US sends 3 warships to Mediterranean as tensions mount

Jerusalem Post/AP ^ | 1/29/2008 | unattributed

[mojito]

The US Navy is sending at least three ships, including at least one amphibious assault ship, to the eastern Mediterranean Sea in a show of strength during a period of tensions with Syria and political uncertainty in Lebanon.

Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters Thursday the deployment should not be viewed as threatening or in response to events in any single country in the volatile region.

"This is an area that is important to us, the eastern Med," he said when asked about news reports of the ship movements. "It's a group of ships that will operate in the vicinity there for a while," adding that "it isn't meant to send any stronger signals than that. But it does signal that we're engaged, we're going to be in the vicinity, and that's a very, very important part of the world."

Another military officer, speaking on condition of anonymity because full details about the ship movements are not yet public, said a Navy guided missile destroyer, the USS Cole, was headed for patrol in the eastern Mediterranean, and the USS Nassau, the amphibious warship, would be joining it shortly.

Another military officer, speaking on condition of anonymity because full details about the ship movements are not yet public, said a Navy guided missile destroyer, the USS Cole, was headed for patrol in the eastern Mediterranean and that it is accompanied by two refueling ships. The Cole is equipped to engage in a variety of offensive actions, including anti-aircraft and land attack missions.

Another group led by the USS Nassau, an amphibious warship, is headed in that direction on a normally scheduled deployment and some or all six ships in the Nassau group might operate in the eastern Mediterranean also, the official said.

The officer said a third ship would go later, but he did not identify it by type or name.

A Navy news release said the Nassau Expeditionary Strike Group entered the 6th Fleet's operational area on Monday. Besides the Nassau, the group included a guided missile cruiser, two guided missile destroyers and two other amphibious warfare ships. The amphibious warfare ships can carry thousands of US Marines.

The US 6th Fleet, whose area of operations includes the entire Mediterranean, is based at Naples, Italy.

The decision to send the ships appeared to be a not-too-subtle show of US force in the region as international frustration mounts over a long political deadlock in tiny, weak Lebanon. The United States blames Syria for the impasse, saying Syria has never given up its ambitions to control its smaller neighbor.

The presidential election in Lebanon has been delayed 15 times. Just this week the date was pushed back to March 11.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is to visit the Middle East next week.

Michel Aoun, a major opposition leader to the US-backed government in Beirut, said the ship movements looked like a calculated show of force by the United States.

"There is no need for it," Aoun was quoted as saying by the Al-Manar television of his Hizbullah allies.

Other Arab countries appear to be becoming involved in the Lebanese impasse.

Syria is to host an Arab summit in Damascus in late March, and pro-US Arab states such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt reportedly are threatening to boycott if no president is elected in Lebanon by then. This could be a tactic by the Saudis and Egyptians to force Syrian concessions in Lebanon to save the summit. The Syrians so far have said the summit will go ahead as planned, regardless of who refuses to attend.

Mustafa Alloush, a member of the Lebanese Parliament from the US-backed majority, told the majority's Future television that neither the government nor the anti-Syrian majority had any links to the dispatching of the Cole.

"But we remind what caused the situation to bring the American equation into the arena," he said, blaming Syria indirectly for inviting such American intervention. "It (the deployment) could be aimed directly at Syria or a declaration by the United States of America that it could be part of this equation that could develop if conditions remain the way they are," Alloush said.

Mullen was asked whether the deployment of the ships was linked to the timing of the Lebanese election.

"To say it's absolutely directly tied would be incorrect, but we are certainly aware that elections out there are both important, and they are due at some point in time," he replied.

And when asked whether Syria is the reason for the deployment, he said, "It's not specifically sent to any one country, as much as it is to the region itself."

The Cole was rebuilt after being almost sunk in a terror attack in Aden, Yemen, in October 2000. It was re-commissioned in April 2002 and went on its first post-attack deployment in November 2003.

National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said the deployment of the Cole is meant as "a show of support for regional stability." He added that President George W. Bush is concerned about the situation in Lebanon.

