Larisa Alexandrovna of Raw Story apparently thinks so:
Concern is building among the military and the intelligence community that the US may be preparing for a military strike on Iran, as military assets in key positions are approaching readiness, RAW STORY has learned.
According to military and intelligence sources, an air strike on Iran could be doable in June of this year, with military assets in key positions ready to go and a possible plan already on the table.
So, what “military assets” are we talking about? India Daily explains:
The U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt is on the move in Atlantic Ocean and is possibly headed towards the Mediterranean Sea. The convergence of three carrier groups in the corridor of the Middle East will send very strong message to the Syrians and Iranians. There are indications that soon US is moving two more aircraft carrier battle groups to the Eastern Mediterranean Sea and the Persian Gulf. This will spell a formidable strike force for Iran and Syria who are in defiance on issues of Lebanon and Nuclear weapons development.
Three carrier groups just to deliver a message? I don’t think so. Maybe Clinton might have done this merely for leverage in diplomatic negotiations, but we aren’t engaged in any negotiations with Iran at the moment. Past practice by the Bush administration tells us that they never deploy “assets” to the Middle East unless they intend to use them.
Update [2006-5-12 12:13:44 by Steven D]: More links on US Carrier groups moving to the Persian Gulf region: Stratfor.com, via Regime Change Iran (re: USS Carl Vinson, USS Truman and USS Theodore Roosevelt); PilotOnline.com (regarding the USS Enterprise redeploying to the Gulf):
[Dated May 1, 2006] On Tuesday, the Enterprise and its six-ship strike group leave Norfolk for the Middle East and to support the global war on terrorism.
“We’re going to be ready,” said Rear Adm. Raymond Spicer, commander of the Enterprise Strike Group. He said the group is ready for “big-time operations” during its scheduled six-month deployment.
(continued below the fold)
More from Ms. Alexandrovna’s story:
Retired Air Force Colonel and former faculty member at the National War College Sam Gardiner has heard some military suggestions of a possible air campaign in the near future, and although he has no intimate knowledge of such plans, he says recent aircraft carrier activity and current operations on the ground in Iran have raised red flags. […]
Two air-craft carriers are already en route to the region, RAW STORY has found. The USS Abraham Lincoln, which recently made a port call in Singapore, and the USS Enterprise which left Norfolk, Virginia earlier this month, are headed for the Western Pacific and Middle East. The USS Ronald Reagan is already operating in the Gulf.
In addition to aircraft carrier activity, Gardiner says, B-2 bombers would be critical.
“I would expect the B-2’s, the main firepower asset, to be flown on missions directly from the United States,” Gardiner explained. “I would expect B-52’s to be flown in strikes from the UK and Diego Garcia.”
“Finally,” he added, “a large number of cruise missiles would be fired from the carrier support ships.”
Compare the Raw Story and India Daily articles, and the possibility exists that as many as 4 carriers will be deployed within striking distance of Iran. Three in the Gulf/Indian Ocean and one more in the Eastern Mediterranean. An unprecedented show of force merely to make a statement. It looks to me like the prelude to a war, possibly sooner than anyone has previously thought possible.
What could possibly be driving the President to speed up his war plans? Perhaps this might have something to do with it:
President George W. Bush’s job approval rating has fallen to a record 29 percent in a new Harris Interactive poll, reports United Press International.
The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that it is the lowest job approval rating of Bush’s presidency.
Wag the Dog, anyone? Any other President, I’d have to give the benefit of the doubt, but Bush long ago exhausted that level of trust. Too many lies, deceits, cover-up, half truths and non-answer answers by he and his courtiers makes me highly suspicious of any statement he might make now.
All he needs is an excuse to start the attack, and he might just have found one thanks to Iran’s actions to protect its border with Iraq against terrorist attacks by the militant Kurdish organization known as the PKK. Further evidence that Iran’s border dispute with the Kurds may be used as a justification by Bush to attack Iran now (if you need any) can be found in this story in the May 11th edition of Zaman online:
After the Tehran administration conducted operations against the terror network Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK) by crossing the Iraqi border, the US Army in Iraq is claimed to have increased the military build up of US troops on the Iranian border.
Tehran local radio announced the US stationed army units on the Iraqi border, increased reconnaissance flights in the region, and trained anti-Iran militias in Iraq. Iranian Interior Ministry confirmed the information.
Activity on the 450 kilometer long border is gradually increasing. Tehran radio also recorded that the US aircrafts reconnaissance flights could also be seen from villages along the border. […]
The US administration, however, announced they increased the troops stationed at the border as a security measure since the insurgent’s smuggle stocks weapons into Iraq from Iran.
