Navy Flexes Its Muscles In Persian Gulf

U.S. Forces Stage Military Maneuvers; Denies Reports Iran Fired Missile At A U.S. Ship In Persian Gulf

(AP)  American warplanes screamed off two aircraft carriers Tuesday as the U.S. Navy staged its largest show of force in the Persian Gulf since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, launching a mammoth exercise meant as a message to the Iranians.

The maneuvers with 15 warships and more than 100 aircraft were sure to heighten tensions with Iran, which has frequently condemned the U.S. military presence off its coast and is in a faceoff with the West over its nuclear program and its capture of a British naval team.

While they would not say when the war games were planned, U.S. commanders insisted the exercises were not a direct response to Friday's seizure of the 15 British sailors and marines, but they also made clear that the flexing of the Navy's military might was intended as a warning.

"If there is strong presence, then it sends a clear message that you better be careful about trying to intimidate others," said Capt. Bradley Johanson, commander of the Stennis.

"Iran has adopted a very escalatory posture with the things that they have done," he added.

Meanwhile, the U.S. military denied reports that Iran fired a missile at a U.S. ship in the Persian Gulf. The rumors of an attack had sent oil prices soaring, but Lt. Cmdr. Charlie Brown of the U.S. Navy 5th fleet told an Associated Press reporter that all ships in the Gulf had been checked and the rumors were untrue.

The exercises began four days after Iranian forces detained the 15 Britons for allegedly being in Iranian territorial waters near the northern end of the Gulf. U.S. and British officials insist the team was properly searching cargo vessels inside Iraqi waters.

F/A-18 fighter jets roared off the Stennis' flight deck all day, mounting a dozen rapid-fire training sorties against imaginary enemy ships and aircraft. A second task force with the carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower also took part in the drills.

"These maneuvers demonstrate our flexibility and capability to respond to threats to maritime security," said Navy Lt. John Perkins, 32, of Louisville, Ky., as the Stennis cruised about 80 miles off the United Arab Emirates after entering the Persian Gulf overnight.

"They're showing we can keep the maritime environment safe and the vital link to the global economy open."

At the headquarters of the Navy's 5th Fleet in Bahrain, Cmdr. Kevin Aandahl said the maneuvers would last several days. He said U.S. warships would stay out of Iran's territorial waters, which extend 12 miles off the Iranian coast.

None of America's naval coalition partners in the region joined the maneuvers.

A French naval strike group, led by the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, was operating just outside the Gulf in the Arabian Sea. But the French ships were supporting NATO forces in Afghanistan and not taking part in the U.S. maneuvers, Aandahl said.

[us_infidel]

"They're showing we can keep the maritime environment safe and the vital link to the global economy open."

Too bad we weren't there for our British allies. We should have blown the Iranians out of the water!

[gunnerv1]

us-infidel; The Brits should have had more that just Pistols with them. When I was doing bording parties in the navy (Viet-Nam) we had BAR's, Thompsons, M1's and were getting ready to mount a .30 Cal. BMG on the bow of the Motor Whale Boat. They might have got us, but we'ed get a lot of them too!

[navyretired2]

Oh we were there...just not in their hip pocket. That incident is strictly Iranian Government sponsored terrorism. We had no reason to believe the British unit, legally operating under U.S. direction by the way, would be illegally overtaken.

And lemme say this before all the U.S. citizens that hate the U.S. pipe in about what the Navy's doing...its what we do. We plan, exercise, drill, practice, every day, every year, this is nothing out of the ordinary. Its how we keep up our readiness.

[crater7]

ANTE UP: Mine is bigger than yours. Your bet. Nothing like a little HIGH stakes poker. You in or out. Raise of fold. It's just a matter of time (short time) before someone calls. We all know whats next. I think I'll fill up my gas tank now. I wont be able to afford it later.

[harp1963]

Just like George Bush's grandfather, Prescott Bush, the war profiteers are hopeful of a world war in which they can become more financially wealthy and powerful.

