The USS George Washington is heading to Gulf within 96 Hours.

Fox News | 12/27/02

[Sparta]

The USS George Washington has been put on the alert and told to prepare to deploy within 96 hours to the Persian Gulf. Developing....

[Republic of Texas]

That's probably true... in peacetime.

[Miss Marple]

You are missing something. I think they scheduled this as they needed restocking of supplies, and were hoping they could have a longer time before redeploying.

In addition, it was pointed out earlier in the thread that you can load sensitive items without as much observation when you are in a home port.

[TonyInOhio]

'He hath loosed the fateful power of his terrible swift sword'

[Oldeconomybuyer]

This administration is speaking loudly and carrying a big stick. It's the only thing mad dicatators understand; notwithstanding pHillary wanting to "talk" with them ...

[Dirk McQuickly]

We have no choice. Pyongyang has cast the die. The moves they've made this week (and the incendiary rhetoric) fly in the face of all "acceptable" maneuvering. The admission of nuclear capability was one step. If they left it there, perhaps we could have saved face and dealt down to a point where they would agree to dismantle operations for some financial assistance (bitter pill for us, though it would be). Instead, they started shipping SCUDS to Iraq. Now they are demanding a non-agression treaty (impossible), and threatening to destroy the world. With the likelihood these gorillas can produce a simple atomic bomb within a month (according to British scientists), we are forced to take action.

One positive byproduct of this situation is that it may force the U.S. to throw off the yoke of the U.N. and take unilateral action. One can appreciate the reluctance to create a pre-emptive strike precedence, but we are dealing with lunatics and zealots who have openly professed a desire to destroy us.

A Washington insider, whom I spoke to over Christmas, told me that Iraq is foregone -- that the Bush team is expertly putting on the good cop/bad cop charade between Powell and Rumsfeld while they are setting the table for a quick and decisive victory in Iraq. He says Powell has been taking the heat for putting forth the diplomatic drive, but in essence he has been an a good soldier throughout.

Given their penchant for getting all their ducks in a row, one would have to assume a contingency for Korea has been on the table for some time. So if something is going to go down (like a nuclear reactor), we have to be confident that the Bush White House is going to do everthing in their power to make this go away in an effective manner. It's potentially bloody, but this is crunchtime for the free world. If the U.N. wants to fall on it's plastic sword and be run roughshod by a bunch of Cretins, so be it, but when it comes down to it, we're going to do what we need to in order to survive...

[Republic of Texas]

They are just "preparing to stand by" as we used to say in the offshore oil bidness.

[relee]

Was that carrier the Truman????

I don't know. He said:

96 hours alert for:

GW battle group
Marine Amphibous ready group
USNS Comfort in Baltimore is activated

also

Air Force combat command has received prepare to deploy orders
and
Another carrier may get put on alert soon (this week)

[Quix]

I'm not sure "blunder" is the most apt word.

Maybe something like . . .

The NK's will rush insanely headlong into a devastatingly suicidal mad dog attack at the urging of their megalomaniacal excuse for a leader.

IMHO.

[Republic of Texas]

I hope you are right. Sometimes I see genius in Bush, and sometimes, I just don't know. Maybe that is part of the genius.

[Oldeconomybuyer]

North Korea puts banned guns on South border (in violation of an armistice accord)

[Dog]

I wonder where that SCUD shipment we intercepted was really going..

[relee]

Glad to see it is an old story. I was flipping through the channels and it caught my eye since I hadn't heard it before.

[mhking]

MH all joking aside....I am afraid the NK's are going to blunder into a war.

You aren't the only one. It was bad enough looking at Iraq. But this changes the dynamic entirely. Pretty damned sobering if'n you ask me...

[Servant of the Nine]

How long does a ship of this magnitude usually stay in port at home once it does return?

Six Months

Why not just leave it over there, if they are going to turn it around this quickly? There will hardly be time to get it cleaned up, get all the toilets cleaned out and the needed repairs and repainting done, or am I missing something?

There were a one to two thousand men on the ships in the Battle Group whose enlistments were up and needed to be discharged. Their replacements needed to be brought aboard.

It's good for morale to let the crew have Christmas at home when possible.

A ship ordinarily takes six months to do repairs and work up for durty with it's new crew before deploying, but they can operate for years in fast turnaround with delayed maintainance.

So9

[Republic of Texas]

We'll never know. (In public that is)

[The Vast Right Wing]

A Washington insider, whom I spoke to over Christmas, told me that Iraq is foregone -- that the Bush team is expertly putting on the good cop/bad cop charade between Powell and Rumsfeld while they are setting the table for a quick and decisive victory in Iraq. He says Powell has been taking the heat for putting forth the diplomatic drive, but in essence he has been an a good soldier throughout.

It has always been my opinion that Powell is playing the good cop to Rummy's bad cop. When people start whinning about his diplomatic approach they should remember what Powell is, a General. That means he understands that he serves at the pleasure of his commanding officer, the president. Nothing Powell does is done without the explicit approval of the president. It is as simple as that.

[FBD]

96 hour alert... this is it. I think everybody senses it.

[mhking]

Another carrier may get put on alert soon (this week)

I would bet money that would be the aforementioned USS Truman.

[Servant of the Nine]

it is smaller and the only non-nuke carrier in the fleet.

The Constellation is still in the Pacific Fleet, and still conventional.

So9

[Republic of Texas]

I stand corrected. Didn't know the constellation was still active.