Oh those troops are stationed there as a security measure all right, but I doubt it has anything to so with Iranian arms smuggling. The Pentagon has been alleging Iranian arms smuggling into Iraq for months now (though it hasn’t offered any proof to the media in support of these claims). All of sudden they decided that they need to strengthen the Iraq/Iran border to stop smuggling? A move that just happens to coincide with an increased deployment of our Naval forces to the region? Please. Only devoted Bush loyalists would swallow that story.
I had always though that Bush would trumpet the threat of Iran’s nuclear program the closer we got to the Fall election season. That would fit with his and Rove’s modus operandi preceding the Iraq invasion. However, his low poll numbers and the multitude of onrushing Republican and administration scandals (i.e., Plame, NSA eavesdropping, Abramoff, DeLay, Cunningham, Hookergate, etc.) may have forced his hand. Of course, we already know, via Sy Hersh’s New Yorker article, that he sincerely believes he has to attack Iran and take out it’s nuclear facilities now, because no other President will have the guts to do so in the future.
Despots, like predatory beasts, are always the most dangerous when they are wounded. And if you don’t think Bush is a despot after all that’s recently come to light regarding his use of torture, indefinite detentions, signing statements, NSA spying on American citizens, ad nauseam, then Jack Cafferty at CNN would like a word with you.
I have some words for you too. Hang on to your hats, because Bush’s Wild Middle East Ride is about to get much bumpier and scarier sooner than we thought.
Hypocrites grown large. Karl Rove wants the joys of war without the pain. Smearing liberals as pussy cowards but not raising taxes to pay for the war or instituting the draft needed to get boots on the ground to occupy Middle East oil fields.
The only fly in the ointment of the Iranian Bombing scenario is that even those in the White House Bubble are all old enough to know the effect of the Iranian oil shut off will have on the US economy. The first of many shocks that will come with the USA at war with all of Islam.
My contacts in the Navy are not reporting any unusual carrier activity and no extraordinary “build up” in the Gulf…
There is a certain frenetic energy when they start getting ready to attack – I’ve got no sense of that here….
I hope you’re right. However moving US troops to the Iran/Iraq border worries me. I feel like we are creating a trip wire, especially since the Pentagon is already emplying MEK terrorists on missions inside Iran.
This is a relief. I have to think at some point someone will stop a president at 29% approval from yet another breathtakingly stupid military attack. I know no one has yet, but he’s never been this despised before either. Well, by us here at BT, yes, but not among the population at large!
moving carrier groups off their typical area of operation is a great big deal and is accompanied by LOTS of extra activity…
there just isn’t any buzz in the pipeline at this moment… that could change, but in this moment, it has not…
See my update for additional links to stories about carriers being moved to the Persian Gulf.
Again, I hope you are right, but these stories concern me.
the Lincoln is not in the Gulf and not going there…
Where are you getting your information from? And welcome to the Pond. I see this is your first posting?
also, there are ALWAYS a couple carrier groups in the Gulf and they do get relieved with some regularity… thus, the “carrier group heading for the Gulf”…
as suspicious as I am of Bush’s intentions with Iran, I don’t see anything in any of these reports that hasn’t happened every week of every year as a normal part of deployments….
They can’t really think a June Surprise will help Republican election chances, can he? Especially with Congress’s dismal approval numbers, a war can’t possibly make much difference. This is solely about Bush looking out for Bush.
There is no public or political support for this that I can discern. If politicians in both parties have the guts to call this the pointless unneccessary slaughter that it will most likely be, we could see Bush’s approval ratings drop another 10 points.
I’m not sure whether to laugh or cry about that. It would be so much easier if he didn’t kill so many people with his bumbling.
Typing complaints is not taking action.
What real action are you going to take to stop it?
If you read StevenD’s profile, diaries, and comments over the last year, you’ll see what he’s done, and continues to do.
…and you?
heh. Yeah, if this all happens, StevenD will go down as one of the most prescient and loud prophets of this era. What has he done? Indeed.
I see a whole lot of safe talk. I see no calls for direct action as a result of these new outrages. Typing is not acting.
Nobody is ever going to follow me. I’m disabled. People are made too uncomfortable by the presence of sick people for me to be able to lead anything. Someone has to step up and get the talk stopped and the action started.
I have a brother who is a quadreplegic, so I know about the discomfort you talk about, because I’ve seen it myself when in his presence. I, however have no such discomfort with “sick” people. You have a heart, a mind, and a voice. I’ll follow you. Where are we going next?
Yeah, my first thought when reading this was: What can I do? What can WE do?
