Tag: middle east

Geopolitical Events Could Escalate To Global War

The latest reports coming out of the Middle East indicate that Israel and Hezbollah have each drafted “battle plans” of their own and are currently trying to obtain more weapons in preparation for a significant war. Another potential escalation could be the pact between Russia and North Korea, both enemies of the West.

The news coming from the Middle East came straight from two senior American officials who were briefed on intelligence about the moves, which contradicted public statements by both sides that they were not interested in going to war. According to a report by Politico, officials believe that the risk of a major escalation is higher than it has been in a long time.

Israel continues to pursue its goal of the elimination of Hamas, while Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon could throw even more fuel on the fire. Iran has been warning that should the IDF enter southern Lebanon, the Jewish state should expect an “obliterating war.”

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Don’t Be Fooled, Push for Normalization Is About US Dominance

While Israel continues its military siege of Gaza, the United States is trying to exploit the situation with the goal of strengthening U.S. power in the Middle East.

Rather than seeking a long-term solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict, the United States is prioritizing its longstanding goal of normalizing relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia. With such a deal, which would require calm in Gaza to bring Saudi Arabia on board, the United States would further marginalize the Palestinians while more tightly integrating Israel into its regional network of alliances and partnerships.

“I think we’re at a point where the necessary agreements between the United States and Saudi Arabia are very well within reach,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Congress last month.

The U.S. Approach

For decades, the United States has dominated the Middle East. A key to U.S. power has been the U.S.-led network of alliances and partnerships that includes Israel and the Arab states. It enables the United States to station tens of thousands of soldiers across the Middle East and quickly surge additional forces into the area.

“It’s a vast strategic advantage,” Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin explained in 2021, referring to the U.S.-led network. “It is unmatched. It is unparalleled. And it is unrivaled.”

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Biden Deploys Record Number of Troops to Jordan in Quiet Buildup

As the war in Gaza rages, the Biden administration has deployed a record number of U.S. troops to Jordan, a new report to Congress reveals. The troop buildup has not been previously reported.

There are now a record 3,813 American troops in Jordan, according to the White House’s war powers report to Congress released on June 7. That’s a 625 troop increase over December, with the number of soldiers and airmen exceeding the number at any time since the second Gulf War and the invasion of Iraq, a review of past war powers reports reveals.

The Biden administration has sought to keep quiet its close military ties to Jordan, with the White House national security council instructing State Department communications officials to avoid mentioning its military coordination with the country in particular, according to internal memos I’ve reviewed. When Iran fired missiles and drones at Israel in April, Jordan was a key partner in shooting them down, and Jordan even allowed Israeli planes to operate in Jordanian airspace. Jordan as a partner of Israel is a particularly sensitive issue, hence the desire on the part of Washington to keep talk of Jordan to a minimum.

The President’s war powers report to Congress is intended to keep the American public informed about situations in which U.S. military forces might find themselves in combat.  In the case of Jordan, this isn’t a hypothetical: in January, an Iran-backed militia group killed three American Army soldiers stationed at a secret U.S. military base in Jordan, called Tower-22. Since October 7, Iran-backed groups have launched over 170 attacks on U.S. military assets in Syria, Iraq and Jordan. The Biden administration has repeatedly tried to downplay these attacks, insisting that the Israel-Hamas war has not spread to the rest of the region. The war powers report makes no mention of Iran-backed groups, saying only that U.S. troops are there to “support Defeat-ISIS operations, to enhance Jordan’s security, and to promote regional stability.”

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Meteorologist warns of ‘weather wars’ between countries after Dubai floods were blamed on ‘cloud seeding’ – with ‘catastrophic’ consequences

A meteorologist has warned of looming ‘weather wars’ between countries if ‘cloud seeding’ gets out of hand – after flooding in Dubai spawned concerns about artificially manipulating the rainfall.

Johan Jaques, a senior meteorologist at environmental technology company KISTERS, warned there could be ‘unintended consequences’ to using the relatively young technology, potentially leading to ‘diplomatic instability’.

‘Any time we interfere with natural precipitation patterns, we set off a chain of events that we have little control over,’ he said.

‘Interference with the weather also raises all kinds of ethical questions, as changing the weather in one country could lead to perhaps unintended yet catastrophic impacts in another. After all, the weather does not recognise international borders.’

Extreme weather, and concerns about climate change and possible manipulation, have received attention in recent days with flooding in Dubai causing widespread disruption and damage to infrastructure.

