WAR U.S. aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln enters Gulf without incident

[Guns-N-Moses]

A U.S. aircraft carrier sailed through the Strait of Hormuz and into the Gulf without incident on Sunday, a day after Iran backed away from an earlier threat to take action if an American carrier returned to the strategic waterway.

(This is a stock photo of CVN72 - USS Abraham Lincoln and not an image of the ship traversing through the Strait of Hormuz)

The carrier USS Abraham Lincoln completed a "regular and routine" passage through the strait, a critical gateway for the region's oil exports, "as previously scheduled and without incident," said Lieutenant Rebecca Rebarich, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Fifth Fleet.

The Lincoln, accompanied by strike group of warships, was the first U.S. aircraft carrier to enter the Gulf since late December and was on a routine rotation to replace the outgoing USS John C. Stennis.

The departure of the Stennis prompted Iranian army chief Ataollah Salehi to threaten action if the carrier passed back into the Gulf.

"I recommend and emphasize to the American carrier not to return to the Persian Gulf. ... We are not in the habit of warning more than once," he said.

The threat led to a round of escalating rhetoric between the two sides that spooked oil markets and raised the specter of a military confrontation between Iran and the United States.

Iran threatened to close the strait, the world's most important oil shipping gateway, while the United States warned such a move would require a response by Washington, which routinely patrols international sea lanes to ensure they remain open.

Iran appeared to ease away from its earlier warnings on Saturday, with Revolutionary Guard Corps Deputy Commander Hossein Salami telling the official IRNA news agency that the return of U.S. warships to the Gulf was routine and not an increase in its permanent presence in the region.

"U.S. warships and military forces have been in the Persian Gulf and the Middle East region for many years and their decision in relation to the dispatch of a new warship is not a new issue and it should be interpreted as part of their permanent presence," Salami said.

Pentagon officials declined to comment directly on Salami's remarks, but reiterated that continued U.S. presence in the region reflected the seriousness with which Washington takes its security commitments to partner nations in the region and to ensuring free flow of international commerce.

The Lincoln's arrival in the Gulf was unrelated to Iran's statement on Saturday.

Tensions between Iran and the United States have been escalating in recent weeks as President Barack Obama prepares to implement new U.S. sanctions against Iran over its nuclear enrichment program, which Tehran says is for energy production but the West believes is aimed at producing atomic weapons.

The EU is preparing to intensify sanctions against Tehran with an embargo on Iran's oil exports and possibly freezing the assets of Iran's central bank. Obama is preparing new U.S. sanctions that target foreign financial institutions that do business with Iran's central bank.

Both sides tried to scale down the rhetoric last week. The White House emphasized the United States was still open to international talks on Iran's nuclear program, even as it denied Iranian assertions that discussions were under way about resuming a dialogue.

The White House would not confirm or deny Iranian reports that Obama had sent a letter to Iranian leaders, but spokesman Jay Carney said any communications with Tehran would have reinforced the statements Washington has made publicly.

The United States supports talks between Iran and the so-called P5 + 1, the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council - Russia, China, France, England and the United States - plus Germany.

Carney urged Iran to respond to the letter sent in October on behalf of the P5 +1 by European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.

"If the Iranians are serious about restarting talks, then they need to respond to that letter," Carney told a White House briefing. "That is the channel by which ... the restarting of those talks would take place."

(Reporting By David Alexander; Editing by Peter Cooney and Stacey Joyce)




Story courtesy: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/22/us-iran-usa-carrier-idUSTRE80L0YH20120122

For discussion purposes only

 

[peetar]

So far, without incident. Then again, the Iranians don't even have sophisticated enough tech to know when it arrived.

 

[Trivium Pursuit]

They'll probably respond tomorrow. Could be interesting. Bet their diesel subs knew it was happening.

 

[Bullwinkle]

The Enterprise is due in the gulf soon.
The Enterprise will be the ship sunk by an Israeli sub as the false flag to start the war with Iran.
The Enterprise is to be scraped next year.
The cost to remove and dispose of the 8 reactors inside would be enormous.
Sink it and it will be some one else's problem.

