US Naval War Games Begin In Persian Gulf

[MASONIC PLOT]

http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/ ... RSS&rpc=22


U.S. navy begins war games on Iran's doorstep
Thu May 24, 2007 10:36AM EDT


By Mohammed Abbas

MANAMA (Reuters) - The U.S. navy began war games on Iran's doorstep on Thursday, navy officials said, a day after a large flotilla of U.S. ships entered the Gulf in a dramatic daytime show of military muscle.

The group includes two nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, whose presence adds to the pressure on the Islamic Republic to abandon its own nuclear ambitions, which the West says are an attempt to develop atomic weapons.

Iran, already under U.N. sanctions for enriching uranium, says its plans are for energy purposes only.


Asked if any of the American ships carried atomic weapons, a U.S. navy spokesman said the United States routinely did not comment on whether its warships were equipped with nuclear arms.

On the same day the U.S. ships entered the Gulf, skirting Iran's coast as they passed the Gulf's narrowest point, the U.N.'s atomic agency released a report saying Iran was continuing to defy world demands to stop enriching uranium.

The agency's report opens the way for tougher sanctions.

"The Stennis is conducting flight operations in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Nimitz is conducting an air defense exercise. Bonhomme Richard is conducting replenishment at sea," navy Media Operations Officer Denise Garcia told Reuters.

The USS John C. Stennis, USS Nimitz, and the USS Bonhomme Richard are part of the group of nine ships that entered the Gulf on Wednesday, sending oil prices higher as jittery markets eyed possible tensions in the oil shipping hub.

OIL PRICES RISE

Oil prices have continued to rise, hitting a nine-month high above $71 on Thursday.

The ships, carrying about 17,000 personnel and 140 aircraft will take part in war drills over the next two weeks, the group's leader Rear Admiral Kevin Quinn said on Wednesday, adding that the drills would include exercises to defend against air, surface and submarine threats.

Their aim is to reassure allies of the U.S. commitment to regional stability, he said.

Iran has blamed foreign forces for causing regional instability, and on Wednesday said it would give a "powerful answer" to enemies.

U.S. and Iranian ambassadors are due to meet on Monday in Baghdad to discuss security in Iraq, where the United States has accused Iran of fomenting violence. Iran denies the accusations.

The passage of the U.S. ships through the Straits of Hormuz, a narrow channel in the Gulf and major oil shipping lane, was the largest such move in daylight hours since the 2003 Iraq war.

Most U.S. navy ships transit the straits at night, so as not to attract attention, and rarely in large numbers.



Go home you fucking yanks!

[seemslikeadream]

6 Navy Commanders Sacked in 6 Weeks
http://www.democraticunderground.com/di ... 389x958801

Is the impending attack on Iran the explanation for the Dems' cave?
http://www.democraticunderground.com/di ... 389x958882

Massive covert operation to ignite a religious war in the Middle East
http://www.democraticunderground.com/di ... 389x957431

THE MADNESS OF GEORGE W. BUSH:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/di ... 389x958641

NINE WARSHIPS CARRYING 17,000 PERSONNEL HAVE ENTERED THE GULF
http://www.democraticunderground.com/di ... _id=949751

Looking for links to news stories about Afganistan, Bin Laden, Taliban, pre 9/11
http://www.democraticunderground.com/di ... _id=949535

[seemslikeadream]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/di ... 389x962012

Many of us have read about 2 US carriers entering the Persian Gulf 2 days ago for "excercises". I noted 2 DU posts in the last 24 hours. Here & here. Last October I posted a dairy that was meant to dispell some of the hype about US carrier groups, what they can do, can't do. I also wrote about some of the missiles owned by certain Mid East countries like Iran & Saudi Arabia. In a nutshell having 2 US carriers in the Persian Gulf just puts these ships in a duck pond. Iran could roll rocks of the cliffs along the coast of the Gulf and hit something. I have for a while had faith that no US CO would endanger their ships by doing something stupid while in the Gulf. In my mind an attack on Iran would put our carriers safely in the Arabian Sea.





