Holy COW! Carrier Stennis Moving Into Iran As Well!

[AllexxisF1]

Hold the phone!

http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/06/front2454092.063888889.html

We knew of the story early last week (that was buried in the news) that the Eisenhower would be meeting up with the Enterprise Carrier battle group for operations near Iran. Now according the rag hot linked above that the U.S.S. Stennis will also be heading to the region!

Holy crapola. If the story mentioned above is true that would mean there will be 3 Carrier battle groups along with an amphibious carrier. If this does not begin raising red flags all over the place, I do not know what does.

-War go's extremely bad in Iraq.
-Cheney meets with Saudi Royal family
-Saudi Ambassador quits suddenly.
-U.S. moves carriers into the region.
-U.S. has brief one on one talks with North Korea late last week.
-Iran moves forward with oil trading in Euro's.
-Presidents asks for 30,000-50,000 troops even though his Joint Chiefs disagree.
-U.N. conveys embargo on Iran.
-News reports today that Iran may indeed be in trouble with their oil supply.

I keep remembering what the former U.N. Inspector Ritter said this past year when he said the best time to attack Iran would be in February and that the U.S. has already committed itself to that war.

The only way for this President to salvage his Presidency is to start a literal World War with Iran. Because history will always remember the larger war and He could step forward and say "See I told you so" or "We went into Iraq because we knew this was coming with Iran", or some crap.

I have a very...VERY bad feeling about this.

Is there anyone who can verify the general locations of these battle groups? I have been scouring all day trying to find something.

[progressive_realist]

1. The Enterprise came home.

Try this link: http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/where.htm

They seem to be quite accurate. In fact, I find GlobalSecurity.org to be handy whenever I have any military-related question. Most standard news sources seem to over-hype the significance of deployments.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

2. I'm calling bullshit.

The World Tribune is a moonie nutjob netrag. It ranks right up there with worldnetdaily.

[seemslikeadream]

6. Navy Times?

bullshit also?

[Jcrowley]

14. Best

to attempt further corroboration or refutation then call BS.

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/12/21/143259

http://www.navytimes.com/story.php?f=1-292925-2438831.php

http://www.ufppc.org/content/view/5458/35/

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061219/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_iran

[Morgana LaFey]

37. That's a very naive response, frankly

Just because a publication is a "a moonie nutjob netrag" doesn't mean their reporting is also NEVER to be believed. Take the WSJ, for another example. Their editorial dept is for shit, but the reporting is usually very good.

[lala_rawraw]

39. I think I can safely say that the concern is not remotely bullshit

In fact, it is far too calm given the situation. Beyond that, blah

[seemslikeadream]

3. Gates pledges ‘enduring’ US presence in Gulf

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/fde9f7a0-919d-11db-a945-0000779e2340.html

By Reuters, Friday December 22 2006

But the new defense secretary, who replaced Donald Rumsfeld on Monday, said he did not know if United States would send another carrier to the Gulf.

[roguevalley]

36. they are hoping to provoke an incident, which is easy to do. then

bush can rush in with his plastic sword and call foul.

[Joanne98]

4. Navy Times....

Stennis group could leave early for gulf deployment
Extra strike group presence would send message to Iran

By William H. McMichael and Christopher P. Cavas
Staff writers



The aircraft carrier John C. Stennis, shown here during pre-deployment training earlier this year, could be sent to the Middle East as soon as the first week of January. — MC3 Paul Perkins, Navy

The aircraft carrier John C. Stennis and its strike group are preparing to leave for the Persian Gulf as soon as the first week of January if ordered to do so, Pentagon sources say.

The surge deployment would serve as a show of force aimed at demonstrating that despite its occupation of Iraq, the U.S. could strike a troublesome Iran. The U.S. and the United Nations want to sanction Iran over its continued efforts to enrich uranium and what the U.S. says is continued furtive support for insurgents fighting in Iraq.

The Bremerton, Wash.-based Stennis, Carrier Air Wing 9 and the rest of the strike group have completed pre-deployment training and were scheduled to deploy in late January, officials said. A Pentagon source said the deployment could be moved up several weeks.