[mitch0927]

I see this as a potential problem. Of course I am not an expert on war games and how they strategize things, but it seems our naval forces are being lured into something and it also seems our forces are bring stretched thin. I spent four years in a squadron and we played these games on every cruise, but that was all during peace time during the last few years of the cold war. With the massive cuts in other programs and education, maybe we might want to just come home and wait to see what happens, I don't know. I do know that in our state teachers are being forced to retire, reduction in pay, activities are being reduced or taken away all together in our educational system all because there isn't enough money to go around for education these past few years.

[gkc99]

Clearly the King of Neocondom is looking for the excuse that will trigger the attack on Iran. Another lie like the "Gulf of Tonkin" incident, which never happened? Yes, the Iranians are jerks, but it is their coastline. If Hugo Chavez invited the Iranian navy to patrol the coast of southern Florida, I'd imagine the Coast Guard would be watching them closely. The Iranians are doing the same thing with their country.

[rf35]

If we get into it with Iran before we're through in Iraq and Afganistan, we're royaly screwed. Our leaders, who are apparently so interested in war, have kept chipping away at the military to the point where we are bearly able to operate on two fronts, let alone three. We could try to reinstate the draft, but what good would more troops do without funds to pay, train, and equip them?

[tomar0317]

Does anyone watch the TV program '24'?? The VP is scarely like ours. We're seemingly picking a fight, we just don't want to throw the first punch.

[down-ndirty]

Well, the Navy and Air Force have been left out of the 'glory' in Iraq. They both want a piece of the action, so maybe this is Bush's way of letting the Navy flap its wings and stir up a little agitation in Iran.

Maybe the Iranians will do something stupid and Bush will give them 'shock therapy' like we gave Japan and Germany in WWII. That would make a lot of people happy, especially the Israelis who have been lobbying for U.S. foreign aid and protection for years.

[middleman8]

More agrivation by U S forces. When are the u s people going quit trying to run the world and bring their troops home and honnor their own borders. They are always crying about border security and they don't even respect their own border.They are buring up the earths resources and polluting the envirement with their H S. every veteran thinks he/she are a military expert.

[dallison7]

It seems pretty clear that Bush intends to start another war. He will make sure our military taunts Iran until something happens... or we are lead to believe something happened.

IMPEACH THE IDIOTS, NOW!!

WE CAN'T WAIT
TILL 2008!!

[inventagod]

Will the 70% of US voters who are opposed to more war be thwarted by a madman with the Pentagon at his disposal?

A power-hungry fascist, a rubber-stamp Congress and the biggest military in history. Add to that, a power-base of defense contractors and we have a nuclear train wreck happening right in front of us, and no way to stop it...

[dirtydog55]

middleman8 said "When are the u s people going quit trying to run the world and bring their troops home and honnor their own borders."

Never! Look up 'PNAC' on wikipedia and elsewhere. PNAC was a major advocate for the U.S. invasion of Iraq.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pnac

In addition, the U.S. has built four mega-bases in Iraq and no matter what happens, there are many people in the U.S. government, both Democrat and Republican, who like the idea of having those mega-bases in the middle east. It gives us a stronger foothold than we have in Saudia Arabia, it's more economical, and more flexible. So I think we are there for the 'long haul.'

The war may or may not end soon, but we will be in Iraq for a very long time. We didn't build mega-bases with the intention of ever letting someone else use them.

[inventagod]

I believe George Bu$h and *** Cheney have just declared war on Iran.
Have mercy on US all.

[getcentered]

"Patrick Walsh said he had assured Arab allies that Washington was trying to avoid "a mistake that boils over into war" with Iran."


We might have already made that mistake,
it is called the WAR IN IRAQ.

[dirtydog55]

inventagod said: "Will the 70% of US voters who are opposed to more war be thwarted by a madman with the Pentagon at his disposal? A power-hungry fascist, a rubber-stamp Congress and the biggest military in history."

Unfortunately the voters have little say after the madman is elected. It takes an impeachment by the House and a 2/3rds vote in the Senate to convict. Considering they don't even have the ballls to impeach, I don't see the probability of conviction any time soon.