One of the most effective bunker busters we have is the GBU-28, at 4400 pounds it maybe only land based bombers can even carry it. If so, there is no real reason for a carrier group to get close enough to Iran.



Another avenue to deliver bunker busters are a fleet of LA class attack subs which carry 12 vertical Tomahawk criuse missile launchers, coincidently the LA class subs can be equipped with the recently developed Tomahawk penetrator variant. I still believe that no US CO would endanger their ships by doing something stupid while in the Gulf. Except today something struck my eye, something made my stomach queasy. Donsu posted this in GD today: 6 Navy Commanders Sacked in 6 Weeks.


For the sixth time in as many weeks, the lead officer of a Navy ship has been suddenly relieved of command, DANGER ROOM pal Andy Scutro reports for Navy Times.


Oh gee, WTF are Bush and Cheney up to now? >sigh< SO lets have a look at these 6 officers:

1) April 16th Navy sacks EA-6B aircraft squadron CO.


The U.S. Navy said Monday it had relieved a top officer aboard the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower who is under an internal investigation on unspecified charges.


2) May 9th Navy sacks Destroyer CO, on the way to the Persian Gulf.


The captain of the destroyer now in the U.S. Central Command theater of operations has been relieved of command, the Navy announced Tuesday.


3) This is the strangest one of the bunch, May 11th Navy sacks CO of 210 yr old "Old Ironsides".



The commander of the famed USS Constitution was fired from his post yesterday, two months before his two-year term expired, because the Navy lost confidence in his ability to command the 210-year-old ship, officials said.


4) May 17th Navy sacks sub CO.


SAN DIEGO — The skipper of the fast-attack submarine Helena was fired from command Wednesday for “loss of confidence,” a Navy spokeswoman said.



5) May 18th Navy sacks guided missile frigate CO.


The guided missile frigate Samuel B. Roberts had to be assisted to port after having "engineering difficulties" during the UNITAS Atlantic exercise on May 11.


6) A 6th CO was sacked but that was Coast Guard.


The Coast Guard reassignment is more straightforward, however. Cmdr. Michael Sabellico, skipper of the 270-foot medium-endurance cutter Escanaba, was arrested in Key West on May 15 after an apparent bar brawl.


Capt. Scott Stearney was sacked on April 16th, but today (May 24th) he is quoted upon his return to Norfolk Virginia with no mention of the incident.


Capt. Scott Stearney, commander of Carrier Air Wing Seven, said Virginia Beach-based F/A-18 Hornets and Super Hornets assigned to the Eisenhower strafed and bombed targets attacking coalition troops in both nations.

Those aviators, as well as crew members of electronic jamming and surveillance planes and helicopters, often spent 12 to 14 hours a day in the air, much of it over combat zones, Stearney said. Of the 12,000 sorties flown by the wing's 61 aircraft, more than a third were combat flights.

"We supported the soldier on the ground," Stearney said. "They were being engaged in dire situations."


Capt. Scott Stearney flies the EA-6B aircraft, but is quoted about the F-18 Hornet pilots. Someone is ignoring getting fired, thats for sure. That second guy on my list, was CO of the Destroyer Higgins, which is now in the Persian Gulf. Heres a full accounting of what we have in the gulf:


other ships which made the transit include the guided-missile cruiser USS Antietam (CG 54) and the guided-missile destroyer USS O’Kane (DDG 77), guided-missile cruiser USS Princeton (CG 59) and guided-missile destroyer USS Higgins (DDG 76), amphibious transport dock ship USS Denver (LPD 9), amphibious dock landing ship USS Rushmore (LPD 47) and fast-attack submarine USS Scranton (SSN 756). Embarked aboard BHR is Amphibious Squadron 7. Also embarked aboard BHR, Denver and Rushmore are units from Beach Master Unit 1, Assault Craft Units 1 and 5, Tactical Air Control Squadron 12, Naval Beach Group 1, and Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 23. The 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) makes up the Marine force embarked with the ESG. Units of the 13th MEU include Combat Logistics Battalion 13; Battalion Landing Team, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment; and Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 163 - Reinforced.


