Re: The dangerous Republican game of "Chicken" begins

[humbubba]

On Feb 18, 9:17 am, Harry Hope <riv...@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
> From The San Francisco Gate, 2/17/07http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/02/17/MNGEAO6P5...
>
> U.S. show of strength in gulf
>
> Iranian exercises, missile test draw attention to vulnerability of oil
> shipments -- Navy responds
>
> Tony Perry, Los Angeles Times
>
> Aboard the coastal patrol ship Firebolt, Persian Gulf --
>
> Every day, this American ship and its crew of 30 sailors are on alert.
> At 170 feet in length, the Firebolt and similar craft are the smallest
> and possibly the most lightly armed ships in the U.S. Navy.
>
> Soon, the Firebolt will be joined in the region by one of the Navy's
> most heavily armed behemoths:
>
> the 1,092-foot carrier John C. Stennis, carrying a crew of 5,000 and
> more than 80 warplanes.
>
> The Stennis will head a strike force of destroyers, cruisers and
> submarines sent to the region by the Bush administration amid
> heightened tensions with Iran over its nuclear program and allegations
> of meddling in Iraq.
>
> Despite their differences in size and weaponry, the Firebolt and the
> Stennis share a stated mission:
>
> to deter the Iranian navy from hostile acts in a gulf vital to oil
> shipments by showing that U.S. military strength remains formidable,
> despite American entanglements in Iraq and Afghanistan.
>
> Iran, for its part, has begun an air and naval exercise and announced
> it has tested a missile capable of sinking a large ship.
>
> In November, its navy released pictures of its supply of mines that it
> says could be used to deny access to the gulf for ships it considers
> "invaders."
>
> Although there is no denying that the Stennis and its strike force
> bring with them the ability to hit Iran's nuclear sites, officials in
> Washington and Tehran appear to be focusing on the near-term threat of
> a naval confrontation.
>
> Such a clash could be disastrous to the world's oil supplies, 40
> percent of which pass in tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, a
> 40-mile-wide pinchpoint at the southern edge of the 600-mile-long
> gulf.
>
> Vice Adm. Patrick Walsh, commander of the 5th Fleet, based in Bahrain,
> said the Iranians have created "an environment of intimidation and
> fear" among Persian Gulf nations by conducting live-fire missile
> exercises near the strait.
>
> "We will continue to stand by our friends in the region," Walsh said
> in an e-mail.
>
> Iran views any U.S. presence in gulf waters as a provocation and a
> threat to its security, and it has repeatedly issued warnings that it
> has the ability to attack U.S. ships -- by drone aircraft, small boats
> and missiles.
>
> _________________________________________________
>
> Hold your breath
>
> Harry

Uh, no, actively promote Hohensee-Feingold.

Rick Hohensee