روما بت
ماه بت
پین باهیس
بهترین سایت شرط بندی
بت کارت
یاس بت
یک بت
مگاپاری
اونجا بت
alvinbet.org
بت برو
بت فا
بت فوروارد
وان ایکس بت
1win giriş
بت وینر
بهترین سایت شرط بندی ایرانی
1xbet giriş
وان کیک بت
وین بت
ریتزو بت
1xbet-ir.com.co/
https://www.symbaloo.com/mix/paperiounblocked2?lang=EN https://www.symbaloo.com/mix/agariounblockedschool1?lang=EN https://yohoho-io.app/ https://2.yohoho-io.net/paper.io unblocked https://www.symbaloo.com/mix/yohoho-unblocked-76?lang=EN https://www.symbaloo.com/mix/agariounblockedpvp https://www.symbaloo.com/mix/yohoho?lang=EN
HomeNewsUS Pulls Patriot Missiles From Middle East as Focus Shifts to China,...

US Pulls Patriot Missiles From Middle East as Focus Shifts to China, Russia

Published on

The Pentagon is removing Patriot missile systems from several Middle Eastern countries next month, in a move that the Wall Street Journal says coincides with a “realignment of forces and capabilities as the military steps up its focus on threats from China and Russia,” citing multiple senior military officials.

The relocation of the systems out of the Middle East, which hasn’t been previously disclosed, is one of the most tangible signs of the Pentagon’s new focus on threats from Russia and China and away from the long-running conflicts in the Middle East and Afghanistan.

Two Patriot missile systems will be redeployed from Kuwait, and one each from Jordan and Bahrain, officials said. Patriots are mobile missile systems capable of shooting down missiles and planes.

The four systems have been taken offline and will be redeployed by next month, officials said. There are no plans for any of them to be replaced, and they are being returned to the U.S. for refurbishing and upgrades, an official said.” –WSJ

While some Patriot systems will remain in the region, removal of the four batteries “amounts to a major drawdown of the capability Patriots provide in the region,” notes the Journal, which adds that their removal also comes amid the White House intensifying its rhetoric against Iran and “amid an increasingly complex battlefield in Syria.”

According to a 48-page report issued Tuesday by the State Department, Iran’s missile programs pose a significant threat, and the Islamic Republic maintains “a stockpile of hundreds of missiles that threaten its neighbors in the region.”

Patriot missile systems deployed around the world utilize what is referred to as “point defense” – providing defensive capabilities over a smaller radius to shoot down aircraft, while the newest version of the system, the PAC-3, can shoot down missiles as well. Their effective range is only in the dozens of miles, so they are typically located near bases or other sensitive installations they are intended to protect.

Patriot systems owned by Saudi Arabia are used there frequently, for example, regularly shooting down missiles fired from Yemen, where a civil war has raged since 2015.

American allies in the region have depended on such missile-defense systems for years. The systems play both a real and symbolic role in countering the threat posed by nearby Iran. Bahrain, in particular, has grown concerned about Iran-backed groups and other Shiite militias destabilizing the small island nation.” –WSJ

Washington’s move comes as Russia announced the deployment of their S-300 anti-aircraft system to the Syrian government, following the downing of a Russian Il-20 plane due to outdated Syrian air-defense systems.

Top Photo | In this Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2017 photograph released by the U.S. Defense Department, German soldiers assigned to Surface Air and Missile Defense Wing 1, fire the Patriot weapons system at the NATO Missile Firing Installation in Chania, Greece. Online videos are raising new questions about Saudi Arabia’s claims that it has intercepted nearly every ballistic missile launched by Shiite rebels in Yemen with its own Patriot missile systems. (Sebastian Apel/U.S. Department of Defense, via AP)

© ZeroHedge

The post US Pulls Patriot Missiles From Middle East as Focus Shifts to China, Russia appeared first on MintPress News.

Latest articles

PDF of July 10 issue

PDF of July 10 issue – Workers World Copyright © 2024 Workers.org

Penn sells out trans athletes

Home » LGBTQIA2S+ liberation » Penn sells out trans athletes Lia Thomas Philadelphia The University of Pennsylvania caved to pressure and struck an agreement on July 1 with the Trump administration to ban trans athletes. In exchange, the government restored $175 million in federal funds to the university. In March, Trump paused the federal funding,…

On the Picket Line

Philadelphia museum workers ready to join ranks of striking unions There can be no doubt that Philly is a union town! The essential city workers of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees District Council 33 are doubling down against Mayor Cherelle Parker. In a historic strike, the first in almost 40 years, D.C.…

Tiger Teams to Concentration Camps: ICE and its Connections to Israeli Intelligence

This week on State of Play, host Greg Stoker is joined by Jalyssa Dugrot, an independent journalist recently arrested while covering anti-ICE protests for MintPress News in Los Angeles, and Robert Inlakesh, a Middle East analyst and MintPress contributor known for his reporting on politics, repression, and empire, to examine a rapidly expanding surveillance regime…

More like this

PDF of July 10 issue

PDF of July 10 issue – Workers World Copyright © 2024 Workers.org

Penn sells out trans athletes

Home » LGBTQIA2S+ liberation » Penn sells out trans athletes Lia Thomas Philadelphia The University of Pennsylvania caved to pressure and struck an agreement on July 1 with the Trump administration to ban trans athletes. In exchange, the government restored $175 million in federal funds to the university. In March, Trump paused the federal funding,…

On the Picket Line

Philadelphia museum workers ready to join ranks of striking unions There can be no doubt that Philly is a union town! The essential city workers of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees District Council 33 are doubling down against Mayor Cherelle Parker. In a historic strike, the first in almost 40 years, D.C.…