A sobering report from the Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency:
Iran has the ability to fire missiles at U.S. targets in the Middle East and “temporarily” close a key sea transit route, a senior intelligence official said Thursday.
Tehran has a missile arsenal capable of reaching “targets throughout the region and into Eastern Europe,” Lt. Gen. Ronald Burgess, Defense Intelligence Agency director, told the Senate Armed Services Committee.
“Iran has … threatened to launch missiles against the United States and our allies in the region in response to an attack” on its nuclear facilities or other targets, he said.
That assessment is shared by a civilian analyst:
Alireza Nader, an analyst at the RAND Corporation, said the DIA chief’s assessment of Iran’s naval and missile capabilities sounds accurate.
“Iran does have missiles capable of hitting U.S. facilities in the Persian Gulf, and notably, in Afghanistan,” Nader said. “And it is known to be in development of long-range missiles that could reach Eastern Europe. It has a pretty robust missile program.”
Of course, some would have us remove all US troops from the Middle East, but that still leaves diplomats and embassy personnel who could be targeted, or other US officials visiting that area for some reason like the ever-popular Congressional fact-finding trip, they could also be a target. And of course there’s our strongest ally in the region, Israel, who is all but certain to be very high on the list of targets for an Iranian missile.
This is where “let’s just talk to them, they’ll see reason” has gotten us.
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