http://www.jpost.com/IranianThreat/N...aspx?id=167332
US rushes Gulf defense systems
By AP AND JPOST.COM STAFF
31/01/2010 01:12
The United States has begun beefing up its approach to defending its Persian Gulf allies against potential Iranian missile strikes, officials say. The defenses are being stepped up in advance of possible increased sanctions against Iran.
The Obama administration has quietly increased the capability of land-based Patriot defensive missiles in several Gulf Arab nations, and one military official said the Navy is increasing the presence of ships capable of knocking out hostile missiles in flight….
One military official said the adjustments in the Gulf should be seen as prudent defensive measures designed to deter Iran from taking aggressive action in the region, more than as a signal that Washington expects Iran to retaliate for any additional sanctions.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton consulted with numerous allies during a visit to London this week. She told reporters that the evident failure of US offers to engage Iran in negotiations over its nuclear program means the US will now press for additional sanctions against the Iranian government.
Gen. David Petraeus, the US Central Command chief who is responsible for US military operations across the Middle East, mentioned in several recent public speeches one element of the defensive strategy in the Gulf: upgrading Patriot missile systems, which originally were deployed in the region to shoot down aircraft but now can hit missiles in flight.
In remarks at Georgetown Law School on Jan. 21, Petraeus said the US now has eight Patriot missile batteries stationed in the Gulf region — two each in four countries. He did not name the countries, but Kuwait has long been known to have Patriots on its territory.
A military official said Saturday that the three other countries are the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain — which also hosts the US Navy's 5th Fleet headquarters — and Qatar, home to a modernized US air operations center that has played a key role in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
In related news, the American political Web site Politico.com reported Saturday that CIA director Leon Panetta traveled to Israel last week.
According to the report, Panetta met with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, with Defense Minister Ehud Barak and with Mossad chief Meir Dagan. The three, according to an unnamed Israeli official quoted by the Web site, discussed Iran as well as bilateral relations.
Panetta also traveled to Egypt and met with intelligence chief Omar Suleiman and other officials during the same tour. The Jerusalem Post could not verify the report.
Meanwhile, President Shimon Peres met with new International Atomic Energy Agency head Yukiya Amano on Saturday, the first time a senior Israeli official has met the head of the UN nuclear watchdog organization….
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Video and a transcript of Gen Patraeus’s remarks of Jan. 22nd in Washington D.C. are available here:
http://www.understandingwar.org/pres...petraeus-video
Video of his remarks at Georgetown Law School on Jan. 21st is available here:
http://www.law.georgetown.edu/webcas...fm?eventID=998
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