Courtesy: Asia Times Online: By Victor Kotsev: In general, sources report an increased rate of transfer of military equipment to American bases around the Middle East in the last few weeks and months. These are very clear preparations for war; yet they need not mean that a strike on Iran is imminent. Such an operation is a complicated endeavor, even for the US.
Just as Iran would need a certain period of time (known as breakout time) from the moment it leaves the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty to the moment it builds a bomb, so would the United States need a period of time from when it decides to strike to when it does. It could take weeks if not months to transfer the necessary military personnel, airplanes and (especially) supplies to bases in the region.
An attack on Iran is unlikely to remain limited to the numerous nuclear facilities; key other military facilities such as anti-aircraft batteries, missile bases and command-and-control structures will almost certainly be targeted as well. Protecting the Persian Gulf from Iranian mining crews would be no easy task, either. In brief, the United States is upping the ante in the brinkmanship game by shortening its own response time in the event of a war.
Categories: Asia, Iran, Israel, United States, War