If the group deploys early, it could be in the gulf within several weeks, allowing it to overlap there for as many as two months with the Norfolk, Va.-based Dwight D. Eisenhower CSG, which deployed Oct. 3 on a seven-month cruise. It entered the gulf Dec. 11, according to the 5th Fleet.

http://www.navytimes.com/story.php?f=1-292925-2438831.php

It's a message sending operation...

[Solo_in_MD]

13. Nothing surprising there

the carrier workups and deployments are scheduled years in advance, used to be called D-30, as in 30 months planning cycle. 30 days either way is not a big deal and does not indicate a pell mell dash to the Gulf.

[seemslikeadream]

22. Then why didn't Gates know about it?

[Solo_in_MD]

27. Its about 3 or 4 levels of detail beneath what he would know off the top of his head

Even SECNAV might not know it when speaking off the cuff. I would expect the CNO would though

[solara]

5. Can BushCo declare war on Iran without the approval of Congress?

Holy crap! Doesn''t the President have to submit another letter of intent to Congress and get their approval before he starts ANOTHER war? Isn't there anyone at all who can stop this madman?

[Joanne98]

15. That's a good question... Iraq War Resolution (sourcewatch)

Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002
From SourceWatch
The Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 (House Joint Resolution 114) was signed October 16, 2002, as Public Law 107-243 by President George W. Bush. <1>

On Thursday, October 10, 2002, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 296-133 <2> and, on Friday, October 11, 2002, the U.S. Senate voted 77-23 to "authorize President Bush to attack Iraq if Saddam Hussein refuses to give up weapons of mass destruction as required by U.N. resolutions." <3>

The resolution required President Bush "to declare to Congress either before or within 48 hours after beginning military action that diplomatic efforts to enforce the U.N. resolutions have failed," CNN reported.

The resolution required Bush to "certify that action against Iraq would not hinder efforts to pursue the al Qaeda terrorist network" that attacked the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington, DC, on September 11, 2001. It also required the Bush administration "to report to Congress on the progress of any war with Iraq every 60 days." <4>

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Authorization_for_Use_of_Military_Force_Against_Iraq_Resolution_of_2002

It doesn't sound like it. But I don't know...

[EVDebs]

43. WPA requires truthful circumstances/situations, not pretexts

yet the AUMFs each allow for '...as he (Bush) determines...' language. Congress needs to investigate QUICKLY

[Morgana LaFey]

38. Yes

The IWR gave him the authority (oh, rue the day) to do whatever he felt was needed in the region.

[seemslikeadream]

7. front-line combat-ready organization with world-wide mission capabilities

http://www.hendersondispatch.com/articles/2006/12/26/news/news02.txt

Henderson native Capt. Sterling Gary Gilliam Jr. recently assumed command of Carrier Air Wing Nine, a front-line combat-ready organization with world-wide mission capabilities.

The change-in-command ceremony took place on Nov. 15 aboard the nuclear aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis in the waters of the Pacific Ocean.

[Solo_in_MD]

10. And he is a good guy too...

[seemslikeadream]

18. OK then site some verification of your view please?

[Solo_in_MD]

25. Ah...I know him personally...

[seemslikeadream]

30. I asked for verification

I don't know you or who you are or who you know. You are one of 90,000 here Solo. Sorry I just can't take your word for it.

[Solo_in_MD]

31. How do I verify that I think he is a nice guy?

Seriously, I do know him (or at least did). I am a former naval aviator and we toured together. Seen him a few times since. Proof is not realistically possible, nor does it really matter. CAGs do not have friends, family, or much of a life until their tour is complete. Its that kind of job.

As for my bonafides, my profile and posting history is about as good as it gets. I clearly comment extensively on military related threads since it is one of my main areas of expertise. Unlike many here I actually know a fair amount about the military having been in it/near it/associated with it my entire adult life.



Finally I could see no point to posting the extract of the CoC bio that his hometown newspaper published. Seemed kind of silly to me so I followed it with a flippant post, oh well.

[seemslikeadream]

33. I don't know your posting history

and find it irrelevant that he is a nice guy actually. When you said he was a good guy I thought you were talking about his abilities not his personality

[caligirl]

40. Are you a boat school grad? Many return to live around Annapolis

Husband is class of '78 flew '46's.