I’ll contact my congress critters, but if anyone learns of coordinated responses, please let us all know. Thanks.
I’m guilty of the greatest crime in American culture. I look bad on TV. A couple of my more minor health issues are major issues if I were to be put in front of a camera or a crowd. So… I stopped thinking about putting myself in those situations. You might be able to overlook that sort of thing, but most aren’t. It’s pointless wasting my energy fighting against it. There’s too many other things that have need of that energy.
Yeah Boo, I’m a pretty shiftless and no account wastrel.
😉
BTW, I hope I’m not prescient, and I hope these stories I’ve cited are way off base, but there’s enough going on to give me pause. The border dispute issue and Bush’s refusal to negotiate directly with Iran are two of the biggest concerns that I have that this BushCo manufactured crisis is headed for another military solution.
Well, I can only say that I can see that you are not the only one that is predicting this. It’s pretty hard to see how we get to November without some ginned up crisis, possibly involving the use of our air force and navy in Iran. It’s not even a wag the dog issue anymore because they want to do this before they leave office and they may be leaving office sooner than they planned.
I was also injured in a protest not that long ago when the police line wheeled on the “family safe/disabled” area of a protest against a Bush visit. Police pepper sprayed a toddler not too far away from me in that mess.
I guarantee I have far more to lose than almost all of you if I get on any of the NSA’s lists. I’m disabled, and on Social Security Disabailty. I could be put on review and lose everything.
So… what are YOU doing again, supersoling? How about the rest of you?
We are doing everything we can. I am sorry but strongly feel your comment is way out of line here. You are asking Supersoling what he is doing? he made the trip to Crawford last year. He made the trip to DC last year. We all have everything to lose….like our democracy and freedom with this Cabal of Warmonging fascists in power.
What do you mean “everything to lose”? It’s lost. We need to fight to get our democracy and freedom back.
Bush already is tapping your phones and your net connection. What freedom?
Bush and Rove have already rigged 2 straight Presidential elections. What democracy?
Stop kidding yourself. Bush does not care what anyone says about him. That’s clear. It’s time stop talking and start acting.
Protesting is risky business, as you’ve found out. I have three kids who depend on me for everything, so I have just as much to lose as you, Steven, who also has medical difficulties, or anyone else. You want to know what I’ve done, or continue to do? Read my profile, comments, and so on over the last year. This is no contest of who’s done more, risks more, or stands to lose the most.
Thanks for putting your ass on the line. It’s nice to have company, and I’m sure Steven would agree with that.
Peace
I don’t understand your anger.
What exactly is it that upsets you about this topic? That I wrote it?
Many of the people who post at this blog have been involved in activist campaigns, protest marches, writing ltes and working for Democratic candidates.
I’ll give you a brief accounting of what I’ve done since I became active politically in 2004.
Volunteered for the Kerry Campaign in Ohio (I live in NY so this was a trip I made to work for him in a battleground state)
Volunteered for Election Protection in Cleveland, Ohio as a lawyer/observer working to monitor polling places and work to prevent improper and illegal actions by polling officials on Election Day, 2004.
Contributed monies to Moveon.org, ACT, the DNC, Kerry campaign and various other political campaigns for Dem candidates. My DNC contribution is a continuing one made monthly.
Attended protest rallies and marches in my community, and on 9/24/05 in Washington DC.
Write LTE’s to various newspapers (I’ve had a couple printed in my local paper)
Blog here everyday to educate and inform as many as possible about the travesty that is the Bush regime.
Perhaps I could do more, but like you I am disabled (though not in a wheelchair). I suffer from various autoimmune symptoms involving my joints (rheumatism), skin (rashes and sores), and gastrointestinal system (I’ll spare you these symptoms as they can get a little gross).
I don’t understand just what else it’s going to take to get people out in the streets and stay there until the neo-cons are chased out of DC.
I’m mad because even the people that have taken some action in the past aren’t taking action now.
I don’t get it. What’s it going to take to get a long term mass direct action against the neo-cons off the ground.
To be honest, probably not until $6 a gallon gasoline. And maybe not then.
Many people have no desire to do anything because they don’t see any personal impact on their life. Others feel helpless and live in a fog of fear thanks to our major media, esp. Fox news.
I think the success of the recent immigration marches had a lot to do with a group of people who were feeling threatened by the GOP and therefore had a stake in hitting the streets. Most middle class people simplyb aren’t at that point yet, in part becasue they don’t understand that the news they are getting is little better than conservative propaganda.
I understand and share your frustration with the American people’s sheepish acceptance of atrocity after atrocity. I think your attack on Steven is misdirected, however.
