In an effort to help protect Israel possibly from nuclear threat from Iran, the U.S. is considering deploying missile defense radar to the beleaguered country.
A source speaking on the condition of anonymity told Agence France-Presse that the “idea here is to help Israel create a layered missile defense capability to protect it from all sorts of threats in the region, near and far.”
At a meeting with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Robert Gates, secretary of the U.S. Department of Defense, agreed to “explore” the possibility of sharing missile early warning launch information and funding two projects that would defend against short-range rockets and mortars.
According to Agence France-Presse, the defense missile radar is X-band, which can “target the warhead of a long or medium range missile in space.” The U.S. has plans to deploy X-band radar to the Czech Republic and has already deployed the radar to Japan.
Israel has been involved in an ongoing conflict with the Palestinians over which group will occupy the same area of land. Whether the disagreements eventually are resolved in a two-state or binational solution, who knows? That’s a separate issue from the more pressing one: neighbors with nuclear weapons. Let’s hope the decades-old goal of “peace in the Middle East” (not to mention nuclear bomb-free) will be reached in our lifetimes.
Source: Agence France-Presse
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Will the U.S. Deploy Missile Defense Radar to Israel?
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