U.S. naval battle group crosses Strait of Hormuz
Updated at 10:01 a.m. ET
ABOARD THE USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN - Iranian patrol boats and aircraft shadowed a U.S. aircraft carrier strike group as it transited the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday.
The passage ended a Gulf mission that displayed Western naval power amid heightened tensions with Tehran, which has threatened to choke off vital oil shipping lanes.
But officers onboard the USS Abraham Lincoln said there were no incidents with Iranian forces and described the surveillance as routine measures by Tehran near the strategic strait, which is jointly controlled by Iran and Oman.
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Although U.S. warships have passed through the strait for decades, the trip comes during an escalating showdown between Iran and the West over the Islamic Republic's nuclear program. The last time an American carrier left the Gulf — the USS John C. Stennis in late December — Iran's army chief warned the U.S. it should never return.
The Lincoln was the centerpiece of a flotilla that entered the Gulf last month along with British and French warships in a display of Western unity against Iranian threats. There was no immediate comment by Iran about the Lincoln's departure.
Iran's Revolutionary Guard has said it plans its own naval exercises near the strait, the route for a fifth of the world's oil supply. But Iran's military has made no attempts to disrupt oil tanker traffic — which the U.S. and allies have said would bring a swift response.
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Two American warships, one in front and one in the rear, escorted the Abraham Lincoln on its midday journey through the strait and into the Arabian Sea after nearly three weeks in the Gulf, which is frequently visited by U.S. warships and includes the headquarters of the U.S. 5th Fleet in Bahrain. The strait is only about 30 miles (50 kilometers) across at its narrowest point.
On one side, the barren, fjord-like mountains of Oman were visible through the haze. Iran's coast was just beyond the horizon on the other side of the ship, but too far away to be seen.
Gunners in red jerseys manned the 50-caliber machine guns as the ships moved out of the Gulf. An Iranian patrol boat pulled nearby.
Later, just after the Lincoln rounded the "knuckle" — the nub of Oman jutting out at the southern end of the strait — an Iranian patrol plane buzzed overhead. Another patrol boat was waiting further down the coast, said Rear Adm. Troy Shoemaker, commander of the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Force.
Besides Iran's regular patrol boats, the Revolutionary Guard operates a large number of small, fast-attack boats. Some are armed with only a machine gun, while others also carry anti-ship missiles. They can be difficult to spot because they resemble the swift-moving smuggling boats that ply the strait.
Shoemaker said none of those fast boats appeared Tuesday, likely deterred by the rough seas.
He predicted before the transit that the Iranians would likely keep a close eye on the Lincoln throughout its passage, including with ground-based radars. He wasn't surprised by the attention from Iranian forces.
"We would do the same things off the coast of the United States ... It's more than reasonable. We're operating in their backyard," he said. "We've been doing it for years."
Several U.S. choppers flanked the carrier group throughout the transit, watching out for potentially hostile vessels and relaying real-time pictures back to the Lincoln's crew.
Dozens of F/A-18 strike fighters and other planes in Lincoln's embarked air wing sat parked silently on deck throughout the trip. Today was a no-fly day for their crews, though some fighters were prepped and armed, ready to launch in as little as 15 minutes should things go wrong.
Officers on board were eager to describe the transit, in which the Lincoln was accompanied by the cruiser USS Cape St. George and destroyer USS Sterett, as a routine maneuver despite the growing speculation that Israel could launch a military strike against Iran's nuclear program.
The U.S. and allies fear Iran's uranium enrichment program could eventually lead to the production of weapons-grade nuclear material. Iran claims it only seeks reactors for energy and medical research.
"I wouldn't characterize ... us going through the strait as: 'Hey, this is a huge show of force, we're coming through.' It's an international strait to transit. We're going from one body of water to the other," said Capt. John Alexander, the Lincoln's commanding officer, as preparations for the trip got under way late Monday.
The Lincoln is expected to provide air support for the NATO mission in Afghanistan starting Thursday. Navy brass in the Gulf say another American carrier is due back through the strait soon, but gave no firm timetables.
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maybe after 50 years
war happen inside USA
TRILLION CDOs that got to be 'hidden'. Got to keep energy speculation bubble 'pumped. Best scenario. Worst. 3 philosophies 'trying' to bring their avatar/medhi/messiah to fruition through a LAST shootout @ the OK corral
WHY HAS FERVENT IRANIAN NATIONALISTIC PRIDE PURPORTEDLY GONE OVERBOARD?
A:
Due to irrational, divinely/religiously-inspired delusions of power, conquest, and a "MUCH-holier-than-thou murder-and-die-for superiority attitude" ...
... assuming dominance over and submission by 'other(lesser human souls)', affords us sufficient explanation.
We as earthlings have been here before, a la The Roman Catholic Church, albeit during far less educated states and stages of our development and our progress.
Tragically, we are now being forced to revisit 'Holy Warism', only accompanied and backed by weapons which are deliberately procured for inflicting massive destruction onto adversaries, infidels, and 'non-compliant others'. As a by-product, our entire world's flora, fauna, water, soil, air and environment may be destroyed forever.
Are we ready and able to accept
APOCALYPSE ON SCHEDULE?
This is an old strategy and was used by Hitler to start WWII, and the US to start the Vietnam War (Gulf of Tonkin). What a disaster and a tragedy unfolding again.
Iran has nothing worth fighting for, all the benefit comes from the other side of the border, which explains why we haven't fretted since the Supreme Dictator took over.
We have never used "fear" as a mean to get what we want. Historically, only the Islamic raticals chose fear, since they lack the true Diplomacy of compromise...
But don't you worry, the Islamic controlled media in Iran will not dare publish a second of truth, unless it is in their best interests... otherwise the reporters will end up dead.
Wars are waged for honor, fear, and resources. Analyses of wars suggest that many are waged by acts of aggression for the territory and natural resource of another nation.
Geoffrey Blainely in "The Causes of War" (1973) indicates that "The vanity of nationalism, the will to spread ideology, the protection of kinsmen in an adjacent land, the desire for more territory or commerce, the avenging of a defeat or insult, the craving for greater national strength or independence, the wish to impress or cement alliances --- all these represent power in different wrappings. The conflicting aims of rival nations are always conflicts of power". Sometimes, war is empowered by religion. But, the hidden motive is to capture the resources of the other nation, force its will, increase its sphere of influence.
Those who seek power will never end their cycle of destruction by waging war. Imperialism of Egypt, Mesopotamia, China, India, Persia, Greece, Rome, England, Spain, among others, all have one thing in common, exploitation and expansion of power.
Many optimists hope, and realists suggest, ways to limit wars to police actions under the auspices of the United Nations. In today's inter-related international environment, many of the world boundaries are collapsing by free trade, the exchange of knowledge, and travel. Electronic communication has increased our awareness of other cultures.
We have one home, the earth. She has limited resources and a very fragile environment. The future of our civilization is at risk of global annihilation by nuclear, biological and chemical arsenals of nations. For the civilization to survive, we have to rely on the International Court and the United Nations to resolve the conflicts. Optimists and realists both predict someday the earth will be free of these awful powerful causes of mass death. Otherwise, our civilization will not survive.
Only fools start a war and the people pay the price.