Also, unfortunately, we don't have the biggest military in history. We have about 1.45 million active and 2.7 million reserve military personnel now compared to almost 20 million during WWII. About a third of the military personnel are in the Army, but not all of those are combat troops.

We had a half million military personnel in the Korean War and barely hung in there for a draw.

So, it's easy to see why the military is spread so thin. It's very unlikely that we could successfully sustain a ground war in yet another country, even with a draft.

[observantx]

More sabre rattlin' from the cowboy in chief and his UncleDickey.

The Iranians know it's just swagger and chest thumping. This is standard procedure. And it's just as foolish and counterproductive.

Let's just hope everybody keeps their itchy fingers off the trigger.

[jjreding-2009]

Well, here we go again. Bush and his cronies are once again doing their best to deflect the growing storm in the Alberto Gonzalez/fired US attorney scandal by trying to get the news to report on something else. When will this end? This maniac just won't quit.

[Syndicate]

Wow I didn't know that Bush and the Iranians were conspiring to distract from the Gaonzales thing. Wow who would have ever thaught that. With liberals saying stupid things like that is it any wonder alot of people have doubts about global warming?

[allyoudems]

All of you! Listen to your complaining, all you bleeding hearts complain.You have no idea what is going on over in IRAQ.

Anything our President does you bad mouth him.

I feel sorry for you all! Suggestion, pick up a weapon and stand post while you are under attack from all sides and then I will have respect for your view.

A Military Professional.

[thejameso]

ALLYOUDEMS YOU SUMMED IT UP....
TOO BAD THERE ARE SO MANY IGNORANT PEOPLE WHO DONT KNOW HOW THE MILLITARY WORKS..

[B_Safe]

You lefty moonbats seem to forget that Iran illegally siezed 15 British soldiers doing counter-smuggling duty in Iraqi waters. They will richly deserve any butt-kicking delivered by the Brits and the U.S. Navy if they don't send them back soon. We are there to back up our allies, unlike the sniveling europeans when ask to enforce the UN action against Iraq.

[inventagod]

"cite a range of missteps and inappropriate conduct"

"the Marines, after being ambushed, responded in a way that created "perceptions [that] have really damaged the relationship between the local population and this unit"

Just two quotes from stories of our military under pressure, in the 'fog of war'...
What's to say something won't happen off the coast of Iran today...

[bboc77]

Perfect timing! cover up for Gonzales, and end the whole world. Thanks alot Mr. President! You selfish b astard!

[torocaca]

A Military Professional said: "You have no idea what is going on over in IRAQ.I feel sorry for you all! Suggestion, pick up a weapon and stand post while you are under attack from all sides and then I will have respect for your view."
---------------------------------

And you do have an idea what's going on over there? Even if you've been there, fighting there, following the orders of your 'commander-in-chief,' bravo for you. However, it doesn't mean that you understand the whole picture. It only means you can follow orders, good or bad.

Actually, I feel sorry for you. You are so phuckking narrow minded that you are unable to discuss and debate. It's either your way or the phuckking highway. You're just another jingoist; a chauvinist who would blindly follow your Napoleon to shame and defeat. LOL!

The fact that you "declare" yourself a "military professional" while putting everyone else down only means that you are self-centered, arogant, and pretty much just another assshole.

Besides, I've done my time...served in every 'incident' from the Cuba crisis to the first Gulf war. ...doesn't mean I want more war.

[torocaca]

All you Lt. Chauvins who support your Napoleon should be over there doing your duty and blindly following your incompetent commander-in-chief to his defeat.

ROFLMMFAO!!!

[torocaca]

llamabill said: "You lefty moonbats seem to forget that Iran illegally siezed 15 British soldiers doing counter-smuggling duty in Iraqi waters." Posted by LlamaBill

And you would go to war over that? You wouldn't at least try negotiations to get them back? You don't think Reagan, if he were alive, could get them back? If Reagan could get them back without going to war, why can't Shrub get them back without going to war?

Actually, they are Brits. Why can't Blair get them back without going to war?

Your chauvinist thinking doesn't make a bit of sense to me. You would rather get a few more thousand Americans killed than try negotiations.

Go figure, you phuckking morons...

