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| Debka: US warships box in Iranian flotilla, delay Suez passage |
| 2011-02-21 |
| Thursday night, Feb. 17, the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise, escorted by missile cruiser USS Leyte Gulf and the fast supply ship USNS Arctic, headed south through the canal. By Friday morning, they were through and taking up position opposite the Kharg cruiser and Alvand missile destroyer of the Iranian Navy's 12th Flotilla, which were waiting to enter the Suez Canal at the southern Red Sea entrance. Furthermore, since the first week of February, the USS Kearsarge, another aircraft carrier, was posted in the Great Bitter Lake opposite Ismailia and the canal's main routes with a large contingent of marines aboard. The USS George Washington carrier and the USS Carl Vinson were additionally deployed in the Gulf of Aden, the latter having been moved from the Pacific. A battle of nerves is therefore underway. The Iranian warships found themselves cheek to jowl with a major concentration of America naval might piling up in the Red Sea and Suez and were not sure what would happen if they went forward with their mission to transit the Suez Canal for the Mediterranean for the first time in 30 years on their way to Syria. Sunday night, the Canal authorities announced another 48 hours delay shortly after Tehran state TV claimed the warships were already through to the Mediterranean. And, finally, the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier was quietly transferred from Bahrain, headquarters of the US Fifth Fleet amid the anti-government uprising, to a point opposite the Iranian Gulf coast. This pile-up of US naval, air and marine might at strategic points in the Middle East is a warning to meddlers to keep their hands off the revolutions, uprisings and protests sweeping Arab nations. It carries a special message for Tehran that the Obama administration will not permit the Islamic Republic's rulers to make military and political hay from the unrest - in Bahrain or anywhere else. By positioning the Enterprise opposite Iran's 12th Flotilla at the Red Sea entrance to the Suez Canal on Feb. 17 Washington has confronted Tehran with a hard dilemma, which was practically spelled out by US State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley a day earlier: "If the ships move through the canal, we will evaluate what they actually do," he said. "It's not really about the ships. It's about what the ships are carrying, what's their destination, what's the cargo on board, where's it going, to whom and for what benefit." |
| Posted by:gorb |
| #13 ...shoulda told the Somalis that. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2011-02-21 22:39 |
| #12 My guess is they just have several tons of gold in the hold in case the people of Iran decide to get serious about running the mullah's out of Dodge. This is their "walking around money" for the rest of their lives. |
| Posted by: crosspatch 2011-02-21 22:29 |
| #11 shallow water mine would work nicely, tuned specifically to them. Bottom mine, influence type. Explosive element is easy. Question is how fast the nation in question can build the activator. Problem is, who's manning the Iranian ships - regular Iranian navy or IRGC? |
| Posted by: Pappy 2011-02-21 22:26 |
| #10 They have the acoustic signatures now. A shallow water mine would work nicely, tuned specifically to them. Shallow water would fracture the ships completely. But we would not do such a thing. But I know one nation that would. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2011-02-21 21:41 |
| #9 USS ENTERPRISE, Red Sea (NNS) -- Enterprise Carrier Strike Group (CSG) transited the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and entered the Gulf of Aden, Feb. 18 in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility (AOR). http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=58681 |
| Posted by: crosspatch 2011-02-21 21:19 |
| #8 If this is real, it's a brilliant plan. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2011-02-21 21:03 |
| #7 The Kearsarge is actually an amphibious assault ship. You would think Debka would know that. The Kearsarge is a light aircraft carrier - it can operate 20 Harriers. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2011-02-21 20:46 |
| #6 I don't buy it. Obama won't interrupt eating his waffles for something as "minor" as this. Now, the governor of Wisconsin trying rein in the spending & unions - THAT'S a crisis. |
| Posted by: CincinnatusChili 2011-02-21 19:52 |
| #5 A little research finds that the Kharg is not a cruiser, but a supply ship. Most sources classify the Alvand as a frigate/corvette. Don't think that's worthy of the attentions of 4 Carrier Battlegroups and a Marine Amphibious group. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2011-02-21 19:38 |
| #4 "DEBKAfile Exclusive Report " in the dateline of the report says all you need to know. I have never in my life seen a DEBKAfile "exclusive" turn out to be true, and I mean *never*. They make interested reading sometimes, but they are never real. Apparently they are designed to attract eyeballs to the ads or something. This one is safe to ignore. |
| Posted by: crosspatch 2011-02-21 19:31 |
| #3 The Kearsarge is actually an amphibious assault ship. You would think Debka would know that. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2011-02-21 19:15 |
| #2 Iff true, POTUS BAMMER = the USA has to protect both the SUEZ CANAL for US, INTERNATIONAL TRADE INTERESTS, as well as EGYPTIAN + ME DEMOCRACY. Iff Radical Islam succeeds in achieving REGIONAL POLITICAL POWER via usurpation of the various Legitimate pro-Democracy "Jasmine" agendums, THE SUEZ WILL LIKELY BE CLOSED OFF AGAIN AS PER DECADES AGO TO US, WESTERN TRANSHIPMENT. GLITCH = Radical Islam = Iran? will likely demand the closure of the Suez after IRAN FORMALLY DECLARES ITSELF TO BE A NUCWEAPONS STATE. As per MSM-NET PERTS, the only real thingy keeping HEU-happy Iran from de facto dev NucWeaps is a DIRECT ORDER FROM GOVT. EL SUPREMO + "HIDDEN IMAM/MAHDI" REPRESENTATIVE-ON-EARTH AYATOLLAH KHAMEINI. Iran doesn't have to invade its ME Muslim neighbors - it just has to turn them into PRO-IRAN NEW "LEBANONS". |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2011-02-21 19:00 |
| #1 USS Kearsarge, another aircraft carrier, This is one cool-looking ship - I went on board during Fleet Week in NYC. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2011-02-21 19:00 |