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Laser Rocket Anti-Drone Systems Being Rushed To U.S. Forces In The Middle East

The U.S. Navy recently put in a rush order for new counter-drone systems that use laser-guided 70mm rockets as their effectors to help defend American forces in the Middle East. The Electronic Advanced Ground Launcher System (EAGLS) is very similar in form and function to U.S.-supplied VAMPIREs that Ukrainians are now using in combat. The purchase of the EAGLS came just days ahead of Iran’s unprecedented missile and drone strikes on Israel, which have only added to long-standing concerns about uncrewed aerial and other threats to U.S. forces in the region.

Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) announced on April 12 that it had awarded a firm-fixed-price contract with a not-to-exceed value of $24,186,464 to MSI Defense Solutions for the purchase of five EAGLS Counter-Unmanned Aerial Systems (C-UAS). This sole-source deal also includes various ancillary items and training support.

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ISRAEL CONFLICT SPREADS TO 16 NATIONS AS BIDEN ADMIN SAYS THERE’S NO WAR

THE REGIONAL WAR in the Middle East now involves at least 16 different countries and includes the first strikes from Iranian territory on Israel, but the United States continues to insist that there is no broader war, hiding the extent of American military involvement. And yet in response to Iran’s drone and missile attacks Saturday, the U.S. flew aircraft and launched air defense missiles from at least eight countries, while Iran and its proxies fired weapons from Iraq, Syria, and Yemen.

The news media has been complicit in its portrayal of the regional war as nonexistent. “Biden Seeks to Head Off Escalation After Israel’s Successful Defense,” the New York Times blared this morning, ignoring that the conflict had already spread. “Iran attacks Israel, risking a full-blown regional war,” says The Economist. “Some top U.S. officials are worried that Israel may respond hastily to Iran’s unprecedented drone and missile attacks and provoke a wider regional conflict that the U.S. could get dragged into,” says NBC, parroting the White House’s deception.

The Washington-based reporting follows repeated Biden administration statements that none of this amounts to a regional war. “So far, there is not … a wider regional conflict,” Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said on Thursday, in response to a question about Israel’s strike on the Iranian Embassy. Ryder’s statement followed repeated assertions by Iranian leadership that retaliation would follow — and even a private message from the Iranians to the U.S. that if it helped defend Israel, the U.S. would also be a viable target — after which the White House reiterated its “ironclad” support for Israel.

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Gulf Allies Warn US Not To Launch Strikes On Iran From Their Territory

America’s Gulf allies say they don’t want to get caught in the crossfire of any potential US/Israel and Iran shooting war. The United States has made it clear that it is ready to assist Israel in any potential response to Iranian attack. Tehran is poised to imminently retaliate for the April 1st Israeli airstrikes on its embassy in Damascus.

The Arab Gulf countries are worried that the US could launch attacks on Iran from their territories or airspace. Middle East Eye (MEE) reports, “Gulf monarchies are urging the US not to use American military bases on their territories to strike in response to any potential Iranian attack on Israel,” according to security sources.

“The US’s Gulf allies are working overtime to shut down avenues that could link them to a US reprisal against Tehran or its proxies from bases inside their kingdoms, according to a senior US official who spoke with MEE on condition of anonymity,” the report continues. 

This is to include warplanes, as the US Air Forces utilizes various airbases in the region. US allies said to have expressed serious concern include Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Oman and Kuwait.

Naturally, these countries are worried that Iran could strike back directly on their territories in response to any potential US strikes.

MEE writes that these have “raised questions about the intricate details of basing agreements that permit tens of thousands of US troops to be stationed across the oil-rich peninsula.” Further, “They are also moving to prevent US warplanes from flying over their airspace in the event the US conducts a retaliatory strike on Iran.”

Rumors have persisted throughout Friday that some countries have even warned that US troops could be banned from their territories should the US carry out aggression against Iran from out of the Gulf region, but such specific threats of shuttering bases have not been confirmed.

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Pentagon Using AI Program to Identify Targets in Middle East and Ukraine

A defense official said that US Central Command (CENTCOM) has deployed an AI program to help identify targets to bomb in Iraq, Syria, and Yemen. The US used the AI targeting system dubbed “Project Maven” to locate Russian targets that were destroyed by Ukrainian forces.  

A senior CENTCOM official speaking with Bloomberg said AI systems helped to identify alleged rocket launchers in Yemen. The outlet described the statement made by Schuyler Moore, CENTCOM chief technology officer, as the “strongest known confirmation that the US military is using the [AI] to identify enemy targets that were subsequently hit by weapons’ fire.”