[epiker-2009]

Everyone knows Iran is building nuclear weapons and their continued belligerence and defiance of the int'l community and IAEA, has put them in this situation with a western naval armada at their doorstep. Everyone also knows Iran and Al Qaeda have been stoking the flames of sectarian violence in Iraq to destabilize it and to force the US to leave so they can take over.

Now Iran has committed an act of war by seizing British soldiers at gunpoint. The Brits aren't about to back down on this incident. Iran is provoking an attack and will start a war with the West that they can never win. The Islamic regime's days are numbered.

As for the Sunburn missiles, the 5th fleet has various anti-missile defence systems and obviously they would've known about the threat and how to counter it before they entered the Gulf. And this will not be a ground war-it was consist of airstrikes on nuclear plants coordinated with the IDF (Israeli defense force). Go USA, UK and Israel!

[ammianus]

The Sorrows of Young Dumus, Art. XLI:
The complacent enjoyment of power can never be the final destination of a totalitarian regime. The totalitarian leader had made dramatic promises: to unify and purify his community; to save it from the flabbiness and confusion of democratic politics and the contamination of alien peoples and cultures; to rescue the community from decadence and decline.
In order to fulfill these promises, totalitarian regimes must present the impression of driving momentum and cannot survive without a headlong, intoxicating rush forward. Without a mounting spiral of ever more daring challenges, totalitarian regimes devolve into decaying authoritarianisms. With it, they drive inexorably toward a final paroxysm of self-destruction.
Thus it was that when the populace contemplated each disaster of misrule, Dumus would distract them with some fresh and ever more hideous outrage. The grinding failure of the occupation of Mesopotamia LED INEVITABLY TO THE PERSIAN WAR AND ABROGATION OF THE CONSTITUTION (A.J. 6722, 14 Gorpiaios); thence to the annihilation of Khourosan (A.J. 6723, Dystros); then to the massacre of Sind (A.J. 6723, Dios) and the attack upon Irkutsk (A.J. 6725, 25 Apellaios); until, finally, the titanic struggle of Gaugamela (A.J. 6728, 16-23 Artemisios) terminated, almost at one blow, the usurpations of Dumus and the tragic career of the Hegemon.

[epiker-2009]

You're right, Iran's totalitarian regime is headed for destruction. Luckily we live in a democracy that elected a leader who does not submit to Islamofascists and terrorist thugs. Let's hope we wipe all those ************ off the face of the earth.

[torocaca]

If we are going to use our military as sacrificial lambs then we shouldn't allow them to have wives and, especially, children. Hence, there would be much less suffering when so many of them are killed, needlessly or otherwise.

[torocaca]

"Let's hope we wipe all those ************ off the face of the earth." Posted by epiker

Yes, let's do that. When that task is done then we can wipe out the Jews, then the Bhuddists, etc. When we are done with 'religious cleansing' then we can start the 'ethnic cleansing.' When there's nothing left but white christians, we can 'clean out' the catholics, then the mormons, etc. until there's nothing left but Southern Baptists. Only then will there be peace...

ROFLMMFAO!!!

[dallison7]

"Let's hope we wipe all those ************ off the face of the earth." Posted by epiker

Yes, let's do that. When that task is done then we can wipe out the Jews, then the Bhuddists, etc. When we are done with 'religious cleansing' then we can start the 'ethnic cleansing.' When there's nothing left but white christians, we can 'clean out' the catholics, then the mormons, etc. until there's nothing left but Southern Baptists. Only then will there be peace...

ROFLMMFAO!!!
Posted by torocaca


NOPE!!

GOTTA KILL THOSE LEFT-HANDED SOUTHERN BAPTISTS!!

[epiker-2009]

True, when they fight US forces, the enemy soldiers are nothing but "sacrifical lambs" and also target practice. Did you head about the 'turkey shoot' in Iraq where the US soldiers killed hundreds of thousands of Iraqi soldiers with barely any losses on the US side?

