U.S. sends warships near Israel in case evacuation needed

cnn ^ | 11/19/12 | Barbara Starr

[Nachum]

Three U.S. Navy amphibious warships are returning to the eastern Mediterranean to remain on standby in the event they are needed to assist Americans leaving Israel in the coming days, according to two U.S. officials.

The officials stressed an evacuation remains an extremely remote possibility and the Obama administration is not currently planning for one. Americans who wish to leave the region now are able to do so using commercial airlines.

But the decision to send the ships even if the event is such a remote contingency underscores the growing concern about where the Israel-Gaza conflict could be headed.

"This is due diligence. It is better to be prepared should there be a need," one official said Monday. Both officials said the ships would be used only for assisting Americans and not for any combat role.

The most immediate impact will be on the ships' crews and the estimated 2,500 Marines on board. They had been scheduled to return to Norfolk, Virginia, just after Thanksgiving; their homecoming will now be delayed several days depending on events, the officials said.

The ships involved are the USS Iwo Jima, the USS New York and the USS Gunston Hall. At the end of last week the ships were west of Gibraltar, before the decision was made to turn them around and send them back to the eastern Mediterranean, where they will remain for now.

[Netz]

Oh, that's great! I can see the Palestinians with US citizenship struggling to get aboard ahead of the American Israelis with their citizenship! Fist fights over who gets on the ship.

[Netz]

In September 1970 (later PLO group named “Black September which carried out Munich massacre) Syria threatened to topple King Hussein of Jordan along with Yassir Arafart. The Israelis warned the Syrians that they would intervene on the King's behalf. I did not know that Nixon also sent this ship. Interesting...

[Doofer]

Can anyone remember another president doing this?

When I was in the Navy, been retired 10 years now we did a couple Noncombatant Evacuation Operations (NEO).

We'd sit off the coast of say a US Embassy, over the horizon away from prying eyes and wait get the word if it was a go or no go.

But it was never announced publically until after the fact.

[Eye of Unk]

Its funny how when I see my comments sent back at how bad I am forming sentences, I meant being intimidated.

American human shields on US ships? So that they can stage an attack and say it was another Israeli sub trying to sink them?

Trying to repeat history? That could work and Obammy being Moslem trained would go for it in a heartbeat, well maybe quicker since he has no heart.

[Carry_Okie]

American human shields on US ships? So that they can stage an attack and say it was another Israeli sub trying to sink them?

That or go on painting with the radar undisturbed. Either is bad for Israel, a borderline act of war.

That could work and Obammy being Moslem trained would go for it in a heartbeat, well maybe quicker since he has no heart.

Yup. Sometimes the obvious answer is rejected because it is so disgusting and outrageous. Methinks we'd better get used to it.

[onyx]

Warships aren’t for evacuation.

We’re I in Israel, I’d stay put and help fight.

[Carry_Okie]

One other thought,

That could work and Obammy being Moslem trained would go for it in a heartbeat, well maybe quicker since he has no heart.

Those "human shields" would almost all Jews or Jewish sympathizers. Surely the Iranians would LOVE to set up a story that "the Jooos did it." Or could anybody be so vile as to sink our own boat for propaganda purposes? I shudder to think it, but with Zero, who knows what he'd do? He did leave four of our guys to die just for cover.

[napscoordinator]

If the evil Odumbo ordered our troops to attack Israel, what would they do?

They would do what the Commander in Chief directs. For 3 years, Obama will be the one to direct the military. Thankfully, he will not do this. I don’t believe the military would go against the orders.

[Ymani Cricket]

They can serve the purpose of evacuation. In 2006 the USS Iwo Jima (one of the ships now going there) evacuated US citizens from Lebanon. USS Iwo Jima is part of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit. Yes they do evacuations. I’d rather be evacuated by a warship than anything else,
wouldn’t you?

[Truth29]

"Israel could not tolerate that and a war between Syria and Israel could break out bringing Syrian chem-bio weapons into play (not to mention likely Saddam weapons inventory)."

I wouldn't put it past Obama to have had the Benghazi operation ship some of Qaddafi's chemical weapons to the Syrian opposition to stage an incident that could be blamed on Assad.

[Vendome]

LOL

Yea, right.

They are there for support....

[paratrooper82]

The US Navy ships are probably cover for this muzzy President to send arms and ammunition to his fellow brother terrorist “Hamas” who are taking one hell of an ass kicking! If Hamas was gaining ground against Israel, Obammy would not care>

Where in the hell was the support for our American brothers in Lybia?

[COBOL2Java]

Oh, that's great! I can see the Palestinians with US citizenship struggling to get aboard ahead of the American Israelis with their citizenship! Fist fights over who gets on the ship.

With the American military under orders from on high to ensure that the Palestinian-Americans get preferential boarding.

[paratrooper82]

The US Navy ships are probably cover for this muzzy President to send arms and ammunition to his fellow brother terrorist “Hamas” who are taking one hell of an ass kicking! If Hamas was gaining ground against Israel, Obammy would not care>

Where in the hell was the support for our American brothers in Lybia?

[BluH2o]

Can anyone remember another president doing this?

The US Navy 6th Fleet in the Med usually have a Battalion Landing Team (BLT) of Marines on Amphibious warships in the area. For the Marines it's a 6 month deployment ... it's called a Med cruise. Back in the day I had the good fortune to be on two of these deployments. Both cruises that I was on were routine, we made amphibious training landings in places like Turkey, Crete, Corsica, Spain. The main reason we were attached to the 6th Fleet was to be a landing force in readiness to evacuate American nationals, or protect American interests in that part of the world if events warranted it. Marine BLT's over the years have been a force (just over the horizon) off the shores of Cypress, Libya, Lebanon (actual landing).

[jersey117]

What’s he trying to do? Evacuate Israel so his muslim peeps can move in?

[Hoodat]

They never should have given back the Suez Canal.

[redgolum]

It suggests they have more intel on what is going on than is in the news.

Honestly, I can't see this as a bad thing. Get our folks out, and tell Israel to have fun. We do need to make sure we can protect power after the fact, but perhaps this is one war we shouldn't fight.

Especially since I fear our current POTUS would have us on the wrong side.

[SkyPilot]

Can anyone remember another president doing this?

Yes, they are called NEOs. Noncombatant Evacuation Operations.

I participated in several of these while I was in the military.

They are covered in detail in Joint Publication JP 3-68.

https://www.fas.org/irp/doddir/dod/jp3-68.pdf

NEOs are complex and touchy operations. They are paid for by the State Department, and DOS has a lot of say in how the operation is actually run. As is typical, however, the State Dept lacks the resources, manpower, security, logistics, lethality, and ability to pull these operations off. The military takes this role, however, the DoD depends upon the State Dept to clear all diplomatic hurdles, to help inform the populace of American or those holding American passports to the information regarding evacuation, and the processing of those holding passports. In some cases, we evacuation people who hold no passports whatsoever - we allow the whole "clan" into the US. This has happened in Lebanon, Haiti, and other cases I can think of.

I think Obama is a terrible President, an immoral man, and corrupt. However, there is nothing unusual with sending amphibious ships to an expanding war zone to prepare to evacuation Americans.

[USAF80]

Hopefully they will disobey orders.