US set for Operation Iranian Freedom? Pentagon ready
http://rt.com/news/iran-conflict-us-ready-179/
Washington is prepared to engage in war over the Strait of Hormuz at any moment, the Pentagon says. Some observers say the dangerous move is being viewed as a far from worst-case scenario in America, especially by its hawks.
American troops in the Persian Gulf region do not require any build-up for a possible military conflict with Iran, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Wednesday.
“We are not making any special steps at this point in order to deal with the situation. Why? Because, frankly, we are fully prepared to deal with that situation now,” Panetta explained.
The US says it will attack Iran if it tries to block the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial route for regional oil transit. Tehran has threatened to stop traffic through the Strait in response to mounting pressure, including threats, sanctions and particularly an air strike on its nuclear facilities, which Israel and the US say are on the table.
The US Navy has two aircraft carrier strike groups in the region at the moment, presumably performing a routine rotation. US troops are also stationed in a number of nearby countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait and other Gulf nations.
Panetta’s ready-for-war rhetoric was frowned upon by Beijing. China’s foreign ministry spokesman Liu Weimin commented on Thursday that “sanctions and military threats will not help solve the problem but only aggravate the situation.”
Russia holds a similar position on the brewing conflict. “What Western states… have been adding as they adopt their additional unilateral sanctions against Iran has nothing in common with the desire to keep the nuclear weapons nonproliferation regime unshaken,” Russia’s Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, warned at his Q&A conference on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi has reiterated that Tehran wants talks on the nuclear issue, which Western powers cite as the main motive for sanctions against the country. But, Salehi maintained, it is up to the other parties, particularly the US and EU, to arrange a time and place for a meeting.
“We want peace and tranquility in the region,” Salehi said during a visit to Turkey. “I am calling to all countries in the region, please don’t let yourselves be dragged into a dangerous position.”
At the same time, the EU’s foreign policy and security chief, Catherine Ashton, told journalists such a meeting is not being prepared at the moment.
US President Barack Obama is being pressured by domestic hawks to attack Iran, according to political analyst Igor Khokhlov from the Institute of World Economy and International Relations.
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most of the chess pieces are lined up..most sides have been taken..just needs the match..what will it be?
401
Strange they are sending the USS Enterprise, second oldest in commission
wonder who insures it?
from wiki
As of September 2010, Enterprise’s home port is at Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia. She has one more deployment before her decommissioning
great point..whats the bet if a ship gets hit its her?
that is a superb point, would you mind if I reposted your observation elsewhere with credit to you?
i am sure she wont mind nom
Interestingly, when I tried to post this information at Washington’s blog a few days ago, I never made it out of moderation.
Why is it when I see an American nuclear aircraft carrier on the prowl it is accompanied by cheers of “Freedom,” and I ask myself…freedom from what and for what. Regarding matches…there are so many different strike forces in the matchbox I would not even venture a guess on which one would first be used to satisfy our quest for this freedom thing.
If we truly seek freedom why don’t we just abolish the central government.
[...] US set for Operation Iranian Freedom? Pentagon ready (seeker401.wordpress.com) [...]
US aircraft carriers to deliver ‘direct message to Iran’ « The Communicator said this on January 23, 2012 at 11:49 am |
[...] US set for Operation Iranian Freedom? Pentagon ready (seeker401.wordpress.com) [...]
Iran ‘definitely’ closing Strait of Hormuz over EU oil embargo « YourDaddy's Politics said this on January 24, 2012 at 1:01 am |
Hmm ‘USS Enterprise’ the ships title is very appropriate if Iraq is anything to go by, couldn’t think of a better symbol to send in to underscore the real agenda! (Enterprise for US)
“operation Iranian freedom” pfft ..just another mind fck!
Shooting in the dark here.. as the enterprise is due for decommissioning soon, it would seem like a relatively cheap option (not including human cost) for a ‘Gulf of Tonkin’ type scenario, not to mention it’s iconic status & symbol of US muscle amongst those who care. (hope it never happens)
The US were willing to show defense security vulnerability during 9/11, i can’t see why they wouldn’t sacrifice a blow to the ego for this possibility as well.
I mean it’s all about the greenbacks at the end of the day, patriotism and doing rather than seen to be doing the right thing has nothing to do with it.
“enterprise” corruption..
http://www.richardsilverstein.com/tikun_olam/2012/01/20/atlanta-jewish-newspaper-advocates-mossad-assassinating-obama-if-iran-gets-nukes/
I’m beginning to be of the opinion that 50% is greenbacks & the other 50% is just plain crazy.
that piece has got a lot of coverage this week..to much almost..
That is what VT thought: http://www.veteranstoday.com/2012/01/22/killing-obama-united-states-vs-andrew-r-adler/ they are interesting but often pretty far out there; I don’t know anything about Adler or whether or not he has ever said anything else crazy, so I don’t have a personal opinion on the timing; I thought it was more interesting the way the msm wasn’t saying boo; cnn didn’t cover it until yesterday.
“There is something fishy about this Andrew Adler ‘Kill Obama’ case. It came out of the blue…from a small below the radar Jewish publication, but from a major city, Atlanta. Why now, and why Andrew Adler?
The next thing that was extremely unusual was how quickly and completely so many major Jewish organizations dumped on this guy…almost all of them in one day. And their language was very harsh.
And then something else very strange, despite all the media coverage, where is the media digging out everything on our Andrew Adler life’s.
I have found nothing mentioned about him earlier than when he acquired the Atlanta Jewish Times, almost like it got off a space ship before that. And even more strange, no one seems to be asking any questions.”
thats what i meant..
Article is a couple of weeks old, but I had missed it, Antifascist Calling posts irregularly, but always with really excellent long articles.
http://antifascist-calling.blogspot.com/2012/01/terror-attacks-us-israeli-war-games.html
“…What makes Roshan’s murder especially troubling is that according to political analyst Seyyed Mohamed Marandi, the “IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency] officials had met him [Ahmadi Roshan] earlier.”
Marandi charged that all of the Iranian scientists who had been targeted and then subsequently murdered in terrorist attacks “have had their names given by the IAEA to third parties,” Press TV reported…”
iaea providing the targets?