Posted on 12/19/2006 12:59:45 PM PST by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON - The Pentagon is considering a buildup of Navy forces in the Persian Gulf as a show of force against Iran, a senior defense official said Tuesday.
Speaking on condition of anonymity because the idea has not been approved, the official said one proposal is to send a second aircraft carrier to the region amid increasing tensions with Iran, blamed for encouraging sectarian violence in neighboring Iraq as well as allegedly pursuing a nuclear weapons program.
The United States and its European allies are seeking sanctions against Iran because of its refusal to stop uranium enrichment, a technology that can be used to produce nuclear fuel for civilian purposes or fuel for a nuclear bomb.
In Tehran, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Tuesday that U.N. sanctions would not stop Iran from pursuing its uranium enrichment program, which he has said is for peaceful development of energy.
Bush administration officials have repeatedly declined to rule out the use of force against Iran, though they have also said their first choice is to rely on diplomacy.
In New York, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said military action against Iran would be "rather unwise and disastrous." Annan, who is leaving his job Dec. 31, made the comment to reporters at a news conference as the Security Council debated a resolution that would impose sanctions on Tehran.
The idea of building up U.S. Navy forces has been discussed over some time and it's unclear when a decision will be made, the defense official said.
The aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower is already in the region. It left the United States in late September with four other Norfolk-based ships and submarines carrying 6,500 sailors.
The flotilla headed to the Mediterranean Sea and eventually went to relieve the Norfolk-based aircraft carrier USS Enterprise strike group, which was in the region supporting operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Also, the U.S. in late October led a naval training exercise aimed at blocking smuggling of nuclear weapons in the Persian Gulf.
The six-nation maneuvers off the coast of Iran were the first of their kind since North Korea's Oct. 9 nuclear test and U.N. sanctions that called on the international community to conduct searches at sea to ensure the reclusive communist nation is not secretly expanding its nuclear program.
I stopped reading after this sentence. MSM = National Enquirer.
Most dangerous thing in the world: talking about making, "a show of force".
Prepare for huge US embarassment, massive Iranian spit in our face...
It's like filler week gone mad, fill it up with 'leak'
Sure, but it's on all channels and all stations, and several threads. The only thing is, I recall that we have three carriers in the region already.
Far better would have been to send the carriers, say nothing, or better, DENY that we had done just that.
They are not going to be impressed by us parking a couple of aircraft carriers off the coast of Iran.
We blow up a few refineries and a atomic weapons lab or two and we'll have their attention.
Typical PC elitists politics the world suffers now.
I hope the ships are armed with nuclear warheads. A few of those will send the message to the world that we are not a paper tiger and will not lose the "War on Terror".
Unless their civilians suffer like ours have they will not rebel against their leader, he's threatened to use nukes on Israel and the USA, I choose to believe him, disbelieve him at your peril.
Am I allowed to mention "indicators" in mixed company?
What was the last thing W told NK he was going to do? Take "MEASURES"? Something like that? The Iranians are doubled over, laughing.
Saudia Arabia a week ago promised to flood the oil market if we'd just do something to Iran already.
from the FR archive
U.S. Officials Are Mulling Iran Strikes, Experts Say
The Forward ^ | April 7, 2006 | MARC PERELMAN
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1610342/posts
Posted on 04/06/2006 9:39:41 AM PDT by West Coast Conservative
Sounds like a double bonus to me.
"Speaking on condition of anonymity because the idea has not been approved, the official said"
This "official" should have his/her ass nailed to the wall. This leaking is disgraceful!
"Sure, but it's on all channels and all stations, and several threads."
Doesn't that speak volumes though? Completely unsourced and snapped up like snausages by hungry dogs. The media doesn't learn. Besides the media are more interested in BEING or MAKING the story these days. Self-licking ice cream cone.
Bankrupt Ooooogo Tschavezchik while we're at it.
We'd be crazy not to be mulling this step. I suspect this was a planned leak to allow Administration to shape, as much as possible, how the news and public opinion play out.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.