Crossfire War – Washington – Moscow – Tokyo Watch – Pacific Theatre: Washington – Moscow – Tokyo – Taipei – Canberra – Singapore – Jakarta/Tehran – Riyadh – Doha – Dubai – Muscat; US Vacates Persian Gulf – Iran Fills Power Vacuum – Washington Conducts Reactionary Defensive “valiant Shield” Maneuvers Off Guam – Alone – No Foreign Observers as in Previous Years
Night Watch: GUAM – In a fearful response to Tehran’s countdown offensives to (f)allout war this year Washington has withdrawn all of its carrier groups from the Persian Gulf.
Debka quoted a Gulf military official’s reaction, “So where does that leave us? Vice-President Dick Cheney and Robert Gates promised three American air carriers to protect us naval, marine and air forces. Now all carriers are gone. Washington may be sending the USS Enterprise Strike Group to the Persian Gulf. It has not yet arrived. The other two carriers, Nimitz and Stennis have gone to take part in an exercise far away in the Pacific.”
They have been joined by the carrier USS Kitty Hawk along with 30 warships, 280 combat aircraft, 22,000 soldiers and sailors in Operation Valiant Shield, what Admiral Robert Willard stated will “include the complexities of operating three aircraft carriers in the same area while at the same time adding in the operations of another component – the fighters, bombers and tankers of the US Air Force.” [DEBKA]
It will also include waiting to see how effective Tehran’s offensives are throughout West Asia (Middle East) from the UK/US bases in Iraq to the European units in UNIFIL. At the time of the recent massive weapons sale to Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States, announced just last week, I mentioned it was Washington’s way of saying goodbye to seventy years of strategic relations with the region and transferring its security to them as the U. S. pulled its forces out of harms way, Tehran’s attacks on Western forces in the region.
This is what Admiral Willard indicated when he discussed using the exercises to prepare for the “real world”. The reality of the Allies of having to respond to Iran’s attacks. Since the West did not plan on World War III, and refused to provide any assistance to Russia in the war’s most decisive theatre, the Caucasus, and instead committed NATO forces to protect the opium trade in Afghanistan, all NATO can do is respond defensively including in Southeast Europe when fighting resumes over Kosovo.
And that is why, unlike in previous years, there are no foreign observers allowed during the extensive maneuvers which began August 6. Allies will of course be kept informed, including the unrecognized but very real Taiwan, which has a military capable of operating internationally. In past years virtually every nation in or near the Pacific was openly invited to either participate or at least send observers but that includes Malaysia whose Islamic government supports Iran just as much as Syria, just not as openly. Kuala Lumpur is even a major part of the Islamic world’s nuclear network through its Scomi Precision Engineering, owned by the son of the Malaysian Prime Minister.
I suspect before this month is over the Allies will know where they will have to send most of their forces in response to Iran. Most likely to the Mediterranean. However, please keep in mind not all bombs and missiles are going to work, conventional or unconventional, some will miss and others will be duds. Nothing works as well as advertised no matter who made it. Manufacturing is not perfect and it’s not about to be; especially not mass production. As a small example, in the late 1990s, CNN showed a stockpile of American nuclear warheads at a base somewhere out West and all of them were rusty. Even the new ones Iran has manufactured will have a large margin of error. Some of course will work.
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