I really don't see a strong enough pattern here, only 2 of the sackings had any connection with the Mid East. But it is weird, very friggin weird.

Vigilance.
FDR 9-23-33, “If

[StarmanSkye]

Only friggin' idiots would think the US wargames are doing ANYTHING to ease Middle East tensions. It's like a bunch of wannabe tuffies traveling crosstown to invade and occupy another streetgang's sandbox -- kicking sand and spraypainting gang graffitti, making tuffguy noises and generally acting like immature hooligan rowdies spoiling to show how 'bad' they are.

The hypocrisy and arrogant conceit is so thick it could be cut with a knife
-- as the US parades it's nuclear-powered warfleet equipped with manifold thousands of DU weapons, after having thoroughly destroyed Iraq killing 3/4 of a million people and polluted the ME with thousands of tons of radioactive poison, to 'protest' Iran's own relatively-modest nuclear-enrichment program (noteable for following international nuclear non-proliferation regulations, in contrast with India, Pakistan and Israel).

It's too stupidcrazy for words -- legacy of more than a half-century of the US's criminal meddling in the region.

Prime opportunity for another Gulf Of Tonkein manufactured pretext?

Helluva way to run the world's 'best' democracy, say wot?


Oh Well, AND so it goes ...

[brownzeroed]

and the price of oil?

[NavnDansk]

http://blog.wired.com/defense/2007/05/f ... ird_t.html

.......I'm surprised nobodies drawn this conclusion yet.

Could it be that these officials are connected to a movement to resist attack on Iran. If rumors are to be believed, this has previously happened to Gen. Kevin P. Byrnes, in charge of Army training out of
Fort Carlisle Barracks in Penn. Some say he caught wind of a Cheney plot to blow up Charleston S.C. during the Katrina mess. Byrnes, involved in a typical "fake" training session (shades of 9/11) in co-ordination with the planned Charleston attack. Byrnes blew the whistle. Now he's history. The sex w/civilians story is sheer bullshit.

Lets face it, folks. We're going to hit Iran. The dogs who run this country are purging the armed forces of officers opposed to their plans.
Sure was a nice country... once......


expect the tempo of the war drums is going to rise faster as a result of this article, if it has more than a grain of truth in it.

Cheney must know that he, and Israel, have limited time to achieve their aims before the American public wake up.....

The War in Iraq is already threatening the Suburbs and the SUVs with gasoline prices now topping what it cost in the 1980s. If Israel does cruise missile Iran, the suburbs will wither under gasoline lines and crashing housing prices. The only question to decide is whether the US will choose to take over all of the oil fields with millions of draftees and genocide or if America will choose isolation and energy independence. The legacy of the Bush 8 years is that the middle ground of diplomacy and strong man dictators in the Middle East has been blown apart....

http://turcopolier.typepad.com/sic_semp ... l#comments

Fortunately, while Bush can't control Cheney, Cheney no longer controls the Pentagon through his fellow Sith Lord, Rumfeld.

If Gates is on board with the realist strategy -- and he practicaly defines the type -- then Cheney would appear to be checkmated. The Vice President's office has no constitutional authority whatsoever over any cabinet departments. Sure, Cheney can continue to plot with the AEI and tie the NSC and the inter-agency process up in knots. But he can't start a war, not without the Dauphin's signature. And, with luck, Condi and company are in a position to keep that from happening for the next 20 months.
.......

Maybe I'm naive or 'unsophisticated' when it comes to military strategy, but why wouldn't collusion with another country to provoke an attack on US troops qualify as honest-to-god treason? That word has been tossed around so carelessly over the past few years, but wouldn't it be accurate now if this story is correct? Lying us into war would be bad enough, but deliberately provoking the killing of Americans?:x

And how could anyone call that 'narrowing policy options' as opposed to simply choosing the option of war for Bush? As if the response would be in doubt?

