The Cooperative Defense Initiative involves the creation of a seamless network of surveillance systems, from the Gulf through the Middle East to Turkey, supervised by the United States, against Iran and Iraq and anyone else who will not tow the US line. The CDI depends on shared early warning among the countries in the region and the use of common weapon platforms for a coordinated response in a crisis. Shared early warning involves multilateral cooperation. The United States is setting up a system to warn of a missile launch. This requires an interoperable communications network.
Active defense means intercepting and destroying missiles.
Israel has the Arrow. Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have the Patriot. Passive defense includes the provision of protective gear and medical stockpiles. It also entails making sure that armed forces are prepared to work in a contaminated environment, and determining how a contaminated environment would be cleaned up. US and regional medical experts have been meeting to discuss the problems associated with an attack by a weapon of mass destruction.