The Cole is sailing to the region from Malta.

[mojito]

Lebanon is about to ignite. Maybe Rice will do more than utter the usual platitudes. I'm not holding my breath. At least the Navy is paying attention. The President is waving a pretty big stick.

[MikeWUSAF]

Another military officer, speaking on condition of anonymity...

WTF???

What ever happened to loose lips sinks ships?

[ASA Vet]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1978019/posts

[ASA Vet]

What ever happened to loose lips sinks ships?

They stopped hanging traitors.

[Bitsy]

What ever happened to loose lips sinks ships?
They stopped hanging traitors.

Well, then, we should bring back the tradition. But, sadly, no has the &alls.

[RightWhale]

Very popular multi-thread kind of thing to do.

[SFC Chromey]

Would it kill you to start a new paragraph?

[Orange1998]

He is a newby of 18 days and spewing Democrat talk.

[SFC Chromey]

So I guess it would kill him to use proper Engrish.

[Rick.Donaldson]

Welcome to FreeRepublic...
LOL

blackelkspeaks
Since Feb 10, 2008

[Diogenesis]

[golfisnr1]

Go back to DU where you belong.

[AngelesCrestHighway]

HELLO Syria!....What was that you were saying?

[Rick.Donaldson]

Why? Because I am totally disgusted with the way in which the Republicans and Democrats both view this sort of activity as a matter of course, not to be questioned. Why do we, as a nation, find it necessary to patrol the entire planet just so we can neverendingly insert ourselves into the affairs of every country on earth!

Funny... we should probably bring all of our troops home, close the borders, not trade with ANYONE, and while we're at it get rid of the damned Shadow government that is causing all of this.

What would we do if Lebanon and Syria DO have a war? Invade these countries, too? To what end?

Well, it's not about invading, it is about "FAIR ELECTIONS". Keeping things "democratic" ought to be right up your alley.

How much blood of American servicemen will we, as Americans, allow this mis-begotten adventurism to spill before we say STOP! Remember the deaths suffered in Korea, Vietnam, the first Iraqi war, and the myriad of little wars perpetually fought in between because of the Cold War?

Methinks you are yelling too much. If you BOTHER to check the records, LESS deaths have occurred in this war in Iraq each year, than NON-WAR YEARS with BILL CLINTON, when there wasn't EVEN A WAR!!!!!!!!! Check your facts before you WHINE.

Then consider the new War On Terror, which McCain is calling a “hundred years war”. But, after seven years of taking casualities fighting the Moslems in a half-assed manner, what with our Afghanistan and Iraqi screw-ups, then most recently giving the Palestinian and Albanian Moslem killers a free pass, we now decide to insert ourselves into yet another dustup before we have even saw fit to extricate ourselves from over sixty years in Germany and Japan, or fifty years in Korea

Cool, you're absolutely right. Let's drop nuclear weapons on those bastards instead of sending men and women in there to die. We can obliterate the regions, and then we won't have to fight any more.

This is, truly, a madness that the founders of this country never imagined would be the destiny of the United States.

No? What do you imagine the, they imagined? Which part of what you're spouting is "madness"? Your OWN post is a bit "mad" if you ask me. Its hard to believe that Bush actually made some noises when he ran for his first term advocating getting us out of foreign entanglements. Boy, how the worm has turned! There is NO WAY I will EVER vote for the Republicans of today.

Again, funny. Bush isn't running for office now. Hillary clinton, Barrak Hussein Obmana and John McCain are. Oh, and so is Ron Paul.

Please, give our regards to Ron would ya?

[Westbrook]

Why don’t we send Nancy Pelosi and friends back to Syria?

She could wear the hajib again and say nice things to Syrian tyrant Assad.

[An Old Marine]

Well we are just a bit worked up ain't we?

And how about the thousands of Americans in those countries? If the crap hits the fan its our job to get them out. Thats why the Marines. Despite the nonsense in the article the Nassau and her sisters carry a battalion of Marines not thousands. Its enough to protect Americans and get them out and home but not nearly enough to occupy Lenanon - unless they are going to let us take the gloves off...

