Bad news
--
Iran warned on Iraq
Mon Jan 29, 2007 1:02pm ET WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush vowed on Monday to respond firmly if Iran foments violence in Iraq and the White House urged Tehran to play a constructive role in the region.
--
Forget the "stablizing Iraq" nonsense above. It's obvious the wheels are in motion to expand the war into Iran in the near future. According to a credible post at Adored by Hordes, a third aircraft carrier in the gulf is a sure sign.
UPDATE: An excellent backgrounder on the buildup to war with Iran at Raw Story (via toteota), including this important fact:
The aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan passes two fishermen in their small boat as it leaves for its second deployment in a year from North Island Naval Air Station in Coronado, California January 27, 2007. The Reagan is headed to the Persian Gulf to support war efforts in Iraq. REUTERS/Fred Greaves (UNITED STATES) via Yahoo News
--
Iran warned on Iraq
Mon Jan 29, 2007 1:02pm ET WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush vowed on Monday to respond firmly if Iran foments violence in Iraq and the White House urged Tehran to play a constructive role in the region.
--
Bush Poised to Stake His All on Iraq Victory
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report
January 6, 2007, 9:39 PM (GMT+02:00)
And the White House is making sure that Adm. Fallon has plenty of resources to deploy, a veritable buildup, the second in four months, in the Persian Gulf and other waters opposite Iran. The USS John C. Stennis strike group is heading for the Persian Gulf with a mighty air arm of 9-10 fighter-bomber squadrons. Saturday, some sources reported that another task force, the USS Ronald Reagan Strike Group, had been ordered out of Sand Diego on Jan. 4 and was heading in the same direction.
Military observers in the US and Middle East noted that the group’s commander, Rear Adm. Michael H. Miller, reiterated: “When we deploy for real-world operations, Carrier Strike Group 7 will be an example of how the Navy is able to carry out our mission any time, anywhere in the world.”
The original announcement that the Stennis strike group will this month join the USS Dwight Eisenhower aircraft carrier group and USS Boxer strike force in the Persian Gulf described the deployment “as a warning to Syria and Iran” in face of acts seen as provocative, and to give commanders more flexibility in the region.
Deployment of the Stennis group puts a total of 16,000 US sailors in the region as well as another nuclear carrier and 7 escort warships, 10 air squadrons, 2 submarines and helicopters to support amphibious landings on enemy soil.
This massed naval, air and marine forces assembled should provide credible evidence of the lengths the United States is prepared to go to keep Iran, Syria or Hizballah from interfering with the all-out American attempt to stabilize Iraq.
While the Stennis group has a high capability for sowing sea mines across broad stretches of water, thus threatening to disable the Iranian army and corking up its oil export outlets, the Ronald Reagan has the opposite and supplementary operational capability of sweeping up marine mines and explosive charges should Tehran blockade the Persian Gulf and Hormuz Strait against American warships and outgoing oil shipping from Iraq and Arabian oil centers.
Forget the "stablizing Iraq" nonsense above. It's obvious the wheels are in motion to expand the war into Iran in the near future. According to a credible post at Adored by Hordes, a third aircraft carrier in the gulf is a sure sign.
UPDATE: An excellent backgrounder on the buildup to war with Iran at Raw Story (via toteota), including this important fact:
In May 2003, with pressure for regime change intensifying within the US, Iran made efforts to negotiate a peaceful resolution with the United States. According to Lawrence Wilkerson, then-Chief of Staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell, these efforts were sabotaged by Vice President Cheney.
