US Trains Arab Air Forces For War With Iran
Telegraph:
The American air force is working with military leaders from the Gulf to train and prepare Arab air forces for a possible war with Iran, The Sunday Telegraph can reveal.
An air warfare conference in Washington last week was told how American air chiefs have helped to co-ordinate intelligence-sharing with Gulf Arab nations and organise combined exercises designed to make it easier to fight together.
Gen Michael Mosley, the US Air Force chief of staff, used the conference to seek closer links with allies whose support America might need if President George W Bush chooses to bomb Iran.
Pentagon air chiefs have helped set up an air warfare centre in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) where Gulf nations are training their fighter pilots and America has big bases. It is modelled on the US Air Force warfare centre at Nellis air force base in Nevada.
Jordan and the UAE have both taken part in combined exercises designed to make sure their air forces can fly, and fight, together and with American jets.
The conference was long-planned to discuss developments in air warfare technology, but the question of possible hostilities involving Iran was discussed.
Bruce Lemkin, the American air force deputy under-secretary for international affairs, said: “We need friends and partners with the capabilities to take care of their own security and stability in their regions and, through the relationship, the inter-operability and the will to join us in coalitions when appropriate…
“On its most basic level, it’s about flying together, operating together and training together so, if we have to, we can fight together.”
While it is unlikely that America’s Gulf allies would join any US air strike against suspected nuclear targets in Iran, their co-operation might be required to allow passage of warplanes though their airspace. American defence officials are also keen that Iran’s Arab neighbours prepare to deal with any Iranian attempt to target them in return.
Lt Gen Prince Faisal bin Al Hussein, who is special assistant to the chief of staff of the Jordanian armed forces, said “concern at Iran’s attempt to establish itself as a regional superpower” had led to greater co-operation, “not just at the inter-service level but also at the political level”.
He said the new air warfare centre had allowed them to “exchange information and exercise together”.
But Air Chief Marshal Sir Glen Torpy, the head of the RAF, voiced the fear of many British officials that America is too devoted to military solutions. He said: “In an environment like this, we always focus on the part that the military can play in solving security and foreign policy problems, but the military will rarely, if ever, be the solution.”
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Yeah, but could they function without coalition leadership? Or would they cave to to Iranian demands based on the false premise that the little garden gnome and his putrid armies have anything but exalted pop guns to spread their terror across the greater ME. When the little boogey man says “boo”, will the Gulf States punch his lights out? Or will they run like scared little rabbits to the nearest US base and cry wolf? This remains to be seen.
September 30th, 2007 at 8:38 amThey’ll run like scared rabbits. All of these princes are a breath away from having their heads at the end of a pike, I wonder if they know that.
September 30th, 2007 at 9:10 amOnly Americans have that American fighting spirit.
September 30th, 2007 at 11:13 amI don’t know - we’ve seen that they can fight, ala ‘91 fracas against The Strangled One. However, I do question the wisdom of showing these fuckers OUR advanced air combat tactics. If I were a American pilot in some future conflict against one of the, for now, “friendly” arab states, when I lock on to Habib’s ass, I don’t WANT him to know WHAT to fuckin’ do.
This is the battle wisdom of a piano player who,regrettibly, never served a day. Follow my advice, and you could very well get your hat handed to ya’!!
You’ve been warned.
September 30th, 2007 at 11:22 amYeah, we shouldn’t be giving them help anyway. This is a war on radical Islam - later on down the road, we’re most likely going to end up fighting them too.
September 30th, 2007 at 1:06 pmChill guys. Everybody in the middle east hates the Iranians. The Syrians are only playing with them because they hope we attack Iran and let Syria alone. Since we can’t be certain that America elects an ass-kicking Republican president in 2008, the Bush Administration is setting up a proxy force to remove the Carter Mistake of putting the Mullahs in charge of Iran in 1978.
Later, we can take these guys apart if they get stupid because we are gining them our old advanced planes. F-16s last about 4 seconds against an F-22.
September 30th, 2007 at 2:23 pm