[Solo_in_MD]

41. ROTC. Got a late start in college and was already married, so no Canoe U for me...

[seemslikeadream]

8. six carriers to be available for deployment within 30 days

http://www.kitsapsun.com/bsun/local/article/0,2403,BSUN_19088_5231551,00.html

The Navy implemented what is known as the Fleet Response Plan in 2003 to allow flexibility for the nation’s 12 aircraft carriers to respond to global threats and humanitarian crises. The plan calls for six carriers to be available for deployment within 30 days and another two to be available in 90 days.


humm..... I wonder how many went to the Tsunami rescue in '04?

[Solo_in_MD]

11. This has been a goal of the Navy well before Iraq...

and is nothing new.

[seemslikeadream]

17. I sited the date what more do you want?

[Solo_in_MD]

28. No argument - I was supporting your position.

many are running around sceaming how the fleet is going into some sort of war deployment mode, encouraged by the MSM, when actually the sailing schedules have been well defined and stable for several years.

[truthisfreedom]

9. Ooh... Poppy's going to be very mad.

junior's meds must be designed to make him very easily manipulated by the neocons.

[nashville_brook]

12. K 'n R for more info

[AllexxisF1]

16. Why was this moved to general discussion?

When it is about a breaking news story.

Anyway the above poster was correct and the Enterprise has returned to home port. However there is still two carriers within the region with the Stennis being the latest and greatest the Navy has to offer.

[seemslikeadream]

19. It's because of the date of the article

too late for LBN

[maddezmom]

21. the article linked was over 12 hrs old

dated Dec 22. :hi:

[dave_p]

20. not buying it

They can't even function in Iraq: extending that mess from a nation of 28 million to one of 68 million is going to stretch the loyalty even of the spineless clones who surround the White House like barely-human shields.

But it's hardly going to be "a literal World War"... just another bloody quagmire that never needs to be ended, sucking the living into an ongoing moneyspinning carnage: business as usual to the bloodsuckers who feast on this sort of thing.

[seemslikeadream]

23. I've been waiting for something to happen

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFowNFvmUxw

I've been waiting for something to happen
For a week or a month or a year
With the blood in the ink of the headlines
And the sound of the crowd in my ear
You might ask what it takes to remember
When you know that youve seen it before
Where a government lies to a people
And a country is drifting to war

And theres a shadow on the faces
Of the men who send the guns
To the wars that are fought in places
Where their business interest runs

On the radio talk shows and the t.v.
You hear one thing again and again
How the u.s.a. stands for freedom
And we come to the aid of a friend
But who are the ones that we call our friends--
These governments killing their own?
Or the people who finally can't take any more
And they pick up a gun or a brick or a stone
There are lives in the balance
There are people under fire
There are children at the cannons
And there is blood on the wire

Theres a shadow on the faces
Of the men who fan the flames
Of the wars that are fought in places
Where we cant even say the names

They sell us the president the same way
They sell us our clothes and our cars
They sell us every thing from youth to religion
The same time they sell us our wars
I want to know who the men in the shadows are
I want to hear somebody asking them why
They can be counted on to tell us who our enemies are
But they're never the ones to fight or to die
And there are lives in the balance
There are people under fire
There are children at the cannons
And there is blood on the wire


Bush's Inconceivable Interest in Iran Sat Apr-01-06
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=819437

Senior U.S. Officials “Want to Hit Iran” Tue Apr-04-06
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=844418

Larisa Alexandrovna: CHENEY TAPS IRANIAN ARMS DEALER FOR IRAN TALKS Thu Apr-20-06
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=977234

Seymour Hersh said something startling about Rumsfeld on Democracy Now Fri Aug-18-06
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=1936421

So former DLC, PNAC member Abram Shulsky feeding Cheney info on Iran? Sat Aug-19-06
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=1944614

Fuck. Iran has started "war games." Escalation may only be expected. Sun Aug-20-06
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=1949812

Attack on Iran is ComingSun Aug-27-06
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=1993284

"Grave threat". Yes, it's deja vu all over again. Thu Aug-31-06
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=2022620