You may have some physical limitations, but clearly you have passion and brains. The organization for actions can be started via computer and phone. Let us know when you have something arranged and I’m sure we’ll support it.
See Cindy Sheehan as an example.
Cindy Sheehan was capable of going out in front of the cameras and stating the case for the dircet action she was calling for. I can’t be that kind of front person. Me trying to be a front person would kill a campaign before it even got started. It sucks that most people are that way toward “sick people” in this country, but there’s a lot of things that suck that are very true, unfortunately.
The organizer has to arrange to have a media front person.
If for whatever reason, you cannot organize an action that’s fine. We all have our roles to play.
Peace.
Blanket statements always set my teeth on edge-as your guarantee that you have far more to lose than most people here-how do you know that for a fact? Because you are disabled and SSD, so am I for that matter and as it happens a fair number of people here are on SSD.
If you have been reading the Trib for the last year you would know just what many people here have been actively doing, including supersoling.
If you have some concrete suggestions on what people can be doing that would be most welcome. New ideas are always good.
I didn’t use blanket statements. See that word “almost” up there? That means I did not use a blanket statement.
Statistically, relatively few are disabled on SSD, and with a single word from above can have their Social Security Benefits stopped for an indefinite period of time while the Social Security bureaucracy takes their sweet time confirming the same massive pile of paperwork that was waded through before when applying. That happens and a person on SSD generally loses their freedom. The vast majority of people on SSD will be forced into a Medicare nursing home for the duration of their SSD benefits review.
If you are in the same boat, fine, You’re one of the people that I put the “almost” in the above quote for.
I did see the ‘almost’, it just seemed that the tone of your posts seemed to sound like a blanket indictment of people here not doing much except posting and complaining about bush.
Anyway, I completely agree with you in the fact that I wonder why in the hell everyone isn’t just marching in the streets, marching on D.C. to demand this administration be run out of town on a rail..I don’t get it..although I to some extent understand it. The general public listens to the regular news and while they may be getting small pieces of what bush and company are doing the media doesn’t really focus on the important and criminal aspects of what bushco is doing.
We have to get the general public to be ‘as mad as hell and not going to take it anymore’ as us here on the lefty blogs. If you can figure that out then we’d finally be talking revolution.
The whole SSD thing is kinda scary isn’t it…I’ve wondered also if any day I could get my files yanked and sad to think that we even have to consider something like that.
WHO BENEFITS FROM ATTACKING IRAN?
I cannot let go of this question. Setting aside moral questions(and outrage), I wonder who benefits?
Even with my limited understanding of economics I can understand the consequences of an attack would be devestating to all kinds of “business.” So who benefits?
CEO’s don’t recognize the danger of disrupting the oil flow? International companies aren’t aware of anti-U.S. sentiments and the potential for enormous, long-term boycotts? Who benefits?
Attacking Iran as a “poll booster” just doesn’t seem deep enough. Aren’t the CEO’s of all the businesses who would suffer from the consequences of attacking Iran hounding “their” reps and senators and president to back off? Who benefits?
Considering this administration is the “public side” of the oil industry, would the oil industry benefit? How?
Who benefits?
I’m not trying to answer lightly your serious question but my first thought as to who would benefit?…..Bush, Cheney and Rummy’s ego’s. Their power mad, imperialist egos seem to have let them dispense with the reality of what will really happen when they bomb Iran. Someone already mentioned that bush at least believes by bombing Iran that will wake up the Iranians to help overthrow their duly elected government and everything will then be just hunky dorry..a variation on the Iraq scenario where we would be greeted as liberators and flowers thrown at our feet.
The Axis of Evil starts here=bush/cheney/rummy.
I don’t disagree with you at all. What makes them see an attack as the best thing to do? Who would stroke their egos if they did this, pat them on the back, and give them a high 5?
When I consider ripping apart the Middle East even further and consider China and India’s need for oil…the potential for a truly multi-country conflict initiated by an attack…I just don’t see who benefits.
Wouldn’t the CEO and Board of Directors of Wal-Mart be getting a bit nervous about this too? And what about Fed-Ex? And all the other Fortune500 corporations that do not directly profit from the oil industry or “defense” industry, aren’t they worried?
Which keeps me wondering who is saying to BushCo – do it!
thought I should point out that the linked ‘regime change iran’ article on carrier groups moving is actually dated March 2005– it’s quite likely that they’ve since moved on from wherever they went that time. As someone else has pointed out, these carrier groups are moving all the time. They are rotated in and out of war zones (the Arabian Gulf) and other ‘theatres’.