Tuesday, July 17, 2012

The U.S. Is Not Only Beefing Up Their Naval Forces In The Middle East

A U.S. military facility in 2008 in the Negev desert in Israel that deploys an X-Band radar system. The Pentagon is building a new radar station in Qatar for an X-Band as part of a buildup to counter Iran. Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

Pentagon Bulks Up Defenses in the Gulf -- Wall Street Journal

The Pentagon is building a missile-defense radar station at a secret site in Qatar and organizing its biggest-ever minesweeping exercises in the Persian Gulf, as preparations accelerate for a possible flare-up with Iran, according to U.S. officials.

The radar site will complete the backbone of a system designed to defend U.S. interests and allies such as Israel and European nations against Iranian rockets, officials told The Wall Street Journal. The minesweeping exercises, in September, will be the first such multilateral drills in the region, and are expected to be announced by U.S. officials Tuesday.

The Pentagon's moves reflect concern that tensions with Iran could intensify as the full weight of sanctions targeting the country's oil exports takes hold this summer. Though U.S. officials described both the radar site and the naval exercises as defensive in nature, the deployments likely will be seen by Iran as provocations.

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My Comment: This is an indication that the U.S. (and its allies) are worried about Iran's missile program.

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