Iran is not stupid enough to start the war.
Nor would they sink a ship of a paying customer.

 

[dstraito]

imho, Iran wants us to make the first move. I'm not sure why. They pull all the rhetoric of a chiuaua challenging a bulldog but they don't want to go first. Maybe it has something to do with the 12th Iman or something else that dictates they can be first.

Whatever, there is a tinderbox just waiting for a spark.

 

[Bullwinkle]

With the collapse of the oil embargo to force Iran into a confrontation over the Straight of Hormuz,
the US and Israel are looking for another way to get the long-sought war with Iran started,
and more to the point, need to make it look like Iran is starting hostilities in order to make it
politically more difficult for Russia and China to support Iran.

Now, recall that Israel has a past history of attacking US warships and framing others
to trick the US into attacks on Israel's enemies, with the Israeli attack on the USS Liberty
(initially blamed on Egypt) as the most well-known example.

So here we have the USS Enterprise, the oldest carrier in the fleet, on her last legs, scheduled to be
decommissioned next year. Her name is well known, in part because of the Star Trek TV series.
Decommissioning a nuclear aircraft carrier is a very expensive process. USS Enterprise is powered by
8 nuclear reactors, all of which must be disposed of as nuclear waste material along with all the associated machinery.
The US Navy would save a great deal of money, more than the scrap worth of the steel, if USS Enterprise were
to be sunk in the Persian Gulf, where the radioactive mess is someone else's problem to deal with.

So, why send an ancient ship at the end of her useful life into harms way? The same reason Franklin
Roosevelt moved a bunch of obsolete warships from San Diego to Pearl Harbor, while the newer carriers
and warships were well away from Hawaii on December 7th, 1941.

Israel has 3 Dolphin submarines, given to her by Germany. They have been seen transiting the Suez Canal
in the past, and could well be operating in the Gulf of Oman, even the Persian Gulf by now, lying in wait for
a used-up and obsolete warship, more useful as a sacrificial lamb than an actual weapon, a ship with American
sailors, to be attacked as Israel attacked the USS Liberty, then to be blamed on the designated target, Iran, by a compliant media.

If you agree with my analysis, please post the above everywhere you see this carrier story.
If we can make them doubt a false-flag will be believed, maybe they will call it off.

 

[joyfulheart]

WHEN is the enterprise supposed to arrive?

 

[Housecarl]

WHEN is the enterprise supposed to arrive?

At the moment she's scheduled for a March arrival in the area.

 

[Bubble Head]

I don't believe you Bullwinkle. Israel need not sink a US carrier to start war with Iran. Bam Bam is closer to the Mullahs than Israel. He wants the 12th floater to return as much as the nut jobs in Iran. Don't try to pre blame Israel what Bam Bam and Iran are fully capable of doing themselves. Yes Israel hit the Liberty in the mist of war. They did not need an excuse. The Pueblo stll is in North Korea and we had a Destroyer hit by Iraq with a French missle. The reason Iran did nothing is they are good at flapping their pie hole and blowing up women and children in malls. This is what they do best. If our Navy wants to bring down the thunder on them they will hardly have time to soil their underwear.

 

[TKD_Kid]

With the collapse of the oil embargo to force Iran into a confrontation over the Straight of Hormuz,
the US and Israel are looking for another way to get the long-sought war with Iran started,
and more to the point, need to make it look like Iran is starting hostilities in order to make it
politically more difficult for Russia and China to support Iran.

Now, recall that Israel has a past history of attacking US warships and framing others
to trick the US into attacks on Israel's enemies, with the Israeli attack on the USS Liberty
(initially blamed on Egypt) as the most well-known example.

So here we have the USS Enterprise, the oldest carrier in the fleet, on her last legs, scheduled to be
decommissioned next year. Her name is well known, in part because of the Star Trek TV series.
Decommissioning a nuclear aircraft carrier is a very expensive process. USS Enterprise is powered by
8 nuclear reactors, all of which must be disposed of as nuclear waste material along with all the associated machinery.
The US Navy would save a great deal of money, more than the scrap worth of the steel, if USS Enterprise were
to be sunk in the Persian Gulf, where the radioactive mess is someone else's problem to deal with.

