U.S. FORCES IN GERMANY AND ITALY ON ALERT FOR POSSIBLE MIDDLE EAST WAR

ASSAD GOES TO IRAN FOR STRATEGIC TALKS

What's leaking out is no doubt just a very small part of the actual story.

We've noted the "war fever" growing in the region for some months now. There's considerable anxiety about who may now strike first. A major "terrorist" incident, further attacks against the Palestinians, anything from the fanatical Israeli settlers that threatens the Islamic holy sites...any or all of these could quickly escalate under today's conditions. The whole region is psychological dry and on edge making it possible for any kind of spark to ignite a major conflagration at this point.

Furthermore who knows what Ehud Barak and Shimon Peres might do in the remaining days leading up to what everyone is now predicting will be Ariel Sharon's election as Prime Minister of Israel. And who knows what Sharon, at 72, might do -- maybe quickly -- when he is Israel's Commander-in-Chief, a position he has coveted for decades now.

Meanwhile, on the Arab side, serious preparations for possible war are taking place. The Syrian armed forces have been on high alert for some weeks now. Iraq forces have moved close to the Syrian border and Syria has taken the decision to open diplomatic relations again with Baghdad. And in a few days Bashar Assad arrives in Iran for important strategic consultations, the Iranians already having publicly announced they would come to Syria's defense if attacked and would use new "astounding" weapons against Israel.

U.S. FORCES PLACED ON ALERT

PATRIOT ANTI-MISSILE BATTERY DEPLOYED TO ISRAEL

Washington - Middle East Newsline - Friday, January 26: The United States has sent a Patriot anti-missile defense battery to Israel amid heightened concerns of a Middle East war.

Pentagon sources said the heightened tension in the Middle East prompted a decision to place on alert U.S. forces in Germany and Italy. They said Washington has been concerned about an Iraqi attack on Israel amid reports that several Iraqi divisions have moved close to the Syrian border.

The San Antonio Express-News published a copy of a U.S. military order that on Jan. 11 raised the alert status of U.S. forces from Threatcon Bravo to Alpha.

Alpha is a heightened alert of a terrorist attack.

"Recent intelligence indicates that an increased or more predictable threat exists, thus warranting the Threatcon change," the U.S. military order read.

Pentagon officials said the Patriot missile brigade will participate in an exercise in Israel scheduled for Feb. 8. The exercise will last 15 days.

The exercise, called "Juniper Cobra," will include about 400 members of the 69th Air Defense Artillery Brigade based near Frankfurt, Germany. A Patriot missile battery and personnel are expected to arrive by ship on Feb. 4 and join Patriot batteries already deployed in the Jewish state.

"It is a training event to sustain interoperability between the U.S. Army and the Israeli defense forces," U.S. Army spokesman Maj. Tom Collins said.

In December, Lockheed Martin was awarded a $212 million contract to produce an upgraded Patriot.

Mid-East Realities

www.middleeast.org

Source: http://www.middleeast.org/articles/2001/1/38.htm