I'm not sold on this idea that we're about to attack Iran

[WilliamPitt]

The USS Eisenhower is sailing for the Persian Gulf, true, but I've been keeping an eye on fleet movements for a while now (as best as I am able). This strikes me as a rotation and not a buildup.

As for the minesweepers that are also being deployed:

U.S. Navy ships operating in the Persian Gulf face an unseen threat from underwater mines. Iraq laid several thousand in the first Gulf War, and military officials are also concerned about mines set by terrorists. In the past, the United States has been criticized for avoiding the dull and dangerous job of hunting mines. But as NPR's Eric Niiler reports, the Navy is trying to catch up, using everything from underwater robots to dolphins.

Since World War II, 14 U.S. ships have been sunk or damaged by mines, while only two have been sunk by enemy fire. Sitting underwater until they're detonated by the sound of a passing ship, mines are cheap and effective. Robert Martinage, a senior defense analyst at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments in Washington, says mines are used by more than 50 nations, and new technology is making them harder than ever to detect.

During the Gulf War, Iraq blocked U.S. Marines from landing by stringing the Kuwait shoreline with mines. In deeper water offshore, mines also severely damaged two U.S. warships. After the war, minesweepers removed 13,000 mines from the Persian Gulf. But military officials say some may still remain.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=943641

...so having sweepers tag along with a massively expensive aircraft carrier is just prudence, imho.

I'm not ready to start sounding alarm bells on this just yet. Hope I'm right.

[BootinUp]

1. I think your with me

in the asinine club then. :shrug:

So I've been told.

I just don't see the military goin along with this one without some major resistance and resignations.

[BOSSHOG]

2. Carrier Groups at sea is not a cause for alarm

Its kinda what they do on a regular basis. Practice, practice, practice. Minesweeps are built to go to sea as well. Getting right wing chickenhawk war fanatics all fired up about Iran is one thing, walking the walk is another. bush's advisors have let the lil king know that iran ain't no iraq.

[Frustratedlady]

18. And NK ain't no Iraq, either

Hopefully, someone with some sense will have enough nerve to stand up and be counted. If he grabs NK's tail, he's going to have a major fight on his hands.

[BOSSHOG]

19. bush can't wait for January 2009

so he can pass this pile of shit off to someone else. He doesn't care who it is, he just wants out of this garbage pile he has built.

[LSK]

3. also, there is no NEW media blitz about how Iran is a threat

Thank you for trying to calm the nervous folks here.

I do not see it happening before the election unless there is a MIHOP incident.

[Singular73]

5. When you start seeing endless coverage of the 79 hostage crisis,

THEN we will attack Iran.

Before then, we won't.

[LSK]

8. and they had an open window during the Israel/Lebanon conflict

This past summer and they didnt take it.

[Singular73]

4. They won't attack Iran

It takes a good 3-6 months to get the public behind a war.

The United States doesn't "sneak attack" anyone in this regard.

Does Bush even have congretional authority to attack Iran, or would he (In Theory), have to go back to congress to get a new declaration?

[Ravenseye]

14. You're kidding right?

We've sneak attacked plenty of countries. Mostly by air strikes, but also ground invasions.

Panama, Grenada, Sudan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya...

They've dropped bombs plenty of times without warning or war, or ground troops. They've also invaded without a declaration of war in sneak attack son multiple occasions.

I personally don't believe they're going to attack Iran, but not because we don' sneak attack people.

[bdamomma]

16. he is acting like supreme ruler, do you really think he will go

to Congress, after his declaration of Unitary Executive Rule.

[Sherman A1]

6. It will be more that two CVSG's in any case.

Gulf War 1st and 2nd Edition both used 6 CV groups if memory serves. Even if the Enterprise and Eisenhower are on station together for awhile 2 does not make enough to justify the big ships in the more important battle of the budget.

[Midlodemocrat]

7. I seriously doubt we are about to attack Iran.

From everything I have read, this is a routine fleet rotation.

I hope to God we're right, Will.

[sweetheart]

9. Agree with you will, its fog nt

[Downtown Hound]

10. I'm with you

As fucked up as the Bush administration is, I don't see them taking on an adversary like Iran lightly. Iraq was largely defenseless, or so they thought. Look how that turned out for them. Iran is not. They have many anti-ship missiles, a large army, and a terrain that would make any kind of war very difficult. Plus, the Shiites in Iraq would likely rebel at the first sign of an American strike against Iran, and that would only compound our problems. And yes, I think Bushco knows this, and is not in such a hurry to go to war there as so many seem to think. I'm not saying war with Iran is impossible, I just don't think it's such a foregone conclusion as most DU'ers think.

[Lerkfish]

11. well, I guess I'll be the loner in this thread that thinks they WILL.

:shrug:

when the argument is ships going there is no proof, then I just have to remember the Iraq war when the same buildup and the same rhetoric occurred. People THEN also said there was no reason to believe we'd invade Iran...it was just sabre rattling.

looking at the same evidence and expecting a different outcome is....well.....

[LSK]

15. but there is NO MEDIA BUILDUP like there was with Iraq

There is no new news about how Iran is going to nuke us all. It is just not the same.

[Lerkfish]

17. your lips to god's ears, then. Yet I still feel it in my bones.

I would prefer you to be correct.

[Wetzelbill]

12. not at this point no

doing certain things covertly is a different story, but as far as an actual attack, I would think not. Although, I wouldn't be surprised if they did, you can never underestimate the dangerous combo of blind ideology and rank stupidity that this administration possesses.

[The Magistrate]

13. You Are Quite Right To Be Dubious, Mr. Pitt

The thing is not going to happen, certainly not before the election.

The dangerous period will be in the waning days of the administration, when they know it will be their last chance.

[gWbush is Mabus]

20. first signs will be destabilization by cia reported by the bbc/ al jazeera

then we will see propaganda in the U.S. MSM.

"Iranians taking babies off of life support systems"