So, why send an ancient ship at the end of her useful life into harms way? The same reason Franklin
Roosevelt moved a bunch of obsolete warships from San Diego to Pearl Harbor, while the newer carriers
and warships were well away from Hawaii on December 7th, 1941.

Israel has 3 Dolphin submarines, given to her by Germany. They have been seen transiting the Suez Canal
in the past, and could well be operating in the Gulf of Oman, even the Persian Gulf by now, lying in wait for
a used-up and obsolete warship, more useful as a sacrificial lamb than an actual weapon, a ship with American
sailors, to be attacked as Israel attacked the USS Liberty, then to be blamed on the designated target, Iran, by a compliant media.

If you agree with my analysis, please post the above everywhere you see this carrier story.
If we can make them doubt a false-flag will be believed, maybe they will call it off.

Though sound logical evidence to support your claim that the Enterprise would be a logical choice for such an attack aka false flag event, I'm looking at the symbology with the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln being over in the Gulf as well. And we are coming upon Lincoln's assasination date of April 14, 1865 which is right around the corner from April 19 another date in history. No disagreement on the Enterprise I'd do it, but also looking at the Lincoln as well.

 

[tanstaafl]

"the Iranians don't even have sophisticated enough tech to know when it arrived" (peetar)

I thought the Strait of Hormuz was narrow enough that someone on high ground could see what passed using just a pair of decent binoculars? A nuclear powered aircraft carrier is kind of hard to miss or mistake for something else. Unless peetar really just meant to insult the Iranians, which is always a worthwhile thing in any confrontation between guys (see below).

Hmmm, Wikipedia says "the strait at its narrowest is 54 kilometres (34 mi) wide." Is that too far for a set of those monster-sized ship's binoculars?

 

[Chocolatier]

Doom delayed yet again. Anyone see a pattern here?

Anyone?

Anyone at all?

 

[Border guard]

The Big "E" is not alone. The second article below states that the Big "E" may be around for a bit longer. - BG

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/navy/batgru-65-med07.htm

...Enterprise is the flagship for Carrier Strike Group 12, which included the guided-missile destroyers USS Forrest Sherman (DDG 98), USS James E. Williams (DDG 95), USS Arleigh Burke (DDG 51) and USS Stout (DDG 55); the guided-missile cruiser USS Gettysburg (CG 64); and the fast-attack submarine USS Philadelphia (SSN 690) all based in Norfolk, and also the fast combat support ship USNS Supply (T-AOE 6) based in Earle, N.J. There were nearly 7,500 Sailors and Marines in the strike group.

In addition to being the flagship of the strike group, Enterprise was also home to CVW 1. The air wing is comprised of the "Checkmates" of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 211 flying the F/A-18 Super Hornet and the "Knighthawks" of VFA-136; the "Sidewinders" of VFA-86; the "Thunderbolts" of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 251 all flying the F/A-18 Hornet. Also joining CVW 1 are the "Dragonslayers" of Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron (HS) 11 flying the SH-60 Seahawk; the "Rooks" of Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 137 flying the EA-6B Prowler; the "Screwtops" of VAW-123 flying the E-2C Hawkeye; the "Maulers" of Sea Control Squadron (VS) 32 flying the S-3B Viking; and the "Rawhides" of Fleet Logistics Support Squadron (VRC) 40 flying the C-2A Greyhound...

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/01/21/us-to-keep-11-aircraft-carriers-to-show-sea-power/

US to keep 11 aircraft carriers to show sea power


Published January 22, 2012
| Associated Press

• 
  
  AP
  January 21, 2012: U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, right, escorted by the commander of Strike Group Twelve, Rear Adm. Walter E. Carter Jr., watches day flight operations from the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise.

ABOARD THE USS ENTERPRISE – Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told sailors aboard the country's oldest aircraft carrier that the U.S. is committed to maintaining a fleet of 11 of the formidable warships despite budget pressures, in part to project sea power against Iran.
Panetta also told the crowd of 1,700 gathered in the hangar bay of the USS Enterprise that the ship is heading to the Persian Gulf region and will steam through the Strait of Hormuz in a direct message to Tehran.
Iran has warned it will block the Strait, a major transit point for global oil supplies, and bluntly told the U.S. not to send carriers into the Gulf. The U.S. has said it would continue to deploy ships there.