Further there is almost always a Marine battalion afloat in the Med and there has been for almost 50 years. Now stop behaving like a demoocrat. Not everything has something to do with Presidential politics.

[brushcop]

Please feel free to join any of the Armed Services of our country and show them how it’s done. Or maybe run for office. Thank you.

[Las Vegas Ron]

"I have never voted for a Democrat in my entire life".

Riiiiggggghhhhhttttt

[NavyCanDo]

So when Qaddafi was making the same comments about our ships maneuvering in the Gulf of Sidra, I suppose you were bashing Republicans when Ronald Reagan sent more ships into the disputed Gulf?

Unlike the yellow-back Carter, Reagan made it clear that American maneuvers in the Gulf of Sidra would proceed as they always had. Anticipating trouble, Reagan was asked by the Joint Chiefs what American pilots do if attacked? Would Reagan’s orders allow for “hot pursuit”? Reagan’s answer? “All the way into the hanger.” You know the rest of the story. That is the way this should be handled. With backbone.

[xone]

‘I have never voted for a Democrat in my entire life. ‘

Bu!!sh%t.

‘There is NO WAY I will EVER vote for the Republicans of today.’

Good. Douche.

[Dinah Lord]

Someone forgot to take his meds today.

[JZelle]

[RightWhale]

So, how about those Giants?

[Rick.Donaldson]

Just dandy for you dandy. You’re New and I don’t care what you say, you’re DemoTrash as far as I am concerned. I read your stupid comments and responded to them.

[Rick.Donaldson]

Again, why the need to comment on the length of the paragraph with snooty nonsense about “proper English”, rather than discuss the issue at hand? That’s a Democrat tactic.

So was the trash you posted, attacking everyone equally. You're either a Ron Paul PLANT or you're Ron Paul himself. Either way, you're still a democrat/leftist/Libertarian hiding here.

[Rick.Donaldson]

I have been posting on this web site for many years. I occasionally change the name to mix things up. You shouldn’t assume anything about me by reading my account information. Such as that I’m “spewing Democrat talk”. Being an advocate for a non-interventionist foreign policy doesn’t make me a Democrat. But, then again, to today’s globaloney Republicans, like your buddy McCain, maybe they think so.

That's is a crock of crap and if you're changing names it's because you're getting booted off the site. Probably off a LOT of sites, thus you're HIDING. People that HIDE behind aliases usually do it because they like be anonymous TROLLS and post crap like you posted above. *I* too have been "posting a long time", LONG before the internet even EXISTED in it's current form and I've dealt plenty of time with people like you on my BBSes in the past. Aliases are used by some for fun, but for most it's because they are hiding something.

[Orange1998]

Maybe he should change his name again and start over. LOL

[Orange1998]

I long for the days when “zot” was easy. We are infested with the rats.

[DallasDeb]

What would we do if Lebanon and Syria DO have a war?

They will probably make sure that Israel doesn't get attacked--perfect opportunity for Iran to take advantage of the turmoil. The USS Cole is an Aegis Class warship. Maybe they have the ship-based missile defense system on it.

[DallasDeb]

Ooo, where did you get that picture? It gives me the “willies”, no pun intended.

[DallasDeb]

It’s easy:< p >, except no spaces.

[DallasDeb]

until I get my fill of the many and varied flavors of the Republican form of idiocy, like the McCainiacs and Hucksters of the world provide.

Now I KNOW you're a DemoncRAT. Otherwise you would know that the majority of Freepers don't like McCain OR Huckabee.

[<1/1,000,000th%]

Probably not a military officer.

Just another media device.

[L,TOWM]

Clean up on aisle 3...

The WOT is non-negotiable on this site, bub.

Take it to DU or the Code Pinko chatrooms.

[eleni121]

I am beginning to agree with your sentiments. We have no business inserting ourselves in nations where our enemies (muslims) kill each other.

The only action I could envision would be to get in and protect/extricate Christians.

We have never done that ...ever! IN fact we support nations where Christians are savagely treated. Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, etc