U.S. boosting military presence in Strait of Hormuz to fend off any Iranian attempt at closure

Madison Ruppert, Contributing Writer
Activist Post

The Western military buildup in the Persian Gulf region has been quite long and sizable. I have been doing my best to keep track of it and record it for my readers through my series “Iran: a quickly evolving geopolitical imbroglio” and many companion articles outside of that series.

It is now ramping-up even more with the Wall Street Journal reporting that the United States is planning to beef up their so-called defenses in the region.

They report that the U.S. is increasing defenses based on both land and sea in the Persian Gulf, and has notified Congress of plans to acquire new mine-detection and clearing equipment.

They also are looking to expand their surveillance capabilities in and around the Strait of Hormuz according to anonymous defense officials who were familiar with the requests, one of which was already submitted earlier this month.

The military is also reportedly looking to rapidly modify their ship-based weapons systems in order to optimize their efficacy against Iranian fast-attack boats and shore-launched cruise missiles which were tested in a previous Iranian military exercise.

While Iran has repeatedly threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz in response to international sanctions over their nuclear program, I do not think that they are stupid enough to ignore the massive American presence in the region – which is only going to increase.

Western nations have been unrelenting in their claims that Iran is pursuing nuclear weapons, even though it is contradicted by the majority of the American intelligence community.

Meanwhile, Iran has been consistent in their vehement denial of any such activities, and their claims are backed up by the facts – as evidenced by the opinion of intelligence analysts – while the claims made by Western nations are backed up by nothing but belief and rhetoric.

Iran has also been taking some steps to prepare for a possible Western strike with exercises being held just days ago which focused on defending nuclear sites from a possible attack.

Russian Information Agency Novosti (RIA Novosti) rightly points out, “There has been increasing speculation in recent weeks that Israel may carry out a military strike on Iran’s nuclear sites. The United States has also refused to rule out force.”

Indeed all signs point toward Israel and the United States gearing up for war, and there is substantial evidence showing that Israeli intelligence has already been carrying out covert operations in Iran for some time, which has actually been confirmed by unnamed American officials.

However, Iran hasn’t done the best job of putting Western fears (as unfounded as they may be) to rest by hinting at a possible pre-emptive attack.

Recently Mohammad Hejazi, a senior Iranian military commander, said, “Our strategy now is that if we feel our enemies want to endanger Iran’s national interests, and want to decide to do that, we will act without waiting for their actions,” according to Reuters.

Then again, you can’t really blame Iran for attempting to give the international community the impression that they are unafraid of a Western assault and would actually go as far as to take the first shot.

However, in reality I do not think that the Iranian leadership would be willing to watch their entire nation get bombed into the Stone Age unless they had a really good reason to.

I suspect that Iran is just trying to puff up its proverbial chest in order to intimidate and avoid an actual conflict. I think that the Iranian military and politicians are well aware of the fact that the United States, in concert with Israel, Britain and France, could absolutely eviscerate much of their country.

Say what you will about Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, but one thing he does not appear to be is ignorant and imbecilic. It would take someone who fully embodied both of those things to willingly put themselves in the crosshairs of the West with a green light to use any and all force they deem necessary.

I see Iran attempting to hold on to whatever legitimacy they can for as long as humanly possible, and a pre-emptive attack would likely sever what few ties they still have and cause them to lose what little support they have.

This is especially true as the United States just continues to build up military assets in the region, further showing just how brutal the destruction could be.

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This article first appeared at EndtheLie.com. Read other contributed articles by Madison Ruppert here.

Madison Ruppert is the Editor and Owner-Operator of the alternative news and analysis database End The Lie and has no affiliation with any NGO, political party, economic school, or other organization/cause. He is available for podcast and radio interviews. Madison also now has his own radio show on Orion Talk Radio from 8 pm — 10 pm Pacific, which you can find HERE.  If you have questions, comments, or corrections feel free to contact him at admin@EndtheLie.com