Free Republic

PORT SAID, Egypt: Seven US warships crossed the Suez Canal on Tuesday heading to the Gulf to join the US military buildup in preparation for a possible attack on Iraq. The seven amphibious ships, based in Norfolk, Virginia, carry more than 4,750 sailors and 7,000 Marines from the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade. They are the USS Kearsarge, Bataan, Saipan, Ponce, Gunston Hall, Ashland and Portland. In Washington, defence officials said on Monday that the USS Abraham Lincoln, one of the Navy's latest Nimitz-class carriers with more than 5,000 sailors and naval aviators aboard, had re-entered the Arabian Sea over the...

-- U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld signs order to send additional 35,000 troops to Persian Gulf. Watch CNN or log on to http://CNN.com /AOL Keyword: CNN for the latest news.

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (AP) -- Two of the seven Virginia-based ships that have received deployment orders in the past week pulled away from a Navy pier Sunday as a military buildup continued ahead of a possible war with Iraq. Three of the ships left port Friday, and the USS Ashland and USS Kearsarge left Sunday. The USS Bataan and USS Portland were expected to follow. Together, they can carry a landing force of more than 8,000 Marines. As the Ashland pulled away from its dock, a couple dozen family members waved from a cold, wind-swept parking lot. Kerri Rodriguez wiped...