Article

2012-01-27 Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Massive US Military Buildup on Two Strategic Islands: Socotra and Masirah

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Posted by Anonymoose 2012-01-27 17:05|| || Front Page|| [8 views ] Top

#1 What will be the Casus Belli (Other than Obama wanting reelection)?

Posted by OldSpook 2012-01-27 17:28|| 2012-01-27 17:28|| Front Page Top

#2 I don't know about the rest of this, but putting 100K troops on Socotra is a stretch.

I looked at the island on Google Maps. One small airport with a single landing strip. The nearby towns are small. The land is rugged. No port, not even a long dock at the major town of Hadiboh (Hadibu). No port handling facilities. And we're going to put twice as many personnel on it as the island has people?

Masirah has a larger airfield and, by the map, some ability to handle container ships, all at the northern end. But it's a stretch to think that we'd put a lot of troops, aircraft, etc in there without the rest of the world figuring it out.

Definite salt time.

Posted by Steve White 2012-01-27 17:39|| 2012-01-27 17:39|| Front Page Top

#3 It's like Guam: they'll tilt the islands over when the flare goes up and bada bing- there are all the bases.

Posted by Pappy 2012-01-27 17:52|| 2012-01-27 17:52|| Front Page Top

#4 According to the Wiki, Socotra is 82 miles by 31 miles. It also has some enormous caves.

Posted by Anonymoose 2012-01-27 18:08|| 2012-01-27 18:08|| Front Page Top

#5 The 4 comments above illustrate perfectly the genius that is Rantburg.

Posted by Glenmore 2012-01-27 18:19|| 2012-01-27 18:19|| Front Page Top

#6 Iff Iran + IRGC hope to sink a US CVN, it will likely have to be done outside the Gulf proper + Strait of Hormuz.

And then there's Balochistan.

Posted by JosephMendiola 2012-01-27 18:49|| 2012-01-27 18:49|| Front Page Top

#7 Doesn't Iran occupy some islands nearby, on the Arabian side near Hormuz?

Posted by Grunter in Sydney 2012-01-27 20:40|| 2012-01-27 20:40|| Front Page Top

#8 "Enormous caves" is it just me, or is anyone else suddenly getting images of MACARTHUR, BATAAN + CORREGIDOR???

* ION DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > [US] PENTAGON TO SEND FOURTH AIRCRAFT CARRIER TO GULF.

Meanwhile, the IRGC = Iran suddenly wants to hold a MILEX.

Again, MULLAHS = made it clear many Yarns ago that nothing less than de facto foreign conquest of Iran will stop it from doing what it wants to do. AS LONG AS US-ALLIED WARSHIPS STAY OFFSHORE, PATROLLING UP-N-DOWN, + NO ENEMY GROUND ARMIES ATTACK + OCCUPY IRAN, IRAN WILL GO ON WID ITS NUCPROGS.

* SAME > OIL INDUSTRY SEES CHINA [+ Russia] WINNING, WEST LOSING FROM IRAN SANCTIONS.

Beijing + Moscow poten stand to benefit from receipt of lots of Iranian oil at preferred/discounted rates.

Posted by JosephMendiola 2012-01-27 20:54|| 2012-01-27 20:54|| Front Page Top

#9 OTOH CHINA DAILY FORUM > CUBA MAY BE BOMBED [anti-Gaddafi = "Libyuh-style"] UNDER GINGRICH, in support of any simil popular uprising breaking out there.

CUBA/HAVANA SPRING.

Posted by JosephMendiola 2012-01-27 21:10|| 2012-01-27 21:10|| Front Page Top

#10 Our Pharaoh knows that the "Liberty" in the region will really suck.

Posted by Bugs Glomoque3110 2012-01-27 21:25|| 2012-01-27 21:25|| Front Page Top

#11 US military has a history with Masirah. Per Eric Haney's book, it played a part in the failed attempt to rescue the embassy hostages from Iran.

Posted by Mercutio 2012-01-27 21:37|| 2012-01-27 21:37|| Front Page Top

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