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| U.S. plans $7 billion missile-defense sale to UAE |
| 2008-09-09 |
| WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Bush administration is planning to sell the United Arab Emirates an advanced U.S. missile defense system valued at up to $7 billion that could be used to defend against Iran, people who have attended briefings on the matter said on Monday. The Pentagon is set to notify the U.S. Congress of the proposed sale, which would be the first of the so-called Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, several people familiar with the matter said. THAAD is built by Lockheed Martin Corp. Raytheon Co supplies the system's radar. Once notified of such a proposed arms sale by the administration, Congress has 30 days to review it but almost never blocks. In any case, deployment of the THAAD system is "at least months away" and could take more than a year, said a congressional staff member familiar with the matter. Now why would the US offer this at a date later than when it might attack Iran? Why would the US offer this if Iran were to have no missiles, either conventional or nuclear? Why would the US offer this to SA if Iran were to posess missiles tipped only with conventional explosives? Inquiring mind wants to know. A production contract for the first two THAAD "fire units" was awarded to Lockheed Martin in late 2006. Delivery of the first such unit to the U.S. military is scheduled during the fiscal year that starts October 1, the company said. Kenneth Katzman, an expert on the Gulf at the Congressional Research Service, said the UAE has been eager for a "sophisticated antidote" to Iran's missile capabilities. "The UAE has been concerned for many years about possible retaliation against it for any U.S. or Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear facilities," he said. For Iran, Katzman added, the UAE could be an attractive target because of its billions of dollars of infrastructure investments. The THAAD system is designed to defend population centers and critical infrastructure among other things. Craig Vanbebber, a Lockheed Martin spokesman, said several countries had shown interest in buying the THAAD system, "with its significant coverage area and tremendous success in recent testing." "Lockheed Martin anticipates a strong future for THAAD in the international marketplace," he said. THAAD is the first system designed to defend against short- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles both inside and outside the Earth's atmosphere. It complements the lower-aimed Patriot missile defense system, "resulting in a layered defense that ensure a very high probability that ballistic missile threats will be destroyed," according to Lockheed Martin. Several such systems on land, at sea and potentially aloft are being woven into an expanding U.S. shield against missiles that could be tipped with chemical, biological or nuclear warheads. The proposed $7 billion sale to UAE would include anti-missile interceptors, launchers, fire control and communications systems, the radar and training, among other things, a congressional staff member said. It was not immediately clear whether the UAE was also seeking the Patriot missile defense system. The sale has been the subject of extensive discussions among U.S. decisionmakers, including over how it would fit into the U.S. Central Command's integrated air-defense plans for the Gulf and the security of the technology, the congressional staff member said. Damn. Can I at least dream of successful aggressive diplomacy efforts? |
| Posted by:gorb |
| #5 Between this and the McCain boost in the polls, I'd guess that Ahmanutjob is kicking off Ramadan with a stress headache. |
| Posted by: Darrell 2008-09-09 16:03 |
| #4 Love it. And guess who gets to hold the master key? |
| Posted by: Steve White 2008-09-09 15:56 |
| #3 UAE has a lot to lose - its all exposed. They have made a "national" commitment to wean themselves from a petroleum economy and focus on real estate, tourism, banking and transportation. They need to be attractive to other markets - Europe, Asia and America. They have the capital and are investing it faster than any other economy except China. They need protection more than even the Saudis and Kuwait. |
| Posted by: Jack is Back! 2008-09-09 11:24 |
| #2 "It complements the lower-aimed Patriot missile defense system, "resulting in a layered defense that ensure a very high probability that ballistic missile threats will be destroyed,"" IIRC, the UAE bought about 500 Patriot missiles for that system. They're serious. In a dangerous world, it is GOOD to be be America's friend. |
| Posted by: Minister of funny walks 2008-09-09 09:26 |
| #1 Perhaps operational status of the missiles is not the point, a big public agreement is. Its a roll call on who thinks Iran is a big poopy-head. And nobody's voting "present". |
| Posted by: bigjim-ky 2008-09-09 06:52 |