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U.S. and Gulf Allies Pursue a Missile Shield Against Iranian Attack
(New York Times) Thom Shanker - The U.S. and its Arab allies are knitting together a regional missile defense system across the Persian Gulf to protect cities, oil refineries, pipelines and military bases from an Iranian attack. The Pentagon late last year announced a contract for the sale of two advanced missile defense radars to the United Arab Emirates. And early this year, officials disclosed that a similar high-resolution, X-band missile defense radar would be located in Qatar. The objective in the gulf is shared by a more widely publicized missile defense shield being installed in Europe to deter and, if required, to blunt the effect of any Iranian attack. The next challenge is coaxing gulf nations to put aside their rivalries and share early warning radar data, and then integrate the capabilities of their unilateral missile interceptor systems to extend defenses over the entire region. While all six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council share concerns over Iran, all have resisted multilateral security initiatives.