US navy prepared for war against Iran

international | anti-war / imperialism | other press Tuesday February 14, 2012 12:42 by pat c

The US Navy is building up its forces in the Persian Gulf, more provocations against Iran. With another Aircraft Carrier Battle Group arriving, Admiral Fox, commander of the 5th Fleet upped the ante: “We’ve developed very precise and lethal weapons that are very effective, and we’re prepared,” he said. “We’re just ready for any contingency.” Full text at link.

The increasingly menacing character of US rhetoric toward Iran was underlined by the comments to the media on Sunday by Admiral Mark Fox, commander of the US 5th Fleet based at Bahrain in the Persian Gulf.

While couched in terms of “defence”, Fox’s remarks contained a barely concealed threat. President Barack Obama has repeatedly declared that the US will not allow Iran to build a nuclear weapon and that “all options are on the table” to prevent that from taking place. Fox was signalling that the 5th Fleet was “ready today” for “any contingency”, including war.

Recently the Pentagon increased the number of aircraft carrier battle groups in or near the Persian Gulf from one to two, thus doubling its ability to launch a massive air and naval assault on Iran. The USS Abraham Lincoln entered the Gulf on January 22, accompanied by a large escort of US, British and French warships.

The American media shamelessly repeats and embellishes the propaganda produced in Washington that seeks to portray the Iranian regime as a rogue state bent on aggression, with an array of military threats at its command. In reality, the vastly superior firepower of the US would rapidly destroy the limited and aged Iranian naval and air forces. Iran has repeatedly rejected the unsubstantiated allegations that it is building or is planning to build a nuclear bomb. The only purpose of demonising Iran is to justify a criminal act of aggression, either by the US or Israel, which is being openly discussed in the American and Israeli press.