From my inbox - Viewpoint article

This one fit be better diversion make people no too worry about the crippling economy

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Special RADAR and Troops Deployed to Israel

U.S. European Command has deployed to Israel a high-powered
X-band radar and the supporting people and equipment needed
for coordinated defense against Iranian missile attack,
marking the first permanent U.S. military presence on
Israeli soil.

More than a dozen aircraft, including C-5s and C-17s,
helped with the Sept. 21 delivery of the AN/TPY-2
Transportable Radar Surveillance/ Forward Based X-band
Transportable, its ancillary components and some 120 EuCom
personnel to Israel's Nevatim Air Base southeast of
Beersheba, said sources here and in Stuttgart, Germany.

Among the U.S. personnel is at least one representative
from the Missile Defense Agency, although officials said
the agency had little to no say in the deployment decision.
MDA involvement has been confined to providing equipment
and advice on technical aspects of its deployment, one
official said.

The Raytheon-built FBX-T system is the same phased-array
radar that was deployed to northern Japan with the U.S.
Pacific Air Forces in 2006. The high-powered, high-
frequency, transportable X-band radar is designed to
detect and track ballistic missiles soon after launch.

Its ancillary gear included cooling systems, generators,
perimeter defense weaponry, logistics supplies and dozens
of technicians, maintenance specialists and security forces
to operate and defend the U.S. installation.

EuCom has repeatedly deployed troops and Patriot air
defense batteries for joint exercises and Iraq-related
wartime contingencies but has never before permanently
deployed troops on Israeli soil.

A EuCom spokesman declined to comment. MDA officials
referred to the U.S. State Department, which did not
provide comment Friday.

An Israeli military spokesman said the Israel Defense
Forces enjoys long-standing strategic cooperation with
all branches of the U.S. military.

"This cooperation is varied and comes in multiple forms,
and it is not our practice to discuss details of our
bilateral activities," he said.

Nevertheless, in previous interviews, U.S. and Israeli
officials confirmed that the X-band deployment plan was
approved in July, first by Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of
the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and his Israeli counterpart,
Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi; and then by Defense Secretary
Robert Gates and Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak.

SHAVING MINUTES FROM REACTION TIME

The radar will be linked to the U.S. Joint Tactical
Ground Station, which receives and processes threat data
transmitted by U.S. Defense Support System satellites.
According to U.S. and Israeli sources, JTAGS will remain
in Europe, but its essential cueing data will stream into
the forward-deployed X-band radar, where it instantaneously
shares information with Israel’s Arrow Weapon System.

Once operational, the combined U.S. and Israeli system
is expected to double or even triple the range at which
Israel can detect, track and ultimately intercept Iranian
missiles, according to Lt. Gen. Henry Obering, director
of the MDA.

During a visit to Israel in early August, Obering said the
X-Band radar could add precious minutes to the time in
which Israel has to respond to incoming missile attacks.

"The missile threat from Iran is very real, and we must
stay ahead of the threat, that's why we're working so
hard with all our allies to put the most optimized,
effective, anti-missile capabilities in place," Obering
said.

"In the context of Israel, if we can take the radar out
here and tie it into the Arrow Weapon System, they'll be
able to launch that interceptor way before they could with
an autonomous system," he added.

Brig. Gen. Ilan Biton of the Israel Air Force reserves, a
former commander of the nation's air defense forces, could
not comment on the latest developments associated with the
X-band radar. However, he said that an IAF air defense
brigade established during his 2003-06 tenure has
continuously demonstrated its ability to interoperate well
with American forces.

"We advanced tremendously on multiple levels and have
developed very impressive cooperation, " Biton said at a
Sept. 22 conference in Herzliya. Referring to bilateral
Juniper Cobra air defense exercises and the 2003 deployment
of Patriot batteries prior to the U.S.-led invasion of
Iraq, Biton noted, "At the human level, we've developed a
common language and at the technical level, we’ve put in
place the interfaces that allow our systems to speak to one
another."

The end result, according to Biton, is a combined ability
"to manage battles, execute debriefs and implement
corrections, all in real time."

TWIN MESSAGES

As U.S. public affairs officers last week debated whether
to publicly disclose the Israel deployment, Iranian
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, at a U.N. General Assembly
meeting in New York, continued to defend his country's
nuclear enrichment and missile development program.

"Iran's [nuclear] activities are peaceful," Ahmadinejad
said Sept. 23, adding that in Israel, "the Zionist regime
is on a definite slope to collapse."

A U.S. government source said the X-band deployment and
other bilateral alliance-bolstering activities send
parallel messages: "First, we want to put Iran on
notice that we're bolstering our capabilities through-
out the region, and especially in Israel. But just as
important, we're telling the Israelis, 'Calm down;
behave. We're doing all we can to stand by your side and
strengthen defenses, because at this time, we don't want
you rushing into the military option.'"

But in Israel, frustration is mounting at what is roundly
perceived as a lack of international resolve to halt Iran's
nuclear weapons drive. At a Sept. 21 meeting of the Israeli
Cabinet, an Israeli military intelligence officer reported
that Iran is accelerating the pace at which it enriches
uranium, and that Tehran already possesses possibly half
of the fissionable material needed to produce its first
nuclear warhead.

Reflecting Israeli concern about the ineffectiveness of
sanctions against Tehran, Brig. Gen. Yossi Baidatz, head
of Military Intelligence' s research department, reported,
"The international front against Iran is weak and not
consolidated, and isn't putting enough pressure on the
regime to stop enriching uranium."

According to selected excerpts from the briefing released
by the Israeli prime minister's office, Baidatz warned that
Iran is "galloping toward a nuclear bomb."

"The sanctions have very little influence and are far from
bringing to bear a critical mass of pressure on Iran," he
added.

Vago Muradian contributed to this report from Washington,
Barbara Opall-Rome from Tel Aviv.

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Israel and the US will continue to provoke Iran. These people can't find a good enough reason yet, but they would soon find a reason to attack Iran, trust me.

sleek_p:

Israel and the US will continue to provoke Iran. These people can't find a good enough reason yet, but they would soon find a reason to attack Iran, trust me.

I think Iran should shown that khaki ain't leather.

sleek_p:

Israel and the US will continue to provoke Iran. These people can't find a good enough reason yet, but they would soon find a reason to attack Iran, trust me.

Reasons such as Ahmedinejad's quotes and Iran's clear support for Hamas and Hezbollah?