because the US undoubtedly would like to fix Afghanistan and iraq before "protecting" the GCC countries. Iran will make sure the US doesn't achieve huge victories in both countries...no doubt about it, and i dont think the US will outleverage Iran in iraq at least.
I have to admit
this years holocaust documentaries was beyond norm. Before every Israeli military adventures, European TV stations start broadcasting reports over the jewish suffering during the first half of the last century.
Every year time it becomes more colorful (depending on the nature of the next Israeli war)
This time it was almost 3D (a la Avatar) I have a feeling Israel wants to immunize the western Taxpayers in advance for the next war and its follow up , making sure they remember their guilt before making any objections when WMD's are dropped on Iran..
I hope its not Iran.
These systems have never been tested properly and if tested then they have constantly failed.
The few hits were secured only when a certain 1000 year old missile system entered the atmosphere at the very place on the exact route expected.
I agree with the annon up here, Its only a propaganda gig to cash in from the ever stupid Arab rich kids.
If Israelis claim to have them too, then thats also a gig to screw the Arabs into believing the efficiency of this systems.
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