Military Types - What do you think of this article: 'The March to War'

The Centre for Research on Globalisation has lots of information and research on the naval/troop buildup going on in the Mediterranean and Persian Gulf Area, in this long article with over 85 cited news sources and stories!

There is an evident military build-up of conventional, ground, air, naval, and nuclear forces in and around the Middle East and Central Asia.

There are two distinct naval armadas: in the Persian Gulf-Arabian Sea and in the Eastern Mediterranean off the coastlines of Syria and Lebanon.

These armadas are being built-up concurrently. The Eastern Mediterranean build-up is essentially characterized by Israeli and NATO naval and ground forces. In the Persian Gulf, the naval armada is largely American with the participation of the British, Australia, and Canada. In this extensive land mass between the Eastern Mediterranean and the Persian Gulf, various military movements on the ground are occurring, including Northern Iraq and Georgia.

The broader war theater would extend far beyond, northwards to the Caspian Sea Basin and eastwards to Pakistan and China's Western frontier. What we are dealing with is a chessboard for another Middle Eastern war, which could potentially engulf a much broader region.

I know there are people here at ATS who are knowledgable in military affairs. Does this look like "normal rotations" to you? Is the analysis sound and drawing the correct conclusion? Are there members in the military or working closely with them who can confirm this stuff?

This level of activity does not bode well IMO.
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The Dwight D. Eisenhower task group may very well be a "normal rotation"...

TYR: There will be no attack on Iran this year

October 06, 2006


If the Americans were going to attack Iran, you'd think they would do it when they had a ship or two available. Various people have been getting their knickers in a twist because the Dwight D. Eisenhower and her task group sailed for the Indian Ocean on the 3rd of October. (The Nation, this means you.) There is a carrier group there already, around the Enterprise. Apparently this is a gathering armada and proof that Teh October Surprise is planned.

One problem. US aircraft carriers work on a six-month operating cycle. When did Enterprise and Co. leave for the Indian Ocean and the Gulf? The 2nd of May. When did she arrive on station? A month later, on the 3rd of June. When is she due back in Norfolk? The 3rd of November, clearly. When must she leave her station? Now, or thereabouts. When must Eisenhower leave to relieve her? Well, the 3rd of October. Clearly.

Further, look at the rest of the fleet. Out of 11 ships, 5 are currently unavailable - 4 out of 10, if you count the nearly-decommissioned John F. Kennedy. Carl Vinson, George Washington, Harry S. Truman, and Abraham Lincoln are all in dry docks and not going anywhere. The rest are not much more available.

This is an interesting and long article/analysis by The Yorkshire Ranter. Take a look.


But I'll still keep my eyes on Georgia...

[edit on 2006/10/10 by Hellmutt]

Gools, what exactly are you talking about? Like a possibility of the US and other forces helping Georgia, and Israel in wars?

Normal rotation and deployments.
Simply another attempt by globalresearch to distort information, now in the form of hype over military rotations and deployments coupled with regional events, which is pretty self-evident by their article's title: "The March to War"..........

[edit on 10-10-2006 by Seekerof]

Yep, at first I thought this might be happening, but not so much anymore.

The USS Wasp is not even in the Med anymore, it has been spotted in the North Sea. Today was the first day the US Navy admitted it.

Also, the USS Hue City has come home. It was the centerpiece of US firepower in the Med during the Lebanon crisis.

Stars and Stripes reported the US Task Force was standing down on October 3rd, and all evidence to date suggests it did happen.

The Enterprise is still fighting in Afghanistan, and should be coming home soon. The Eisenhower CSG deployment has been scheduled for months, just like the Boxer ESG deployment, so suggestions they are in response to orders would be saying the orders have been on the table since around March.

The only other ship out in that region that could be considered out of place is the USS James E Williams, and according to Seawaves it crossed the Suez on the way home from the Gulf on October 1st.

Even the USS Barry, whose tour recently finished with NATO, came home this week and was spotted in the Washington Naval Yard. It was the largest US ship in the NATO standing naval force. The US Contribution to the Standing NATO Naval Forces currently includes 3 Oliver Hazard Perry Frigates, which don't even have missiles! Hardly a ship of war.

That isn't to say the US Navy isn't busy, but just not regarding Iran. I'd make a thorough post about it if I knew which forum to do it.

Originally posted by darksided
The US Contribution to the Standing NATO Naval Forces currently includes 3 Oliver Hazard Perry Frigates, which don't even have missiles! Hardly a ship of war.

I assume you mean cruise missiles? OHP class frigates do have Harpoon and SAM's but they are designed as escort frigates not units that carry cruise misiles like some destroyers and cruisers.

Originally posted by dagebow

Originally posted by darksided
The US Contribution to the Standing NATO Naval Forces currently includes 3 Oliver Hazard Perry Frigates, which don't even have missiles! Hardly a ship of war.

I assume you mean cruise missiles? OHP class frigates do have Harpoon and SAM's but they are designed as escort frigates not units that carry cruise misiles like some destroyers and cruisers.

Sorry, US Oliver Hazard Perry frigates had their SM-1 launchers removed in 2003. None of the US versions of the frigate have any missiles. Because Harpoons were fired from the SM-1 launchers, they don't have any type of missile system except for the 2 that have SEARAM instead of Phalanx as replaced by a recent refit.