“We’ve been using computer vision to identify where there might be threats,” Moore told Bloomberg. She went on to say that the program has accelerated due to the situation in Israel. “October 7th everything changed,” CENTCOM’s CTO explained.

“We immediately shifted into high gear and a much higher operational tempo than we had previously,” Moore added, saying US forces were able to make “a pretty seamless shift” to Maven after a year of digital exercises.

Chief Warrant Officer 4 Joey Temple explained the value of Maven is increasing the number of targets a soldier can sign off on. He estimates that the number of targets could be boosted from 30 to 80 per hour. 

According to Bloomberg, he “describes the process of concurring with the algorithm’s conclusions in a rapid staccato: ‘Accept. Accept. Accept.’” Moore also expressed this view, stating, “The benefit that you get from algorithms is speed.”

While Moore touted the program’s deployment, it is unclear if it has had any positive impact on achieving US goals in Yemen. Washington has admitted that recent strikes on Houthi positions have failed to erode the group’s military capabilities.

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US Deploys Anti-Drone Laser Systems in the Middle East to Field Test Prototypes

The Department of Defense has deployed four laser systems designed to intercept drones and rockets in the Middle East. The Pentagon has been developing a laser-style interceptor to reduce the cost of shooting down UAVs and rockets. 

Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. James Mingus announced the new deployment of Directed Energy Maneuver Short Range Air Defense (DE M-SHORAD) prototypes to the Middle East. The Army developed the weapons system in coordination with RTX, formerly Raytheon. The former employer of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, RTX, has received over $100 million to develop the platform. 

DE M-SHORAD, according to RTX, is a 50-kilowatt vehicle-mounted laser designed to intercept drones, missiles, and rockets at short range. RTX and the Pentagon believe laser systems will be a cheaper alternative for downing cheap drones and rockets. 

The four interceptors deployed to the Middle East are mounted on Stryker armored vehicles. The 2024 Pentagon funding bill authorized nearly $700 million in spending on the development and procurement of DE M-SHORAD systems. 

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The Killing of 3 American Troops Was an Avoidable Tragedy

American blood has been drawn in a Middle Eastern war for the first time in a while. Iraqi guerrillas allied with Iran killed three U.S. troops and wounded dozens more along the Jordanian-Syrian border on Sunday, using an explosive drone. President Joe Biden has promised to “all those responsible to account at a time and in a manner of our choosing.” Members of Congress have called for a harsh response, with some Republicans demanding a full-on war against Iran.

The government of Jordan, clearly not keen on getting dragged into the conflict, has denied that the attack happened on its side of the border. Iran shrugged off responsibility for the bombing, insisting that the issue is entirely between the United States and “resistance groups in Iraq and Syria.” The Iraqi fighters may have indeed been acting on their own accord. Iraqi commander Qais al-Khazali had complained about U.S. airstrikes on Iraq in a speech last November: “You are cautious when it comes to Iranian blood, but you pay no regard to Iraqi blood. Therefore, Iraqis should teach you a lesson for what you have done.”

The immediate cause of the violence is the war in Gaza, which prompted Iraqi militias to break a truce they had with the U.S. military. But this particular attack was a long time coming. The target was Tower 22, an extension of al-Tanf, a base that the U.S. military maintains in Syria for murky and confusing purposes. Over the past few years, Israeli aircraft have used al-Tanf’s airspace to strike Iran’s forces, and Iranian forces have struck back at the base. It was only a matter of time before Americans were dragged into the proxy war, with tragic results.

U.S. Special Forces had first set up shop in al-Tanf during the war against the Islamic State. Their plan was to support the Revolutionary Commando Army, a friendly Syrian rebel group. That project failed embarrassingly. The Revolutionary Commando Army suffered a major defeat at the hands of the Islamic State in 2016, and one of its leaders ran off with American-made guns after he was accused of drug trafficking in 2020. Kurdish-led forces elsewhere in Syria became a much more reliable partner for the U.S. military.

Meanwhile, Russia—which is allied with the Iranian and Syrian governments—agreed to enforce a 55 kilometer “deconfliction zone” around al-Tanf. The zone also included Rukban, an unofficial refugee camp built by Syrians fleeing government persecution. (The Syrian government reportedly tortured two former Rukban residents to death in October 2022.) No country wanted to take responsibility for the camp, and it took almost a decade for the U.S. military to begin providing food aid to Rukban.

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