tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4067977173951690762.post1162848499822195070..comments2023-10-05T08:44:09.303-07:00Comments on JG, Caesarea: The Middle East Triangle and How Obama Is Unwittingly Laying the Groundwork for the Next Mideast WarJeffrey Grossmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01847518948270295312noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4067977173951690762.post-74117616389953925272010-06-18T09:17:50.264-07:002010-06-18T09:17:50.264-07:00Interesting point about the rerouting of a carrier...Interesting point about the rerouting of a carrier force,but I would imagine that with 18 flattops,there is always at least one doing a Med cruise and one in the Gulf.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4067977173951690762.post-388015849935642502010-06-16T17:46:45.921-07:002010-06-16T17:46:45.921-07:00Fine analysis of the three points of the triangle....Fine analysis of the three points of the triangle. My take is that Turkey's embrace of Syria and Iran is mostly about Kurds, with the U.S. drawdown in Iraq. And the Kurds are as much about water as ethnic friction (Tibet, Kashmir, maybe South Sudan, and the Golan are also about water), <br /><br />While I am increasingly skeptical over Obama's true thoughts about Israel, never doubt the U.S. commitment to keeping the seas open for trade, especially choke points like the Straits of Hormuz and Malacca, and the Suez Canal.<br /><br />you should keep track of the USS Truman carrier group. It was in Marseilles on June 4, yet somewhere south of Sicily on June 14 when it was supposed to be on it's way to the 'coast of Pakistan'. DEBKA report yesterday of alleged mission change to stay in the eastern Med (which I totally believe).<br /><br />This has been a most under-reported story since the Truman group left Virginia on May 21. No current status on the three US destroyers that were supposed to peel off from the Truman after Suez to deal with piracy off Somalia as the NavyTimes also mentioned in their sole story about the US-French training excercise at Marseilles.(think about what a destroyer class ship is really for - overkill for piracy) Also unclear if the German anti-missile frigate Hessen is staying with the Truman as planned when the destination was Pakistan.<br /><br />There is no bigger stick, um, projection of power, than a US aircraft carrier group hanging out with Egypt and the Suez canal, in case anyone needs to consider whether the eastern Mediterranean is a U.S. interest.<br />Israel is a strategic U.S. ally because of location, suddenly made very apparent because of the flotilla provocation. <br /><br />Whether the locations of all 18 of the US aircraft carriers needs to be publicized is a different question.<br /><br />K2KAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4067977173951690762.post-45278224677736324572010-06-16T15:27:18.911-07:002010-06-16T15:27:18.911-07:00With Obama trying to backpeddle,firm up his respon...With Obama trying to backpeddle,firm up his response to the Gulf catastrophe,I hope he revisits his other weak,delayed actions, and applies his "make no mistake" resolve to correcting identifying friends and foes,and demonstrate the actual fact that we are a superpower,and that we stand by our friends.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4067977173951690762.post-30456357925493868852010-06-16T06:51:05.673-07:002010-06-16T06:51:05.673-07:00When Saddam Hussein and Iraq were destroyed, Iran ...When Saddam Hussein and Iraq were destroyed, Iran naturally got much more power and influence in the region. It may be natural that Turkey got politically drawn to powerful Iran. Not only Obama, Bush could not do anything about it either. Saddam was a bad guy, but he kept region in relative balance. Besides, there are no (and could not be) good guys there in power. Now, the balance is changing. Some people think it may be even good for Israel, making Arabs to choose Israel over Iran.Marina Sapirhttp://sapir.usnoreply@blogger.com