The United States is moving deeper into the Middle East conflict after announcing a pivotal move to send troops to Israel this week.
On Monday, the Biden administration announced it would provide Israel with one of America's advanced THAAD missile defense systems. This is as Iran prepares for possible Iranian retaliation against Israel's planned counterattack after Tehran rained missiles on Tel Aviv on October 1st.
Only the U.S. military can operate the system, and 100 of them will be deployed to Israel. The Pentagon only has seven operational Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) batteries, and Israel will likely only have one of the seven.
The U.S. government has armed Israel since its founding, but stepping on the ground to defend Israel is an unusual departure from U.S. policy and the first U.S. military since war broke out after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack. He was sent to Israel.
“This is kind of unprecedented,” said E. J. Kimpton, policy director for the American Israel Education Association.
“You know, Israel's mantra is 'never again,' which means we will defend ourselves by ourselves and obviously cooperate with our allies, but we will defend our country rather than relying on other countries. That means they should be able to do that,” Kimpton continued. “This changes the dynamic between the United States and Israel in the long-standing Israeli war.”
The THAAD system provides a portable, rapidly deployable capability to intercept and destroy ballistic missiles. (Missile Defense Agency/U.S. Department of Defense)
“If Iran carries out additional attacks, this would essentially be the first time Americans have actively participated in a war with Israel.”
Prime Minister Netanyahu attacks Biden administration, says Israel, not the US, will decide how to deal with Iran
The United States has shifted its focus from forcing Israel into a cease-fire to containing the war in the Middle East, and appears to have accepted the fate of American involvement in the conflict.
The United States has about 43,000 troops elsewhere in the Middle East, and has sent “several thousand” to the region in recent weeks to help defend Israel if needed.
“It is inevitable to see it as something else. [than escalation]The US is currently sending troops. We didn’t do that in Ukraine,” Trita Parsi, deputy director of the Quincy Institute for Responsible States and Strategy, told FOX News Digital.
The dispatch of US troops to Ukraine is not the beginning of US discourse. A common argument among proponents is that such aid would free the U.S. military from having to put itself in Russia's line of fire.
“I think it's a very serious step by the administration to put our soldiers in such a vulnerable situation for a purpose that may ultimately result in American casualties and is not for the defense of America itself. ” Parsi said.
In the past, Iran has targeted Israeli military facilities, including air defense systems. The THAAD system is expected to be able to intercept ballistic missiles launched from Iran and Yemen, and to shoot down short-range missiles launched by Hezbollah from Lebanon.
Others wonder why the government is supplying the system without effectively avoiding conflict or U.S. involvement. Israel's mission to eradicate Hezbollah and Hamas has now been drawn into direct conflict with Iran, and any hope for peace appears to have quickly disappeared.
“Why do we deploy critical defense systems like THAAD to Israel, yet continue to put U.S. forces at risk in Iraq and Syria without a clear mission or defense strategy?” United Veterans of America asked Jason Beardsley, a senior adviser to the coalition.
The THAAD system is installed on the C-17 Globemaster III of the 4th Airlift Squadron at Fort Bliss, Texas. (Sergeant Corey D. Payne/U.S. Air Force/Associated Press)
Israeli air strikes on the southern Lebanese border town of Qiam, causing thick smoke to rise. (Stringer/Photo Alliance, via Getty Images)
“The reality is that we are funding both sides of this conflict – directly supporting Iraq, where Iranian-backed militias are targeting our troops, while addressing real vulnerabilities. “We are indirectly supporting Israel's defense without doing so: U.S. military personnel scattered across the Middle East, along with Iranian proxies, are actively targeting our forces.”
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The United States has about 2,500 troops in Iraq and is leading a coalition providing extensive support to Iraqi security forces fighting ISIS. But Iran has already tightened its grip on the mission carried out by Baghdad and its forces.
THAAD would support Israel's other missile defenses in a situation where the Biden administration could be preparing for an escalation from an aggressive Iranian counterattack to an aggressive Israeli counterattack.
For two weeks, the world has been waiting to see how Israel would respond to Iran's firing of 200 missiles into central Tel Aviv.
Israel's violent attitude could deter Iran from opting for a larger fight. But in the Biden administration's view, a disproportionate response risks retaliation and could lead to all-out war.
President Biden may have offered the system as a way to persuade Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to follow his recommendations. This is to ensure that Israel's response to Iranian missile attacks is “proportional” by attacking military facilities rather than nuclear or oil facilities.
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“I think the administration thinks that by offering this they can persuade Israelis not to go to that extent,” Parsi said.
“If you really want to end this, sending the same system that actually facilitates Israeli escalation is not the answer…Discerning who is actually making the policy and what that policy is. It can be very difficult.”
Netanyahu reportedly told Biden during a phone conversation last week that he was prepared to attack military facilities. Washington Post report. But after the report, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that he would not base any decision on Biden's claims of proportionality. “We will listen to the U.S. opinion, but ultimately we will make a decision based on national interests,” he said.
