Korean Job Discussion Forums

[bacasper]

US accelerating missile defenses in Gulf to harrass Iran and pacify Israel

By News Bulletin
Raw Story/AFP
Sunday, Jan 31, 2010

The US administration is speeding up deployment of defenses against potential Iranian missile attacks in the Gulf to heed off any possible retaliation, The New York Times reported Saturday.

The move involves placing specialized ships off the Iranian coast and anti-missile systems in at least four Arab countries -- Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Kuwait -- the Times said, citing administration and military officials.

Oman has also been approached, although no Patriot missiles have been deployed there yet, US officials told the newspaper, adding that the willingness of other Arab states to accept the US defenses reflects growing unease in the region over Iran's ambitions and capabilities.

"Our first goal is to deter the Iranians," a senior administration official told the newspaper. "A second is to reassure the Arab states, so they don't feel they have to go nuclear themselves. But there is certainly an element of calming the Israelis as well."

The deployments could also forestall any Iranian retaliation in response to the sanctions, as well as discourage staunch US ally Israel from launching a military strike against Tehran's nuclear and military facilities.

Washington is seeking to win over its allies to slap a fourth set of UN sanctions on Iran that would target the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps believed to control the military aspect of Tehran's controversial nuclear program.

Friday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton upped the pressure on China to recognize the threat from Iran's nuclear program -- which Washington and its Western allies aims to produce nuclear weapons despite Tehran's insistence otherwise -- and join international calls for sanctions.

General David Petraeus, who heads the US Central Command that oversees US military operations stretching from the Gulf to Central Asia, said the sped-up deployment of missile systems included eight Patriot missile batteries, "two in each of four countries."

more at link

[Kuros]

The American umbrella shades the Gulf sands

[Fox]

I don't think the placement of systems intended to defend against a nation which insists on creating and refining nuclear material and building up a nuclear industry is fairly categorized as harassment. The Iranians are not our allies; if they're insist on doing what they're doing, then building defensive systems in response to it is totally reasonable. If they don't intend on attacking, those systems have zero impact on them.

I honestly feel like the title of the article is misleading. Sure, there's an element of pacification of Israel here, but there are also other reasons for this action which are talked about in the article. Anyone emphasizing Israel to the exclusion of the other states which benefit from this -- especially while simultaneously categorizing this fairly rational move as "harassment" -- has motives which are dubious at best.

[Ya-ta Boy]

[Reggie]

These missile systems are probably interpreted by many or most to be a defensive measure against Iranian retaliatory attacks after Iran is attacked by Israel and/or the USA. I think a lot of people are worried about an attack on Iran, and not just Iranians. Any Earthling whose lifestyle is dependent on sub $200/barrel oil probably has a Maalox moment each time the Israelis talk about attacking Iran. Most people in the world, Israelis included, probably realize an Iranian attack on Israel is unlikely, whereas an Israeli attack on Iran (either directly or by American mercenaries) seems likely to the point of seeming almost inevitable.

If Israel or the USA bombs Iran, the people in the Green Zone are basically thrown under the bus and will need Patriot missile protection, and the oil production facilities in Iraq and the Arabian Peninsula will receive even more protection. That's what this is all about.

I really think if the USA and UK militaries weren't struggling against small bands of Sunni fighters in Iraq and Afghanistan and if Israel hadn't lost to Iran's junior varsity practice squad in Lebanon, we would probably have already gone to war with Iran and probably a few other countries on the invasion schedule.

[mises]

There is no evidence that Iran has had a nuke weapons program since 2002-3. None. Iran is not a threat to the United States. Iran is a threat to American soldiers in Iraq in the event of an Israeli attack on Iran.

We're going to get dragged into another war.

[bacasper]

Secret CIA-Mossad meeting, preparation for new war?

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 11:49:11 GMT

A secret meeting between CIA Director Leon Panetta and Israeli officials has reportedly centered on Iran's nuclear program.

In a secret flying visit to Israel on Thursday, Panetta reportedly discussed Iran's nuclear issue in a sit-down with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Mossad Chief Meir Dagan.

The trip follows a recent wave of developments in the MidEast that strongly imply preparations for a possible new military conflict in the region.

Israel has allegedly increased the scope of its undercover operations in the region, particularly against Lebanon, Iran, Syria and the Palestinian resistance movement, Hamas.

The extent of this could be seen in recent remarks by Israeli cabinet minister Yossi Peled, in which the former army general explicitly said that another confrontation with Lebanon's resistance movement Hezbollah was almost inevitable.

Lebanon's Prime Minister Saad Hariri responded to the claims on Thursday, saying that Israel's threats against Hezbollah are perceived as threats against Lebanon.

"We consider the Israeli threats on Lebanon to be a threat to the Lebanese government as a whole, rather than to one particular person," said Hariri during a joint news conference with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo, Reuters reported.

Meanwhile, Hamas officials say they have concrete evidence that the Mossad staged the recent assassination of a senior Hamas commander, Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, in Dubai on January 20.

Their claims have been somewhat supported by Dubai Police Chief Dhahi Khalfan.

"It could be Mossad," AFP quoted police Chief Dhahi Khalfan as saying on Sunday.

Sources in Turkey's ruling party said Israeli spy agents ran an advanced electronic monitoring station from the Ankara military headquarters to keep tabs on communication networks in Iran and Syria.

According to the sources who were speaking on condition of anonymity, the Signals Intelligence station was solely managed by Israeli intelligence personnel and had become off-limits for members of the Turkish government.

For years Israeli politicians have masterminded a wave of undercover operations and terror plots in numerous countries, including Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Iran, Switzerland, and the US.

However, much of Israel's espionage operations have lately been focused on the Tehran government, largely because of Iran's uranium enrichment activities, which Tel Aviv has been seeking to portray as a mortal threat.

Tel Aviv, which is reported to have an arsenal of 200 nuclear warheads itself, accuses Iran of developing nuclear weapons and routinely threatens to reduce the country's enrichment sites to rubble.

This is while Iran, unlike Israel, is a member of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and has opened its enrichment facilities to UN inspection.

[mises]

[bacasper]

[mises]

[Ya-ta Boy]

[Ya-ta Boy]

Here's a rather powerful 'ad' for next week's resistance demonstrations in Iran.

http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2010/02/a-landmark-statement.html

The Ashura demonstrations were more powerful than the ones before. Any bets on whether the Feb. 11 demos will be even more so?

If the Israelis were smart, they'd be smuggling guns into Iran.

[mises]

[caniff]

[Ya-ta Boy]