American armada prepares to take on Iran -
By Damien McElroy aboard USS Eisenhower
Last Updated: 12:30am GMT 25/02/2007
# Cheney steps up the rhetoric against Iran
# Israel seeks all clear for Iran air strike
# Con Coughlin: Ready for war
# Vicki Woods: Iraq inquiry could stop Iran war
# In pictures: On board the USS Eisenhower
# Audio: Damien McElroy on the deck of the US flagship
It is four and a half acres of American power in the middle
of the Arabian Sea but the influence of
USS Dwight D Eisenhower stretches for hundreds of miles.
American armada prepares to take on Iran
Crew on board the aircraft carrier USS Eisenhower are on alert
in the Arabian Sea
The aircraft carrier, backed by its sister vessel, a handful
of destroyers and a shoal of support ships, has placed
a maritime ring of steel around an increasingly unstable region.
While the Eisenhower is ostensibly assisting US operations
in Afghanistan and Iraq, it is the looming threat of Iran
that increasingly occupies its attention.
Recent tensions between America and Iran over Teheran's
attempts to develop a nuclear weapon have raised the prospect
of its third regional war in a decade.
The addition of a second aircraft carrier to its strike groups
has fuelled the belief that America is gearing up for a
fight with Iran.
Not since the Iraq war in 2003 has America amassed so much
fire power around the Gulf.
As flagship of the Fifth Fleet, the Eisenhower welcomed
the arrival of a second Nimitz class nuclear powered
aircraft carrier, the USS John C. Stennis, and its
accompanying destroyers on Tuesday.
Captain Dan Cloyd, the Eisenhower's commanding officer,
compared the situation with the international tension
of the Cold War.
"There was a time when we had two aircraft carriers in
the Mediterranean," he told The Daily Telegraph.
"The world changes and we adapt."
The quiet-spoken Capt Cloyd embraced the suggestion that
the dual deployment is at the forefront of efforts to stop
Iran getting a nuclear bomb, pointing out that his
maritime assets have been tasked to quash any
challenge to global security.
"Our presence here is an affirmation of our resolve in this
area to engage with the nations of the region either where
we share common goals or where we face challenges."
Every hour and fifteen minutes a handful of jets scream
north across the ocean.
The range of missions an aircraft carrier as big as
the Eisenhower -
it has more than 5,000 people onboard -
can carry out is virtually limitless.
Map
The Eisenhower is not only the flagship of the carrier
group that protects The Gulf through which one-fifth of
the world's oil is shipped.
It has also helped overthrow a hard-line Islamic regime
in Somalia during a stint off the Horn of Africa.
Its fighter jets now offer close support to Nato and US forces
in Afghanistan.
Lieutenant Commander Matt Pothier returned yesterday
from Afghanistan having delivered air support to
British soldiers.
He said: "Right now I have more opportunities than I've ever
had to use weapons where we know there aren't any
friendly people.
In combat that's very rewarding."
In the carrier's Combat Direction Centre, Warrant Officer
Michael Myers can spot anything untoward in a 256 mile
radius from his radar screen.
He can identify objects as small as wooden boats on the
open sea and small aircraft in a swathe of countries from
the Arabian peninsula to the northern shore of the Sea
of Arabia.
Should Lieutenant Commander Craig Stapleton, the tactical
operations officer, give the order, WO Myers can put up
Hawkeye, an EP2 surveillance plane with massive radar capable
of establishing American air traffic control across half
a continent.
"Those planes alone extend our radar horizon to a huge circle
of the sky. I could see for 1,000 miles if I wanted to."
As it patrols the shipping lanes of the Strait of Hormuz,
the Eisenhower ensures the safe passage of oil tankers.
It also prevents the trading routes being used to
transport materials that would help rogue nations build
a nuclear weapon.
Capt Cloyd said: "Our maritime security mission is about
denying the use of the seas to any potential spread of
weapons of mass destruction."
Iran's belligerent posture has increased the challenges
facing the Eisenhower since it deployed to the Middle East
last October.
Vice Admiral Patrick Walsh, the commander of the Fifth Fleet,
issued a stark warning that Iran risks triggering an
"accidental war" during aggressive military maneuvres.
During the Great Prophet 2 missile test in November, the
Islamic Republic fired a Shabab missile into the six
mile corridor of shipping lanes in the Straits of Hormuz.
In such a constricted corridor, the results could have
been disastrous.
With Teheran's real strategic intentions unclear, the US
takes the threats it has made very seriously.
"They threaten to use oil as a weapon.
They threaten to close the Strait of Hormuz,"
Adml Walsh said.
"And so it is the combination of the rhetoric, the tone,
and the aggressive exercises in very constrained waters
that gives us concern."
US commanders ascribe the increase in instability to
increasingly aggressive actions by Teheran.
For that reason the deployment of the carriers in the region
is designed to intensify the pressure on Iran to step back
from the brink.
"In the past year and a half it [Iran] has become much
more strident, more vocal and in your face," said Walsh.
"What concerns me is miscalculation."
Capt Cloyd said his personnel, 70 per cent of whom have
never participated in a long term mission before, are aware
that the workload could grow more intense before
the deployment is over.
"We're aware of the environment and the need to respond
to the environment so that we can protect regional
security and stability.
We're aware of what other countries could do.
