Minor distraction from the political news of the day...

[Sir Jeffrey]

The Eisenhower Strike Group is scheduled to arrive in the Persian Gulf tomorrow. Whether this is the final step to war with Iran or merely a bluff is anyone's guess at this point, but I felt it was important to mention this/remind people of this. After all, an animal is most dangerous when it is cornered...

For a good summary:

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=CHO20061006&articleId=3407

[havocmom]

1. Is the Carrier group that has been there getting ready to leave?

There are rotations. Not every fleet movement is a bad thing.

[Sir Jeffrey]

2. Nobody knows at this point...

which is why Sam Gardiner is saying that you have to watch for whether the Enterprise stays or returns. I haven't seen anything on the Enterprise getting any return orders...not saying they haven't rec'd them, just saying I haven't seen it reported anywhere.

[havocmom]

3. How long has Enterprise and group been there?

What are the normal rotation times?

[Sir Jeffrey]

4. Enterprise group has been there since May...

conducting bombing raids in Afghanistan.

The Eisenhower Group is supposedly there to relieve the Enterprise, but I haven't seen anything about them returning.

The "Ike" hasn't been deployed in years.

[havocmom]

5. Seems likely their tour is up then

Ships need maintenance, even if the current idiot in charge of DOD doesn't realize people do too

[Sir Jeffrey]

6. I hope you're right nt

[havocmom]

7. Me too

I would like to think the Navy/Marine brass is smart enough to know attacking Iran would be suicide for the American Military.

The Air Force, I don't have as much hope for. Too many of the brass in that branch are true believers as attested by the long standing tolerance of religious bigotry and harassment at their academy and the outragously insensitive, ignorant mutterings of some of their generals in regards to Christianity v Islam.

And, from 45,000 feet, what worries do they have of starting a war with a nation three times the size of Iraq with much better resources than Iraq ever had? They can fly in, run on computers, wipe out civilizations, and be home for supper. What care have they for the ants on the ground, be they Iranian or US ARMY?

Movements of Air Force groups is what I am most anxious about. Any info of more AF groups going to Great Britain of late? That would make me have nightmares.

Frankly, I haven't seen the usual AF traffic in my local skies the past several months. It worries me considerably. Those groups can move about with less notice than a fleet. They can be stationed at bases in Europe or the western edge of the Pacific. They can be kept fairly far off of Iran, but refueled in mid-air so their strike range is pretty much unlimited.

And the AF brass has too many crazy zealots. Crazy zealots are always a threat, no matter where they pray.

[Sir Jeffrey]

8. As you said...

the Air Force can pretty much deploy at a moments notice...and even Sy Hersh said that the Air Force has always been behind the idea to bomb Iranian sites.

The Navy and Marine brass are supposedly against the attack; not because of fear of failure but rather fear of the political consequences at home and abroad. I suspect when push comes to shove they will honor the civilian leadership and do what they're told.

The thing that scares me the most though is NSPD 35...apparently the nukes are in place and waiting for the order.

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=20060222&articleId=2032

snip

"The planning of the aerial bombings of Iran started in mid-2004, pursuant to the formulation of CONPLAN 8022 in early 2004. In May 2004, National Security Presidential Directive NSPD 35 entitled Nuclear Weapons Deployment Authorization was issued.

The contents of this highly sensitive document remains a carefully guarded State secret. There has been no mention of NSPD 35 by the media nor even in Congressional debates. While its contents remains classified, the presumption is that NSPD 35 pertains to the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons in the Middle East war theater in compliance with CONPLAN 8022.

In this regard, a recent press report published in Yeni Safak (Turkey) suggests that the United States is currently:

"deploying B61-type tactical nuclear weapons in southern Iraq as part of a plan to hit Iran from this area if and when Iran responds to an Israeli attack on its nuclear facilities". (Ibrahim Karagul, "The US is Deploying Nuclear Weapons in Iraq Against Iran", (Yeni Safak,. 20 December 2005, quoted in BBC Monitoring Europe).

This deployment in Iraq appears to be pursuant to NSPD 35 ,

What the Yenbi Safak report suggests is that conventional weapons would be used in the first instance, and if Iran were to retaliate in response to US-Israeli aerial attacks, tactical thermonuclear B61 weapons could then be launched This retaliation using tactical nuclear weapons would be consistent with the guidelines contained in the 2001 Nuclear Posture Review and NSPD 17 (see above). "

When you combine this information with the idea that the "Ike" group is designed:

http://www.news.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=25883

"...to ensure security in all waters, so all commercial shipping may operate freely while transiting the world's oceans..."

I don't feel all that confident that the psychopaths in charge will step back from the brink and do the sensible thing.

http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/Pentagon_moves_to_secondstage_planning_for_0921.html

snip

"Last week, a military intelligence official described to this reporter the movement of Naval submarines and a deployment order sent out to Naval assets of strategic import, such as minesweepers, that could indicate contingency planning is already under way to secure oil transport routes and supplies."

[havocmom]

9. Thanks for the links. Thought they serve to back my opinions

rather than offer hope that sane minds will prevail.

The junta is in dire straights here at home. Makes them more dangerous and more likely to do what serves them and not the nation.

The poetry is the Eisenhower battle group assuming station. Ike told us to beware of this very thing. If one were given to prayer, asking intervention of such a man at this time might not be a bad exercise. All other means of getting the junta to step back from this path seem about as effective as prayer.

It will be the AF that starts the conflagration. It will be the boots on the ground, and the ships at sea who will pay for such folly first. Then, the whole world.

The corporatist intend to assure total domination. A huge and long lasting war will just be a means to that end.

I grieve for what is lost and what shall be lost.

[Sir Jeffrey]

10. Kick for more sabre rattling

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=20061023&articleId=3575

"Tuesday, Oct. 17, the Iwo Jima Expeditionary Strike Group steamed into the Persian Gulf to join the US naval, air and marine concentration piling up opposite Iran’s shores. It consists of the amphibious transport dock USS Nashville, the guided-missile destroyers USS Cole and USS Bulkeley, the guided-missile cruiser USS Philippine Sea, the attack submarine USS Albuquerque, and the dock landing ship USS Whidbey Island.

The Iwo Jima group is now cruising 60 km from Kuwait off Iran’s coast. As DEBKAfile and DEBKA-Net-Weekly reported exclusively two weeks ago, three US naval task forces will be in place opposite Iran in the Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea by October 21. The other two are the USS Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group and the USS Enterprise Strike Group."