Urgency of crisis demands quick action
Returning from a month-long holiday in the US, I was immediately struck by the urgency of the pollution crisis as I landed in Delhi, past midnight this week.
Amid Israel-Hamas war, the Pentagon has said that it will send its Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) missile defence system to the Middle East in view of recent escalation by Iran and its proxy forces. Along with the THAAD, additional Patriot air defence missile system battalions will also be deployed to the region.
Similar to Israel’s Iron Dom, THAAD is a state of the art missile defence system, which is designed to shoot down short and medium range ballistic missiles.
It comprises a radar, command centre and missile launcher. The radar will detect the incoming missiles and alert the command centre following which launcher will intercept the incoming missiles in their terminal phase.
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A Pentagon statement said that the development comes in the wake of “recent escalations by Iran and its proxy forces across the Middle East Region”. Attacks against US troops in Iraq and Syria have risen since October 7 when the Israel and Hamas war broke out.
Without specifying the exact numbers, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has also said that additional troops have been put on “prepare to deploy” orders in the region.
The comes in addition to the US move to send an aircraft carrier, ships and fighters jets to the eastern Mediterranean near Israel. The US has come out in full support of Israel in their war against Hamas following the unprecedented October 7 assault.
The United States have also warned Iran and its proxies like Hezbollah in Lebanon to not involve in the Israel-Hamas conflict. However, both Iran and Hezbollah have threatened to open more war fronts if Israel carried out a full-scale ground assault in Gaza.
Hezbollah, a Lebanese militant outfit backed and funded by Iran, has been keep the northern Israeli border tense by launching rockets barrages towards Israel. Hezbollah has also pledged its support to Palestinian militants in their war against Israel.
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