Iran has recently conducted military drills with the use of ballistic missiles to demonstrate its power. The range of the missiles was not larger than 2,000 kilometers. Iranian defense officials and politicians said that Teheran was not intended to increase the range of the missiles. Nevertheless, it is a vital problem for the country.
The missiles, which Iran has, are capable of causing considerable damage to a possible enemy in the region, as well as to the oil industry of neighboring Arab states, which supply the West with the strategically important fuel.
However, this does not guarantee security to Iran. The West can create additional fuel reserves in case of emergency. Iran’s missile potential can definitely cause serious problems to the troops of the United States and France. The troops are deployed in Bahrain, Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
One should bear in mind the fact that US and British bases located on the Chagos Archepelago in the Indian Ocean play the central role in the possible attack against the Islamic Republic. The army bases on the islands can accept sea vessels of all classes. In addition, there were arms systems, military hardware and commando troops deployed on the archipelago. The troops can be urgently dispatched to any location, which Washington picks. The territory of the archipelago is also used as a secret prison of the CIA.
The US and British air base, one of the largest in the world, plays the most important role in the militarist plans of the two countries. The base accepts and provides technical servicing for aircraft of all types, including B-52 and B-2 strategic bombers. The latter, including the 509th squadron, were deployed on the base last year for the military operation in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The intensity of combat actions in Iraq does not require the use of long-range stealth aircraft. It is also much more efficient to use attack aviation and unmanned aircraft under conditions of guerrilla warfare in Afghanistan. The bombers can serve better for the destruction of important military and industrial objects of potential enemies. The B-2 is one of the most technologically advanced and expensive planes of the US Air Force.
NATO’s bases on Diego Garcia (the largest land mass in the Chagos Archipelago) appeared during the Cold War. The USA and Britain received a powerful outpost in the Indian Ocean for the struggle against the “Soviet influence”. However, it was obvious that the countries were trying to defend their oil interests in the Middle East.
The importance of Diego Garcia in USA’s militarist plans has been demonstrated several times already. US pilots refer to the base as “aircraft carrier”.
Afterwards, the base was used to lash Iraq and to conduct combat actions in Afghanistan. There are no doubts about the fact that the base will play one of the important roles in case of aggression against Iran.
Alexander Mordovin, Major-General of the Russian Air Force, told Pravda.Ru that the air base on Diego-Garcia had not lost its significance after the end of the Cold War.
“It is really telling that the United States are strengthening their position there on the base. The base has a very important location from the point of view of strategic interests of the West – between Africa, India and Australia. The fly-in time to strike targets in the area of the Persian Gulf is minimal. From this point of view, this base is much more important than the bases in Western Europe.
“It goes without saying that the neighboring states were extremely concerned about the deployment of such large military objects on Diego Garcia. Indian officials believed that the appearance of the base created a serious threat for peace in the Indian Ocean. Things have changed since then, and the base poses the largest threat to Iran as the country refuses to dance to the tunes of the West.
Will the possible bombardments of Iranian nuclear objects be efficient? It will be impossible to achieve success with the help of cruise missiles and air raids only. Many of Iran’s important objects are hidden at large depths under the ground. The Americans will have to use strategic aviation in the attacks.
Nearly 400 powerful bombs were sent to the base on Diego Garcia in March 2010. The bombs are capable of destroying large objects under the ground. It goes about 195 high-precision Blu-110 smart bombs, and 192 2000lb Blu-117 bombs. If the USA launches a military campaign against Iran, it will have to use its strategic planes to drop the bombs on the country.
It would be naïve to believe that the bombs have been prepared to struggle against the Talibs. NATO has never used such bombs during the operation in Afghanistan. Dan Plesch, the Director of the Centre for International Studies and Diplomacy, acknowledged publicly that the bombs were made to destroy Iran. According to him, the arsenal will help the American bombers destroy 10,000 targets in Iran within several hours only.
It would be possible for Iran to show an adequate response to the threat from Diego Garcia if the country could increase the range of its missiles. As far as this particular situation is concerned, it goes about 5,000 kilometers.
Sergei Balmasov
Pravda.Ru