Britain had to plead with US to take part in Iran flotilla

[Synicus Maximus]

Britain was forced to plead with the US to take part in the flotilla challenging Iranian power in the Gulf after American commanders decided the Royal Navy had nothing to contribute to the mission.
Defence sources have revealed that the Americans only relented and allowed a Royal Navy frigate to join the mission following an intervention from Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president.

The revelation that US defence chiefs saw little military value in UK participation will raise new questions about Britain’s international clout after Coalition defence cuts.

[maddezmom]

1. you forgot your link

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/9064697/Britain-had-to-plead-with-US-to-take-part-in-Iran-flotilla.html

[jannyk]

2. Link please.

[Badsam]

3. dont tell argentina this, or maybe they already knew it hence the latest falkland flare up

[Lurks Often]

5. No, the article is a reflection on the

superiority of the US Navy and to a lesser degree the different design approaches the US & British navies take. American surface ships take a more general purpose approach, while British surface ships are broken out into more specialized roles.

The liklihood of Argentina being able to successfully invade the Falklands Islands is very low.

[Lurks Often]

4. The OP is, unintentionally, somewhat misleading

According to the link in the first response, the US Navy felt that neither the French navy or the British navy had anything to contribute. After diplomatic pressure from Sarkozy allowed a French frigate to particpate, the British also insisted on participating.

From a military stand point the US Navy is correct, having the French & British frigate operate directly with the US carrier group, does not add anything useful to the carrier task force and may actually serve as a liability. On paper at least, both the British and French frigates are slower, their weapons have a shorter range and aside from food and fuel, they don't use the same equipment or parts as the US ships.