Jewish Leader Raps US For Taking Aircraft Carrier Out Of Gulf

[Purveyor]

A top American Jewish leader on Sunday criticized the Obama administration for cutting its aircraft carrier presence in the Persian Gulf region from two carriers to one. He said the move sent entirely the wrong message to Iran about America’s commitment to keep all options, including the military option, on the table in the struggle to thwart Tehran’s nuclear drive.

“I’m personally very disturbed by the withdrawal [of one of the US's two aircraft carriers] from the Persian Gulf, the Arab Gulf, because of the message it sends to the Iranians,” said Malcolm Hoenlein, the long-time executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organization, in unusually critical comments. “We have to think about how the Iranians perceive it.”

Hoenlein said he well understood that budgetary pressures may have necessitated the move, but feared that it would be “interpreted by the Iranians as a diminution of our commitment that all options are on the table, which is the only thing that will bring them — if anything will — to a reasonable stance” as regards their nuclear program.

The Pentagon announced 10 days ago that it was cutting its aircraft carrier presence in the Persian Gulf region from two carriers to one, with a saving of hundreds of millions of dollars. The decision came as Washington struggles to find a way to avoid sharp automatic spending cuts set to strike the Pentagon and domestic programs next month. The US has maintained two aircraft carrier groups in the Gulf for most of the last two years, amid escalating tensions with Iran, as part of a US show of force in the region.

More...

http://www.timesofisrael.com/jewish-leader-slams-us-for-taking-aircraft-carrier-out-of-gulf/

[TheCowsCameHome]

1. Then buy your own.

[longship]

2. I was going to post, "Then, build your own" nt

[OldDem2012]

3. +1000. We already give the Israelis more than $3B per year for "military assistance"....

...at a time we can ill-afford ANY expenditures.

[TheCowsCameHome]

8. They could use it as floating casino during the non-war season

and use the proceeds to finance the next war.

[HappyMe]

4. Well, too bad.

They aren't Israel's carriers to command.

[bemildred]

5. Get over it, it's going to happen. nt

[Posteritatis]

6. Something to be said for the other message of "one carrier will be sufficient." (nt)

[geek tragedy]

7. Does the Torah mention aircraft carriers?

Seems he's commenting on issues outside those pertaining to Judaism in the US.

[intaglio]

9. They might be considered a type of "iron chariot"

Judges 1;19 And the LORD was with Judah; and he drave out the inhabitants of the mountain; but could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron.

[OneMoreDemocrat]

10. Perhaps he can raise the money for the U.S.S. Holocaust...

who's only purpose will be to protect against any and all boogeymen Israel imagines want to 'push them into the sea (tm)'.

'Till then, sorry 'Cuz.

[bobclark86]

11. Does he know...

how big a carrier air wing is? About 50 strike fighters and a couple dozen other support craft (tankers, ECM planes, recon, helicopters for strike and SAR).

BTW, that's about the size of the IRIAF's entire actual air-worthy inventory. ONE CAW. Oh, and we have 9 more on carriers within a few weeks of being stuffed up Iran's ass if we need them.

Add to that our cruise missile frigates, subs, cruisers, destroyers in the Gulf, as well as our land-based fighters in the region (there's at least one squadron of Raptors in the UAE on the other side of the Gulf, as well as F-15s and F-16s based on the Arabian Peninsula).

Oh, I almost forgot... AND the Israelis.

I think one carrier is good. Besides, an entire carrier strike group takes up an awful lot of space. More boats in that relatively small body of water is asking for collisions, seeing the amount of tanker traffic in the region.