- Deputy US army chief, Gen. James Cartwright and defense
secretary Robert Gates amplified President Barack Obama's statement on
the US missile shield in East Europe in Washington Thursday, Sept. 17,
by announcing that a new and better anti-missile missile system would be
deployed in Israel and the Caucasus.
-
- DEBKAfile discloses exclusively that the system
would be installed at a Russian military base in Azerbaijan. Referring
to the Israeli component, he said: "It is already working perfectly."
-
- DEBKAfile's military sources disclose he was referring
to the advanced American FBX-T radar system deployed last year in Israel's
Negev base at Nevatim, which is capable of tracking a missile launched
from the Persian Gulf, the Middle East and beyond. The system, product
of Raytheon, is mobile and capable of detecting incoming bodies the size
of a baseball from a distance of 4,700 km, determining its speed and angle
of flight and transmitting the data to an interceptor at any point on earth.
-
- DEBKAfile reported earlier Thursday:
-
- The Obama administration's decision to shelve the plan
to install US missile interceptors and radar systems in Poland and the
Czech Republic was released Thursday, Sept. 17. The shield was promoted
by the Bush administration in the face of strong Russian opposition for
the purpose of shielding Europe from long-range Iranian ballistic missile
attack.
-
- DEBKAfile reports that Barack Obama's decision prompted
Russian president Dmitry Medvedev's surprise comment Monday, Sept. 14,
that his government no longer rules out further sanctions against Iran
- although the Kremlin has always denied its cooperation with the US on
the Iranian nuclear issue was contingent on the removal of the US missile
shield plan.
-
- DEBKA-Net-Weekly in its coming issue (out Friday)
will reveal how the shared US-Russian wish to avert an Israeli military
strike against Iran produced Obama's decision to ditch the missile shield
in East Europe.
-
- Our Washington sources report that the decision follows
a 60-day assessment of the issue announced by Obama. "The US will
base its decision on a determination that Iran's long-range missile program
has not progressed as rapidly as previously estimated, reducing the threat
to the continental US and major European capitals," said unnamed current
and former US officials.
-
- On Aug. 29, DEBKAfile reported exclusively
from East European sources that Washington was considering the transfer
of its missile plan from Poland and the Czech Republic possibly to Israel
and Turkey.
- http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=6242
-
- This decision is an important foreign policy step for
Obama; it is a prize for Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin, who fought
the US shield plan on Russia's doorstep tooth and nail, and a major strategic
reversal for Iran. Moscow's cooperation removes a key obstacle on the road
to harsh sanctions against Iran. Acting in concert with Moscow, Washington
can dispense with Beijing's endorsement.
-
- Nonetheless, DEBKAfile's Moscow sources stress,
it is not entirely clear how far the Kremlin is willing to go in partnering
the US drive against Iran. Russian leaders will take good care not to appear
to the Muslim and Arab world as Iran's enemy or a trading and diplomatic
partner who reneges on its commitments. http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=6271
|