Even now the kill ratio is so ridiculously high its pure suicide to fight the US/West. Look at how the taliban are mowed down in vast numbers, as well as the insurgents in Iraq and we lose a few soldiers here and there. Sadly for the enemies of America/West, they're simply too weak to mount any meaningful offensive. I have some faith in Iran, they talk tough perhaps they can give the US a challenge-but then so did Saddam and look what happened to him. LOL

[Syndicate]

I'm not sure what the Iranians can do. They are totally out gunned. They are out trained. They are basicly outclassed. The only thing they might have over us is a more fanatical fighter, but some of our guys are pretty fanatical too. The differance is we do not encourage suicide as an offensive weapon. There are those stories from Iraq were a soldeirs threw themselfs on a grenade and died to save their brothers in arms. The Iranians seem to be willing to martyr themselfs and the Americans seem only to willing to help them succeed. Frankly if the Iranians were to ever become a serious threat we could wipe them from the face of the Earth in about thirty minutes.

[epiker-2009]

t_barr, sure I'll check it, but let's say for a moment that Iran takes out the US 5th fleet (fat chance), do you think it will stop there? They can send in the heavy bombers or last resort, turn Iran into a sheet of glass if they wanted. Not much the "sizzlers" can do against nukes or carpet bombing campaigns. But I'll bet that we'll take out their missile batteries before Iran does much damage. No, I'm betting an alliance victory in the Persian Gulf is a certain outcome.

torocaca-why would we wipe out the buddhists, jews, christians etc? Are they running around sucide bombing people, having mass rallies shouting "Death to America/Israel/Denmark, etc" do they go apeshit over cartoons of their mass-murdering pedophile prophet? Are they trying to violently convert the world to a dark ages death cult (Islam)? No only muslims are doing this sort of *** and they will get what's coming in due time-in fact they're getting it already.

[dogband]

Pure and simple sabre rattling to provoke a war with Iran, a Bush and his handlers specific goal with these actions.

Impeach him now, get him out of office, or he will get a majority of us killed. We will without a doubt be at war with IRAN within one calendar year from today, and perhaps be on the brink of WW III.

Absolutely amazing how our country acts under Bush, like playground bullies... the only problem is that the consequences are far worse than a bloody nose.

Even more amazing is how the citizens of this country have stood by while our country has gone down this warmongering path. I was young during the cold war, when we feared an atomic bomb attack, I vividly remember the Vietnam war, and turned 18 shortly after the draft ended. I have watched with horror the wars and conflicts of the 80s and 90s, and I truely fear we are closer to a war that will engulf the world than we have ever been in our life. And I truely believe it is the actions of this administration that have brought us to this point. God help us.

[mnelsonix]

Cut and copied right from the text of this article:

Kevin Aandahl said the U.S. maneuvers were not organized in response to the capture of the British sailors

"What it should be seen as by Iran or anyone else is that it's for regional stability and security," Aandahl said. "These ships are just another demonstration of that. If there's a destabilizing effect, it's Iran's behavior."

Vice Adm. Patrick Walsh said he had assured Arab allies that Washington was trying to avoid "a mistake that boils over into war" with Iran.

Iran has grown increasingly assertive in the Gulf as the U.S. military has become bogged down in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Pure hubris. Our military leaders and the Commander in Chief are incompetant half-wits.

[cbs_oliver]

I'm getting tired of the economic warfare and the threats and the assassinations and the surrogate warfare and the invasions by US agents and forces. It seems to me that the US government, whoever it serves, is dishonest, abusive, and treaturous - fundamentally morally depraved - and is as much, if not more, the problem than the other folks they accuse of misdeeds.

Hersch quotes (unnamed) US military and intelligence agents as saying that the US has operatives in Iran right now making preparations for military action. Interesting that the mainstream media does not report such things.

Some reports in the media itself indicate that the media are at least on some occasions given an agenda with guidance on stories the government wants to see and instructions on the main impressions that are to be conveyed to the audience.

I wonder what some of those instructions say these days.

[Syndicate]

epiker: You may be interested in the anti missle laser tech. It could easily neutralize any missle. Iranian or Chinese
http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/airborne_laser_techwed_041117.html

[three-o-six]

WWW III Cool!!

I Hope we pull out our nukes right away and get it over with quickly. Now is the time to do it BEFORE Iran has nukes!!