"We're busy but we would move to a higher tempo if need be."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/02/24/wiran24.xml
Dr. Helen Caldicott's Presentation to the Perdana Peace Forum, Kuala Lumpur -
http://www.flamingpear.com.my/gpf/6-Dr%20Helen%20Caldicott,%20MD.wmv
is 9/11 the new start of 666self-destructions? -
http://www.thetruthseeker.co.uk/
http://www.888c.com/zRev19.htm#follow-Christ
In God We Trust -
God Bless
By Damien McElroy aboard USS Eisenhower
Last Updated: 12:30am GMT 25/02/2007
# Cheney steps up the rhetoric against Iran
# Israel seeks all clear for Iran air strike
# Con Coughlin: Ready for war
# Vicki Woods: Iraq inquiry could stop Iran war
# In pictures: On board the USS Eisenhower
# Audio: Damien McElroy on the deck of the US flagship
It is four and a half acres of American power in the middle
of the Arabian Sea but the influence of
USS Dwight D Eisenhower stretches for hundreds of miles.
American armada prepares to take on Iran
Crew on board the aircraft carrier USS Eisenhower are on alert
in the Arabian Sea
The aircraft carrier, backed by its sister vessel, a handful
of destroyers and a shoal of support ships, has placed
a maritime ring of steel around an increasingly unstable region.
While the Eisenhower is ostensibly assisting US operations
in Afghanistan and Iraq, it is the looming threat of Iran
that increasingly occupies its attention.
Recent tensions between America and Iran over Teheran's
attempts to develop a nuclear weapon have raised the prospect
of its third regional war in a decade.
The addition of a second aircraft carrier to its strike groups
has fuelled the belief that America is gearing up for a
fight with Iran.
Not since the Iraq war in 2003 has America amassed so much
fire power around the Gulf.
As flagship of the Fifth Fleet, the Eisenhower welcomed
the arrival of a second Nimitz class nuclear powered
aircraft carrier, the USS John C. Stennis, and its
accompanying destroyers on Tuesday.
Captain Dan Cloyd, the Eisenhower's commanding officer,
compared the situation with the international tension
of the Cold War.
"There was a time when we had two aircraft carriers in
the Mediterranean," he told The Daily Telegraph.
"The world changes and we adapt."
The quiet-spoken Capt Cloyd embraced the suggestion that
the dual deployment is at the forefront of efforts to stop
Iran getting a nuclear bomb, pointing out that his
maritime assets have been tasked to quash any
challenge to global security.
"Our presence here is an affirmation of our resolve in this
area to engage with the nations of the region either where
we share common goals or where we face challenges."
Every hour and fifteen minutes a handful of jets scream
north across the ocean.
The range of missions an aircraft carrier as big as
the Eisenhower -
it has more than 5,000 people onboard -
can carry out is virtually limitless.
Map
The Eisenhower is not only the flagship of the carrier
group that protects The Gulf through which one-fifth of
the world's oil is shipped.
It has also helped overthrow a hard-line Islamic regime
in Somalia during a stint off the Horn of Africa.
Its fighter jets now offer close support to Nato and US forces
in Afghanistan.
Lieutenant Commander Matt Pothier returned yesterday
from Afghanistan having delivered air support to
British soldiers.
He said: "Right now I have more opportunities than I've ever
had to use weapons where we know there aren't any
friendly people.
In combat that's very rewarding."
In the carrier's Combat Direction Centre, Warrant Officer
Michael Myers can spot anything untoward in a 256 mile
radius from his radar screen.
He can identify objects as small as wooden boats on the
open sea and small aircraft in a swathe of countries from
the Arabian peninsula to the northern shore of the Sea
of Arabia.
Should Lieutenant Commander Craig Stapleton, the tactical
operations officer, give the order, WO Myers can put up
Hawkeye, an EP2 surveillance plane with massive radar capable
of establishing American air traffic control across half
a continent.
"Those planes alone extend our radar horizon to a huge circle
of the sky. I could see for 1,000 miles if I wanted to."
As it patrols the shipping lanes of the Strait of Hormuz,
the Eisenhower ensures the safe passage of oil tankers.
It also prevents the trading routes being used to
transport materials that would help rogue nations build
a nuclear weapon.
Capt Cloyd said: "Our maritime security mission is about
denying the use of the seas to any potential spread of
weapons of mass destruction."
Iran's belligerent posture has increased the challenges
facing the Eisenhower since it deployed to the Middle East
last October.
Vice Admiral Patrick Walsh, the commander of the Fifth Fleet,
issued a stark warning that Iran risks triggering an
"accidental war" during aggressive military maneuvres.
During the Great Prophet 2 missile test in November, the
Islamic Republic fired a Shabab missile into the six
mile corridor of shipping lanes in the Straits of Hormuz.
In such a constricted corridor, the results could have
been disastrous.
With Teheran's real strategic intentions unclear, the US
takes the threats it has made very seriously.
"They threaten to use oil as a weapon.
They threaten to close the Strait of Hormuz,"
Adml Walsh said.
"And so it is the combination of the rhetoric, the tone,
and the aggressive exercises in very constrained waters
that gives us concern."
US commanders ascribe the increase in instability to
increasingly aggressive actions by Teheran.
For that reason the deployment of the carriers in the region
is designed to intensify the pressure on Iran to step back
from the brink.
"In the past year and a half it [Iran] has become much
more strident, more vocal and in your face," said Walsh.
"What concerns me is miscalculation."
Capt Cloyd said his personnel, 70 per cent of whom have
never participated in a long term mission before, are aware
that the workload could grow more intense before
the deployment is over.
"We're aware of the environment and the need to respond
to the environment so that we can protect regional
security and stability.
We're aware of what other countries could do.
"We're busy but we would move to a higher tempo if need be."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/02/24/wiran24.xml
Dr. Helen Caldicott's Presentation to the Perdana Peace Forum, Kuala Lumpur -
http://www.flamingpear.com.my/gpf/6-Dr%20Helen%20Caldicott,%20MD.wmv
is 9/11 the new start of 666self-destructions? -
http://www.thetruthseeker.co.uk/
http://www.888c.com/zRev19.htm#follow-Christ
In God We Trust -
God Bless
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