The United States has significantly increased the deployment of missile defense systems, specifically Patriot and Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (Aegis-BMD), to the Persian Gulf over the past six years. The increase from no missile defense assets in 2005 to two Patriot battalions spread across four Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries was specifically intended for Iran. According to published Department of Defense reviews and statements from United States (U.S.) officials, the increase in forward presence is intended to deter an Iranian regional missile attack and to assure GCC partners of the U.S. resolve in the region. The purpose of this study is to assess whether or not the presence of the U.S. missile defense assets actually contributes deterrent effects against the will of Iranian leaders, to execute a necessary regional missile attack. The author investigates the credibility of the Iranian threat in terms of capability and will. He also assesses the effectiveness of U.S. missile defense assets in the region by investigating the relationship between intent of the deployment, forces allocated for this intent, and the offensive/defensive balance with the Iranian threat. Ultimately, this paper finds that U.S. missile defense assets in the Persian Gulf region, though arguably the best in the world, are not postured to strengthen conditions for deterrence.This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