[NavnDansk]

Rove, Fielding pay ‘mysterious’ visit to Capitol.

“Senior White House aide Karl Rove and White House Council Fred Fielding were just spotted leaving a meeting room just off the Senate floor in the Capitol. But neither gave a reason for their trip to the Hill. Minutes later, Iraq War ‘Czar’ Lt. Gen Douglas Lute was also spotted leaving the Capitol. When asked what brought him down Pennsylvania Avenue, Rove remained mum, simply smiling and greeting the staffers who quickly surrounded him. ‘Something big must be happening‘ a startled Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) said as he watched Rove walk out the building.” 9:51 pm | Comment (29)


http://thinkprogress.org/2007/05/24/rov ... nt-3821677

[NavnDansk]

The hypocrisy and arrogant conceit is so thick it could be cut with a knife
-- as the US parades it's nuclear-powered warfleet equipped with manifold thousands of DU weapons, after having thoroughly destroyed Iraq killing 3/4 of a million people and polluted the ME with thousands of tons of radioactive poison, to 'protest' Iran's own relatively-modest nuclear-enrichment program (noteable for following international nuclear non-proliferation regulations, in contrast with India, Pakistan and Israel).

It's too stupidcrazy for words -- legacy of more than a half-century of the US's criminal meddling in the region.

Prime opportunity for another Gulf Of Tonkein manufactured pretext?

Helluva way to run the world's 'best' democracy, say wot?

Crying or Very sad
Oh Well, AND so it goes ...

So many dead, murdered in horrible ways, can't wrap my mind around the million dead Iraqis in four years and those being murdered and tortured now including our soldiers and the deliberate destruction of our military with our naval fleet placed in deliberate and treasonous danger, the six fired Naval commanders make me very nervous that the cheney crazies are winning. Col. Pat Lang quoted the article on Cheney and Iran and had a comment - Bless those who fight on the side of the angels. There is a vital battle going on within our government and military - includes those responsible for the atrocity of 911 and Iraq and those who at least oppose the scale of the murder and atrocities - and we only see such a small part of it.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/5/25/123854/608

you can never go wrong with a few quotes from John Lennon:

Our society is run by insane people for insane objectives. I think we're being run by maniacs for maniacal ends and I think I'm liable to be put away as insane for expressing that. That's what's insane about it.


http://www.cyberhymnal.org/top/topics.htm.

Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens; Lord with me abide.
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me.

Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day;
Earth’s joys grow dim; its glories slip away;
Change and decay in all around I see;
O Thou who changest not, abide with me.

Come not in terrors, as the King of kings,
But kind and good, with healing in Thy wings,
Tears for all woes, a heart for every plea—
Come, Friend of sinners, and thus bide with me.

I need Thy presence every passing hour.
What but Thy grace can foil the tempter’s power?
Who, like Thyself, my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me.

I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless;
Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness.
Where is death’s sting? Where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, if Thou abide with me.

Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes;
Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies.
Heaven’s morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee;
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.

[seemslikeadream]

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archiv ... 011381.php

CHENEY INSANITY WATCH....Joe Klein thinks that Steve Clemons' report about Dick Cheney's plan to goad Iran into attacking us so that we'll be justified in counter-attacking is probably correct. Today he reports this:

Last December, as Rumsfeld was leaving, President Bush met with the Joint Chiefs of Staff in "The Tank," the secure room in the Pentagon where the Joint Chiefs discuss classified matters of national security. Bush asked the Chiefs about the wisdom of a troop "surge" in Iraq. They were unanimously opposed. Then Bush asked about the possibility of a successful attack on Iran's nuclear capability. He was told that the U.S. could launch a devastating air attack on Iran's government and military, wiping out the Iranian air force, the command and control structure and some of the more obvious nuclear facilities. But the Chiefs were — once again — unanimously opposed to taking that course of action.

....Bush apparently took this advice to heart and went to Plan B — a covert destabilization campaign reported earlier this week by ABC News. If Clemons is right, and I'm pretty sure he is, Cheney is still pushing Plan A.