Posted on 07/10/2007 8:41:37 PM PDT by bnelson44
WASHINGTON The Navy is making plans to reduce the American presence in the Persian Gulf by the end of the summer to a single carrier group, down from the two carrier groups now in the Gulf.
The preparations to reduce the American presence in the Persian Gulf, off the coast of Iran, come as a third carrier group, the USS Enterprise, is set to arrive this week. But just as the Enterprise arrives, the USS Nimitz is planning to redeploy. Meanwhile the remaining carrier group, the USS John Stennis, is slated to leave the Gulf by summer's end.
In the standoff between Iran and America, the decision to reduce the American carrier presence in the Persian Gulf indicates a softer line. Already, robust proposals inside the administration to designate Iran's Revolutionary Guard a foreign terrorist entity have run into bureaucratic resistance from the State Department and Pentagon civilian leadership. At the intelligence level, comments are now being sought on the prospects of a back channel to Iran's former president, Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. Mr. Rafsanjani is a rival of President Ahmadinejad, who ascended to power in 2005 and has threatened to destroy Israel.
(Excerpt) Read more at nysun.com ...
I hope this is disinfo, though I doubt it.
We might as well hand the Iranians the keys and have the sailors swim home.
I’d like my carriers at a greater range when the hammer drops.
Read somewhere that we just sent a 4th or 5th Aircraft carrier into the area. Sounds like we are giving up! May be a replacement maneuver, however, several carriers in this small pond makes me wonder. And should make Iran pucker.
Navy.mil,,,7-10-07...
Ships and Submarines
Deployable Battle Force Ships: 278
Ships Underway (away from homeport): 146 ships (53% of total)
On deployment: 107 ships (38% of total)
Attack submarines underway (away from homeport): 17 submarines (31%)
On deployment: 14 submarines (25%)
Ships Underway
Carriers:
USS Enterprise (CVN 65) - Atlantic Ocean
USS Nimitz (CVN 68) - North Arabian Sea
USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) - Atlantic Ocean
USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) - Pacific Ocean
USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) - Arabian Sea
USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) - Atlantic Ocean
Amphibious Warfare Ships:
USS Wasp (LHD 1) - Atlantic Ocean
USS Essex (LHD 2) - Coral Sea
USS Bohomme Richard (LHD 6) - Arabian Gulf
USS Juneau (LPD 10) - Coral Sea
USS Tortuga (LSD 46) - Coral Sea
Dare one say we should strike while Iran is hot?
Dropping below a dozen carriers means that there aren’t enough to go around at times. From post 5, it appears that over half the carriers are currently at sea.
We should set up our ships all along Iran’s border, in international waters of course.
If the sight of all those ships lined up doesn’t scare the crap out of them, then the next step obviously is a full-scale assault.
It's far better to have the carriers available for incidents in the South China Sea, North Pacific, Horn of Africa and SOUTH AMERICA.
We can project overwhelming force with the USAF via existing airfields in southern asia and Iraq. The carriers were all show and outside their mission envelope when confined in that narrow body of water.
“The carriers were all show and outside their mission envelope when confined in that narrow body of water.”
I have had that thought before as well.
Who the hell knows.
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PC America doesn't scare the crap out of anyone anymore.
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How about a gathering of 60,000,000 armed Americans?
Once again, the State Department betrays the elected President.
This needs to be repeated often and loudly.
Release of the five members of the revolutionary guard has been a key demand of Iran's ambassador in Baghdad, Hassan Kazemi Qomi. The State Department has also argued internally for the release of the five men, but has been refused by General Petraeus on the grounds that all five are threats to coalition and Iraqi soldiers.
I got an idea. How bout the State Department argue for the end of the persecution of Marines and bring charges against the foreign soldiers trying to kill them instead.
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