"That's what this carrier is all about," said Panetta. "That's the reason we maintain a presence in the Middle East ... We want them to know that we are fully prepared to deal with any contingency and it's better for them to try to deal with us through diplomacy."
There was speculation that budget pressures would force the Pentagon to scale back the number of carriers, perhaps to 10, and Panetta's predecessor, Robert Gates, questioned maintaining 11 ships.
But Congress has expressed strong support for the current U.S. carrier fleet and has passed a law requiring the Defense Department to maintain all 11 of the ships.
After his speech, Panetta told reporters traveling with him that the department will be looking for cuts in other areas. He added, "Our view is that the carriers, because of their presence, because of the power they represent, are a very important part of our ability to maintain power projection both in the Pacific and in the Middle East."
Keeping 11 of the warships, he said, "is a long-term commitment that the president wants to put in place."
Panetta's remarks came amid the roar of fighter jets taking off and landing on the flight deck above, as the Enterprise conducted training operations about 100 nautical miles (160 kilometers) off the coast of Georgia.
Known as the Big E, the warship and the other six ships in the carrier strike group will deploy to the Middle East in March. Its presence there will allow the U.S. to maintain two carrier strike groups in the Gulf region, where they can support battle operations in Afghanistan, anti-piracy efforts and other missions in the area.
"The Big E is going to be an important symbol of that power in that part of the world," said Panetta, whose tour of the ship included stops on the bridge and the flight deck, as fighter jets catapulted off the ship.
This is Panetta's first visit to a carrier during operations at sea. He was to spend the night on the ship.
The decision to maintain 11 carrier groups, Panetta said, is part of the Defense Department's five-year budget plan that will include $260 billion in savings. Overall, the Pentagon must come up with $487 billion over the next 10 years.
The USS Enterprise, which is based in Virginia, was built 50 years ago as the first nuclear-powered carrier, and is now the oldest active duty ship in America's Naval fleet. The ship's upcoming deployment will be its 22nd and final tour, after which it is scheduled to be deactivated.
It is being replaced by the USS Gerald R. Ford, which is the first in a new class of technologically advanced carriers. There will be about a 33-month gap before the Ford is commissioned, but Congress has granted a waiver allowing the Navy to drop to 10 carriers for that period of time.
The Enterprise Carrier Strike Group includes the carrier itself, Carrier Air Wing 1, Destroyer Squadron 2, guided-missile cruiser USS Vicksburg, guided-missile destroyers USS Porter, USS James E. Williams and USS Nitze. Together they carry more than 5,000 personnel, with about 4,500 of them on the USS Enterprise. The ship's personnel include fewer than 400 women.
The air wing includes more than 50 aircraft, ranging from fighter jets and helicopters to electronic warfare aircraft.
The USS Enterprise has had a long and storied career. In October 1962, it helped set up a blockade around Cuba during the Cuban missile crisis. The Big E, as the ship is called, also was dispatched to the North Arabian Sea after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, unleashing more than 800,000 pounds of ordnance during the early days of the Afghanistan war.
The White House is in the final stages of deciding specific cuts in the 2013 budget, which President Barack Obama will submit to Congress next month.
A sweeping defense strategy Obama unveiled earlier is intended to guide the budget cutting decisions. The eight-page document contained no details about how broad concepts for reshaping the military -- such as focusing more on Asia and less on Europe -- will translate into troop or weapons cuts.
The Army and Marine Corps are already planning substantial troop cuts and Panetta said last week that he will slash the number of Army brigades stationed in Europe from four to two.



Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/201...aft-carriers-to-show-sea-power/#ixzz1kJGKsnl5

 

[energy_wave]

If they were really going into Syria and needed to protect Israel with operation Juniper Stallion aka (Wooden Horse), wouldn't they need an aircraft carrier in the strait too? But Iran was threatening to close the strait, so maybe this caused a delay. That could be why they canceled the drill with Israel, but was it really canceled? Just renamed? Might have been a head fake along with the letter from Obama to the leaders of Iran. China leaned on Iran too, just long enough for them to ease up and back down to allow our ships to pass through without incident. Now we got our carrier in and past the danger point, but all along, we have been moving forward with operation Juniper Stallion, which also might have caused Iran to give clues to their force preparation tactics. Can't have Iran close the straits before we are ready now can we. The US faked them out, imo. I think the game is still on. Iran's threat to close the straits was the line crossed and there is no telling what will happen once the sanctions which just started to go into effect start to squeeze them off and this is going to put pressure on Iran's leaders just as election time comes in March.

 

[PghPanther]

With the collapse of the oil embargo to force Iran into a confrontation over the Straight of Hormuz,
the US and Israel are looking for another way to get the long-sought war with Iran started,
and more to the point, need to make it look like Iran is starting hostilities in order to make it
politically more difficult for Russia and China to support Iran.

Now, recall that Israel has a past history of attacking US warships and framing others
to trick the US into attacks on Israel's enemies, with the Israeli attack on the USS Liberty
(initially blamed on Egypt) as the most well-known example.

So here we have the USS Enterprise, the oldest carrier in the fleet, on her last legs, scheduled to be
decommissioned next year. Her name is well known, in part because of the Star Trek TV series.
Decommissioning a nuclear aircraft carrier is a very expensive process. USS Enterprise is powered by
8 nuclear reactors, all of which must be disposed of as nuclear waste material along with all the associated machinery.
The US Navy would save a great deal of money, more than the scrap worth of the steel, if USS Enterprise were
to be sunk in the Persian Gulf, where the radioactive mess is someone else's problem to deal with.

So, why send an ancient ship at the end of her useful life into harms way? The same reason Franklin
Roosevelt moved a bunch of obsolete warships from San Diego to Pearl Harbor, while the newer carriers
and warships were well away from Hawaii on December 7th, 1941.

Israel has 3 Dolphin submarines, given to her by Germany. They have been seen transiting the Suez Canal
in the past, and could well be operating in the Gulf of Oman, even the Persian Gulf by now, lying in wait for
a used-up and obsolete warship, more useful as a sacrificial lamb than an actual weapon, a ship with American
sailors, to be attacked as Israel attacked the USS Liberty, then to be blamed on the designated target, Iran, by a compliant media.

If you agree with my analysis, please post the above everywhere you see this carrier story.
If we can make them doubt a false-flag will be believed, maybe they will call it off.

I'm thinking that sinking a ship with that level of nuclear waste liablities on it would compromise the environment of the straight well beyond a false flag excuse for agression..........so much so that it wounldn't make sense to have such a liablity to the area lingering in those waters well after any excuse of fire..........

 

[Oilpatch Hand]

Hmmm, Wikipedia says "the strait at its narrowest is 54 kilometres (34 mi) wide." Is that too far for a set of those monster-sized ship's binoculars?

Depends on where you're standing while looking through the binoculars. The curvature of the earth takes objects more than about 10-11 miles distant out of view, if you're standing at sea level looking out across the water. So, a carrier could conceivably stay out in the middle of the strait (17 miles distant from shore) and remain unseen by scouts standing onshore at or near sea level. If the shore observer was standing at a vantage point several hundred feet high and looking out across the water, however, he might be able to see something 17 miles away, but he would need the big specs to do it, I would think.

It would probably be easier for the Iranians to send up a recon flight to get a better fix on where our carrier group was.

 

[Sebastian]

One hopes they get out as easily as they got in.

Admirals - ones worth their salt - like big oceans for carrier task forces, Not little seas with hostile shore batteries.

 

[Troke]

If we can make them doubt a false-flag will be believed, maybe they will call it off.

I love it. If nothing happens, that proves that there was a false flag and we forced them to call it off.

That is about as pure as it gets.

 

[blueridge]

Perhaps this could all be resolved with yet another episode of polite bowing and ring kissing?


Can you imagine four more years of this?