UN attacks US nuclear report on Iran erroneous misleading unsubstantiated Sun Sep-17-06
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=2159951

We Are Conducting Military Operations Inside Iran Right Now Tue Sep-19-06
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=2168218

Navy told: Prepare to blockade Iran by Oct 1 Mon Sep-18-06
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=2161779

Pentagon Iran Office Mimics Former Iraq Office Wed Sep-20-06
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=2179484

“This is the largest massing of military power in the region, and it is gathering for a reason.” Sat Nov-18-06
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=2753952

Seymour Hersh: Cheney Says 'Whether Or Not Dems Win-NO STOPPING Military Option With Iran' Sun Nov-19-06
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=2757350

Does anyone still believe the US will launch a full scale invasion of Iran? Mon Dec-04-06
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=2856177

Saudi clerics rally support for Sunnis and Saudi ambassador Abruptly Resigns Tue Dec-12-06
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=2902643

Act III in a Tragedy of Many Parts - The US Occupation of Iraq Sun Dec-17-06
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=2935498

Century Foundation Iran White Paper Series Fundamentalists, Pragmatists and the Rights of the Nation Tue Dec-19-06
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=2948146

Oh shit Tue Dec-19-06
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=2944423

[bobthedrummer]

24. It's the same mistake, it's the BFEE's version of "diplomacy"

even with "fresh eyes" as SecDef-and this has nothing to do with interservice rivalry either.

This is beyond all that now.

The hard core inner circle around the Decider views death as life, and not in the abstract.

[Freddie Stubbs]

26. INTO Iran?

Is it sailing up a river?

[bobthedrummer]

29. Fwiw, that's what the littoral ships can do-there maybe a few of them with these groups

they go from blue to brown water-plus the Special Ops stuff...

[seemslikeadream]

32. Caliphate, Bush's timeline, and the 500 year war.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=116&topic_id=13646&mesg_id=13646

[seemslikeadream]

34. hasten the day

http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1227/p01s02-usfp.html

But critics say the measure takes so much off the table of negotiations with Iran that it makes almost meaningless any talk of tougher measures later - and may in fact hasten the day when the United States feels obligated to move to more extreme action by a "coalition of the willing," such as a naval blockade of Iranian ports or bombing of nuclear facilities.

[seemslikeadream]

35. They can start a war

http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=archives&Area=sd&ID=SP137806

Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Commander Yahya Rahim Safavi: "The Americans are sunk in the quagmire of Afghanistan and Iraq, and there is no way for them forward or backward. Assuming they attack Iran, their 200,000 troops, in their 33 bases, are highly vulnerable. American politicians and military commanders both know this.


"They can start a war, but end will not be in their hands.

....

Iranian Navy Commander: "American Warships Are Heavy... And Easily Sunk": On November 27, 2006, the Iranian news agency Mehr reported that IRGC Navy Commander Admiral Sejad Kouchaki had said, "We are fully monitoring the route taken by the American , and because American warships are heavy, they have no maneuverability, and are easily sunk."

.....

Iranian Suicide Bomber Organization Threatens Suicide Operations Against U.S. Targets in Gulf: On November 20, 2006, the Kuwaiti daily Al-Rai reported: "An extremist Iranian group is threatening to carry out suicide operations in the Gulf countries that are allies of the U.S., in the event that the U.S. uses its own bases in these countries to attack Iran."

[EVDebs]

42. What AUMF does he think a Democratically controlled Congress will allow?

(Auhorization for Use of Military Force) like the Sept 2001 AUMF for War on Terror, or the Oct 2002 AUMF for the War in Iraq ? Each violate the '73 War Powers Resolution. They allow Bush "as he determines" to direct the military's actions without Congress' oversight it seems.

If the Iranians were stupid, they'd respond to these deployments. If they were really smart they'd just let Bush keep doing what he's been doing. Creating an Islamic republic in Iraq is Bush's doings so far, and Iranian intelligence had a coup d'etat on that regard. According to the wargaming on Iran the US can't 'win' militarily anyway. If this were an IQ test for the DOD and Bush you'da thought they wouldn't want to publicly embarrass themselves.

[bobthedrummer]

44. kick