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| Middle East |
| U.S. Patriot Missiles and Troops Deployed to Israel |
| 2003-01-16 |
| This is today's token non-Steve guest post :) WASHINGTON, Jan. 15 — The United States has sent Patriot antimissile systems and 600 troops to Israel to strengthen its ability to defend against missile attack. Not a big surprise. PAC 3 Patriots -- or PAC 2? Officially, the American forces have been sent for an exercise that will test the ability of American and Israeli missile defenses to work together. But the exercise will mean that American forces will work alongside the Israeli military and be in position to help defend against attacks by Iraq's Scud missiles if President Bush decides to take military action soon to oust Saddam Hussein. There's been some talk that the invasion plan involves occupying western Iraq quickly in order to deny the Iraqis the ability to strike Israel -- take that with a grain of salt, though. The western desert is a big place. "We are now in the process of having an exercise," a senior Israeli official said. "We believe that if the time comes and we shall have hostilities we shall probably have American Patriot batteries deployed to Israel." In the exercise, United States forces are to be based in Israel until mid-February, American officials said. Their deployment, however, could easily be extended. Few things in this world are certain: but extension of this deployment is one of them. American participation in the exercise is also expected to include an Aegis air defense cruiser. The Aegis has a sophisticated radar that can track enemy missiles and integrate the information into the land-based air defense command centers. American Patriot batteries were dispatched to Israel before the 1991 Persian Gulf war, and the Bush administration has a strong motivation to help its ally now as well. Washington is also trying to dissuade Israel from retaliating against Iraq if it comes under fire. Ariel Sharon, the Israeli prime minister, has informed American officials that Israel plans to strike back if it is successfully attacked by Iraq. Israel, however, would be under less pressure to respond if Iraqi missiles were intercepted by a combined American-Israeli defense. Washington fears that Israel's entry into a war could be exploited by Iraq, which would try to portray the conflict as one between Islam and an American-Israeli coalition. Key phrase: "successfully attacked". The arrival of American forces is just one step that the administration is taking to help defend its allies as it ratchets up the pressure on the Iraqi government. American officials have asked NATO for six types of assistance. Much of the support is intended to help Turkey, a crucial ally and NATO member. The United States would like NATO to send Awacs radar planes to Turkey. It also wants NATO nations to send Patriot air-defense batteries to Turkey. That would be nice, but I'm not holding my breath. Turkey has indicated that it will allow the United States to use air bases to strike Iraq, but officials say it has not decided whether to allow the deployment of a significant number of United States ground troops. In addition, the United States would like NATO ships to protect ships in the eastern Mediterranean. It would also like NATO nations to provide personnel to help protect American bases in Europe and possibly in the Persian Gulf, according to a senior administration official. NATO forces could also be used to fill other shortfalls that may arise as American forces are dispatched to the gulf. The measures were worked out by Gen. Joseph W. Ralston, the NATO commander, whose tour of duty is coming to an end this week, and Gen. Tommy R. Franks, the chief of the United States Central Command. Some of the measures were discussed by Deputy Defense Secretary Paul D. Wolfowitz during a December trip to NATO headquarters, but serious consultations on the details are only now getting under way. Beyond these measures, Western officials say the United States would like NATO to update and review its contingency plans to defend Turkey in case there is war with Iraq, and the alliance invokes Article V, which calls for the collective defense of NATO members. You know, I find this a bit ridiculous. There's a bunch of Turkish troops INSIDE IRAQ right now. If you're all hung up on this legalistic stuff, and willing to ignore both how psycho Saddam is and legitimate Turkish anti-terrorism concerns about the Kurds, then the Turks are the invaders. While the support being sought by the United States is essentially defensive, it is still politically sensitive. Many allies want to give United Nations weapons inspectors more time before confronting the decision of whether to go to war with Iraq. I cry an ocean of tears for our "Many allies" But there is no ambivalence about the American deployments on the part of the Israelis. Israeli officials say that the Patriot batteries sent to Israel for the 1991 gulf war were generally ineffective. Iraq fired 39 Scud missiles at Israel during that conflict, and American intelligence believes Iraq has retained a small, secret arsenal of Scuds. But the Patriot has been upgraded since then, and the Israelis see a role for it in a two-tier system that would include the Israelis' Arrow system, two batteries of which have already been deployed. According to the Israeli plan, the Arrow system would try to shoot down Iraqi Scuds at high altitudes. American and Israeli operated Patriots would concentrate on Scuds that leaked through, intercepting them at lower altitudes. Not only does the two-tiered approach provide more protection, but it also would enable Israel to husband some of its number of Arrow interceptors. American officials said that several batteries of Patriots have been sent to Israel. The American forces sent to Israel for the exercise are under the command of Gen. Stanley E. Green, the head of the Army's Air Defense Artillery Center. Hmm, going to the very top for the unit commander. Good idea or bad? As the United States has built up its forces, it has used military exercises as an opportunity to deploy systems in the region and test them for a possible war with Iraq. For Israel, the exercises are just part of a series of steps being taken to prepare for the possibility of war. Mr. Sharon met today with Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz and other generals to review plans to protect civilians and the military. |
| Posted by:Patrick Phillips |
| #2 The Western Iraqi desert is also made for JSTARS to play. With that we have the ability to track every vehicle moving in the area, and terminate those lacking the little "friendly" icon. |
| Posted by: Chuck 2003-01-16 13:59:39 |
| #1 Bet they're PAC-3s. Article from Jan 7th El Paso Times: The freight follows last Thursday's shipment of about 100 pieces of Patriot missile equipment to the Persian Gulf. That deployment included the new Patriot Advance Capability missile launcher, or PAC-3 -- the newer version of the Patriot system that was used to intercept Iraqi Scud missiles during the 1991 Persian Gulf war. They want to keep the Israeli's from attacking Iraq, so they'd bring the best Patriots for the job. Gen. Green, being head of ADA Center at Ft. Bliss, would be there to show commitment to do this. Also, he would be more familiar with the latest developments in anti-missle defense, Ft. Bliss being next door to White Sands Missle Range where these are being developed. |
| Posted by: Steve 2003-01-16 13:54:39 |