[torocaca]

epiker said: "torocaca-why would we wipe out the buddhists, jews, christians etc? Are they running around sucide bombing people, having mass rallies shouting "Death to America/Israel/Denmark, etc" do they go apeshit over cartoons of their mass-murdering pedophile prophet? Are they trying to violently convert the world to a dark ages death cult (Islam)? No only muslims are doing this sort of *** and they will get what's coming in due time-in fact they're getting it already."
---------------------------

You totally missed the point and the sarcasm, epiker. Every religion has had, or still has, its fundamentalists who despise and want to 'eliminate' all who don't believe as they do.

1.5 BILLION muslims live in peace. So you would wipe them all out? How about the christian fundamentalists? Yes, christian fundamentalists DO kill people who do not believe as they do. The jewish fundamentalists? Would you wipe out all christians and jews simply because of a few fundamentalists?

Do you think 1.5 BILLION muslims are going to sit idle and watch as we start wiping them from the face of the earth? You are outnumbered. Do you think the Chinese are going to sit idle and watch us wipe out muslims?

It's time our fearless but incompetent leader realize we can't win the battle against fundamentalist religions with modern warfare. It's time our leaders started thinking "outside the box" about how to defeat radicals.

[torocaca]

"Someone please wake me from this nightmare!"
Posted by t_barr

Me, too.

Einstein admitted that he didn't know what [weapons] WWIII would be fought with, but did say that WWIV would be fought with sticks and stones.

Think about it...

[three-o-six]

torocaca:

China: They need us as a market for their exports -- they will scream and make a lot of noise -- but destroy their own market, i doubt it.

We could then proceede to exterminate the muslims, and the earth would be a better place for it. Problem with the crusades was that they didn't finish the job!!

[epiker-2009]

Cbscrash07, thanks bro. Ya I've heard of their laser defense systems they're working on. Very 'cutting edge' (pardon the pun) technology. I don't know if its in the field yet, but I know its close. Usually during war, they accelerate the roll-out of new technologies like this. You might be interested in seeing this:

http://www.paratrooper.net/commo/Topic146951-29-1.aspx#bm148076


t_barr: well I'd say WW3 started with 9/11 and its only picking up the pace. Funny how you compare the US to Germany, when in fact its more apt to equate Iran to Germany and Islam to Nazism. Iran has openly called for the destruction of Israel, has denyed the holocaust and is preparing one as we speak (also their mullahs have an apocalyptic vision where they're destroyed along with the infidels/non-muslims). Also Islam is a genocidal totalitarian ideology bent on turning everyone in the world into a muslim at the threat of death. And like Nazism it will be eliminated.

[three-o-six]

torocaca:

The earth is over-populated (the environmentalists tell us so) -- this would be an excellent chance to address that problem. 1.5 Billion muslims exteminated, another 1.5-3 billion colateral damage -- shoot what an opertunity -- let's not miss it!!

[gunnerv1]

torocaca: As we always told our trainee's: we didn't issue you a wife.

[gunnerv1]

torocaca
You totally missed the point and the sarcasm, epiker. Every religion has had, or still has, its fundamentalists who despise and want to 'eliminate' all who don't believe as them
Sounds just like the Liberals

[epiker-2009]

torocaca, 1.5 billion living in peace? Have you seen the mideast lately, or the jihad going on in Europe/Israel/Lebanon? How about the islamic terrorism in India/Pakistan?

Well you're reading too much into my comment. When I said "wipe them out" I was referring to the islamofascists, but if all muslims decide to shove their religion down our throats then the all deserve the same fate. Look at the muslim countries-they're failed states with barbaric views and practices-never mind also the horrendous treatment of women.

And some tactical nukes or bioweapons can easily solve that issue. I know how incredibly sadistic and brutal muslims are in war-I just hope that the West doesn't *** out when the war gets underway in earnest.

Yes torocaca, you muslims should worry-it seems Allah is on the side of the infidels since he gave us all the wealth, power and brains while you guys make up the bottom fifth of the world's poor. Anyways, I'm out for now.