Posted on 08/07/2008 7:02:21 AM PDT by jhpigott
Two additional United States naval aircraft carriers are heading to the Gulf and the Red Sea, according to the Kuwaiti newspaper Kuwait Times.
Kuwait began finalizing its "emergency war plan" on being told the vessels were bound for the region.
The US Navy will neither confirm nor deny that carriers are currently en route. US Fifth Fleet Combined Maritime Command located in Bahrain said it could not comment because of what a spokesman termed "force-protection policy."
While the Kuwaiti daily did not name the ships it believes are heading for the Middle East, The Media Line's defense analyst said they could be the USS Theodore Roosevelt and the USS Ronald Reagan. Within the last month, the Roosevelt completed an exercise along the US east coast focusing on communication among navies of different countries. It has since been declared ready for operational duties. The Reagan, currently with the Seventh Fleet, has just set sail from Japan. The Seventh Fleet area of operation stretches from the East Coast of Africa to the International Date Line.
Meanwhile, the Arabic news agency Moheet reported at the end of July that an unnamed American destroyer, accompanied by two Israeli naval vessels traveled through the Suez Canal from the Mediterranean. A week earlier, a US nuclear submarine accompanied by a destroyer and a supply ship moved into the Mediterranean, according to Moheet.
Currently there are two US naval battle groups operating in the Gulf: one is an aircraft carrier group, led by the USS Abraham Lincoln, which carries some 65 fighter aircraft. The other group is headed by the USS Peleliu which maintains a variety of planes and strike helicopters.
The ship movements coincide with the latest downturn in relations between Washington and Teheran. The US and Iran are at odds over Iran's nuclear program, which the Bush administration claims is aimed at producing material for nuclear weapons; however, Teheran argues it is only for power generation.
Kuwait, like other Arab countries in the Gulf, fears it will be caught in the middle should the US decide to launch an air strike against Iran if negotiations fail. The Kuwaitis are finalizing details of their security, humanitarian and vital services, the newspaper reported.
The six members of the GCC - Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE and Oman - lie just across the Gulf from Iran. Generals in the Iranian military have repeatedly warned that American interests in the region will be targeted if Iran is subjected to any military strike by the US or its Western allies.
Bahrain hosts the US Fifth Fleet, while there is a sizeable American base in Qatar. It is assumed the US also has military personnel in the other Gulf states, The Media Line's defense analyst said.
Iran is thought to have intelligence operatives working in the GCC states, according to Dubai-based military analysts.
The standoff between the US and Iran has left the Arab nations' political leaders in something of a bind. The Media Line analyst said they were being used as pawns by Washington and Teheran. Iran is offering them economic and industrial sweeteners, while the US is boosting their defense capabilities. Presidents George W. Bush and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad have paid visits to the GCC states in a bid to win their support.
ping
pingers
September surprise? Maybe our Israili friends are afraid Obamama won’t back them up if he wins?
Man oh man, that’s a lot of naval airpower in a pretty small theatre.
But this is the kind of stuff the bloody mullahs understand.
I ain't skeered, Iran. I ain't skeered.
After the election!
This may be nothing but routine. The Lincoln is due to be relieved in a month or so.
ping
assuming the article is accurate, what’s interesting to me is that even if this is just a force rotation, it looks like that we may be trading out 1 carrier for 2 in the Gulf . . .
probably just force rotation, but the past couple rotations it’s just been one in one out . . . this looks like it could be 2 in and 1 out
I’m going with mid-October.
Let’s quite fiddling around. Just nuke ‘em till they glow!
I'm not sure what the frequency is now, but when I was in, the carriers were rotated after six months. And your ship did not turn for home until it was relieved. I don't know how many of these "Oh my God were going to war with Iran" stories I've read here because of Carriers leaving the U.S. for the Gulf.
With McCain’s victory we can deal with Iran 2009. With Obama’s victory it has to happen in Bush’s term. I don’t expect anything before the election is over.
The time is nearing for A’jad to meet his (false) maker.
It's the Jerusalem Post. Take it with a pillar of salt.
The last time a prediction like this was made, it was just routine ship movement by the Lincoln planned long before the press released the info ~ per my daughter aboard the Lincoln. Just sayin’ not to get too worked up about this quite yet.
We need two more carrier groups. There need to be four in the theater to take on the problems of a post Israeli strike on Iran.
It will not be a fun assignment. Iran would probably try to use 100’s of small suicide boats in the Straits and elsewhere,,plus let off every anti ship cruise missile they have.
As much as we need to get Iran out of the nuc bomb business this will not be easy.
LETS RRRRRRUMBLE!!!!
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