THAAD: why Biden has sent 100 US troops to Israel

It’s thought that Biden agreed to send the THAAD missile defence system, and troops to operate it, in return for Netanyahu agreeing not to hit Iran’s nuclear sites.

THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) interceptor missile being test fired (via Alamy)

When looking through the lens of a military deployment, we can sometimes see the outlines of diplomacy. There was an example this week.

American troops landed in Israel with a “Terminal High Altitude Area Defense” (THAAD) battery to bolster defences ahead of a possible third Iranian missile attack if Israel retaliates for Iran’s October 1 attack.  It takes about 100 troops to operate the system. This tells us Washington D.C. is prepared to risk the safety of an extra 100 American troops, which poses the question: why?