The U.S. Is Sending a Third Aircraft Carrier and a Second Marine Division to the Middle East

The U.S. Is Sending a Third Aircraft Carrier and a Second Marine Division to the Middle East

Michael Snyder

The months ahead are shaping up to be a time of war, economic problems, food shortages and global chaos. There is no end in sight for the war in the Middle East or the war with Russia. Meanwhile, global energy supplies and global food supplies both continue to get even tighter. We desperately need some sort of a diplomatic miracle, but talks with the Iranians have totally broken down and tensions between the Russians and our allies in Europe are higher than ever. Our deteriorating economy is the number one political issue in the U.S. during this election season, but the economic pain that we have experienced so far will be absolutely dwarfed by what is ahead.

On Thursday, it was being reported that the U.S. has decided to deploy a third aircraft carrier and a second Marine division to the Middle East…

The Trump administration has decided to deploy a third aircraft carrier to the Middle East, along with a second Marine division, a US official told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday.

The USS Theodore Roosevelt and an additional division of US Marines will deploy to US Central Command’s area of operations.

The move means that, until the US midterm elections, US President Donald Trump will have significantly greater military capabilities and a wider range of options for potential action against Iran.

Many were hoping that an end to the war was near.

These moves are an indication that a major escalation could be coming.

The Iranians have not backed down and they are not going to back down.

On Tuesday, they attacked three more commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz…

Three vessels reported being struck on Tuesday, September 29, in the area around the Strait of Hormuz as Iran appears to be lashing out to demonstrate that it is still threatening vessels. While it brings the total number of vessels struck to four so far this week, observers point to increasing oil flows and vessel traffic in the region.

UK Maritime Trade Operations reported the incidents, although few details were provided. It said that the information had come from verified sources but was delayed in being transmitted. It was unclear when the strikes took place. It identified all three incidents as involving tankers without details on the extent of the damage, while an unconfirmed report said one of the vessels was an LNG carrier.

Two of the vessels were identified in the tracking by the International Maritime Organization, with both being crude oil tankers flying the Liberian flag and sustaining damage. One VLCC, the Mersin Prosperity (299,319 dwt), is operated by ADNOC. The other tanker appeared to be a smaller vessel, possibly involved in the shuttle operations that have arisen to get oil from the Gulf states to tankers waiting south of the Strait in the Arabian Sea. This tanker was identified as Sinbad (115,949 dwt), and it was last reported at Fujairah. Both tankers appeared to be making the transit dark.

We have been able to get some oil through the Strait of Hormuz in recent weeks.

But not nearly enough.

It would be wonderful if the Iranians were willing to make a reasonable deal, but they just aren’t budging.

In fact, talks with the Iranians went so poorly when Iranian officials came to New York that Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordered them to leave early…

After little progress was made in weekend meetings between Iranian and Qatari mediators, Rubio lost patience and told the Iranians on Monday that Araghchi and his delegation had to leave New York immediately, according to the two officials, who were familiar with the decision and spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an internal administration process.

Rubio, according to one official, determined that the Iranians had “overstayed their welcome” and that since the high-level meetings at the U.N. were over, they should leave.

Ararghchi and his team departed New York very early Tuesday.

What this means is that the global energy crisis is going to continue to get worse.

Earlier today, we learned that the Chinese “have suspended exports of oil products to ‌regions beyond Hong Kong and Macau until further notice”…

More...

Putin: Ready To Use 'All Weapons' Including Nuclear, If Kaliningrad Attacked

Putin: Ready To Use 'All Weapons' Including Nuclear, If Kaliningrad Attacked

TYLER DURDEN

Now it's no longer just high-ranking Kremlin officials saying it, but Russian President Vladimir Putin has now directly weighed in amid the ongoing nuclear threat tit-for-tat involving European officials.

Speaking at the Valdai Discussion Club in Moscow on Thursday, he warned the Western allies to cease their escalation in Ukraine, stressing he's willing to use "all weapons" in the Russian arsenal in the scenario that Russia's exclave of Kaliningrad comes under attack.

"The drills in the Baltic Sea, following one another… Then the attempts to arrest our ships and vessels. All this is an escalation. And then we began to hear statements regarding the Kaliningrad region," Putin said.

"If it comes to direct attack against the Russian Federation, in this case on Kaliningrad and possibly some other territories, of course the issue of using all weapons in our country’s arsenal will inevitably and unavoidably emerge on the agenda. This is unavoidable," he asserted in a warning that includes nuclear weapons.

NATO held recent military drills near Kaliningrad which were broadly described as deterrence operations, which Putin referenced in the remarks.

Rhetoric has been running particularly hot over the exclave which is sandwiched between NATO members Poland and Lithuania all week, as Associated Press earlier described:

The warning sent to NATO echoed statements issued by several Russian embassies in Europe this week which said that Moscow has "information that NATO is preparing (an) air and naval blockade of Kaliningrad and Kaliningrad region."

The embassies in the U.K. and Ireland posted their statements on their Telegram channels, and the embassy in Belgium released it to the Tass news agency.

The ratcheting accusations from the European side have also centered on charges of a Russian sabotage campaign targeting the Baltics as well as Germany.

Moscow at the start of the week took the rare step of submitting a formal letter to NATO leadership in Brussels.

The letter accused NATO of an "unprecedented escalation of the military-political situation around Russia's region of Kaliningrad accompanied by highly provocative public statements by NATO Allies' officials."

"This dangerous and reckless course entails high risk of the outbreak of a direct armed conflict with the possibility of Russian strikes against decision-making centers of the alliance's member states right from the outset of the conflict," the letter said.

NATO was especially incensed and alarmed at this key line of Moscow's letter:

"Russia will be ready to use the entire arsenal of forces and capabilities at its disposal, including nuclear weapons, in order to defend its territory, should NATO countries undertake any attempt aimed at isolating the Kaliningrad region from the rest of the country."

Apparently this most recent tense back-and-forth over Kaliningrad was initially triggered by a television show which recently aired in the UK this month.

Preview of the provocative UK series The WarGame which started airing this month. The Kremlin has vehemently condemned it, and sees in it some clear messaging and an ominous threat:

More....

Chaos Across France:

France is fighting for its life and has officially entered a Civil War that will soon eclipse the French revolution. Police officers are being lynched in the streets and hung from light poles

Videos

France: 400 schools closed as student protests continue

Photos

Police have made around 2,000 arrests and scores of people have been injured, including 40 high school principals, according to Geffray.

Fires were started in at least two high schools on Thursday, while teachers were reportedly inadvertently ​splashed with petrol ⁠at a third in the southern city of Marseille, according to officials.

At ​least one car was torched in the eastern city of Strasbourg while riot police clashed with youths in Toulouse in the southwest.

In the southeastern region of Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes, authorities claimed that "at least €25 million" of damage has been done in their jurisdiction alone. The Ile de France region that includes Paris estimated damages around €7 million on Friday. 

But students have also criticized what they see as a heavy-handed police response.

"You don't want to hear our words; you just fire tear gas," one student wrote on a placard outside the Lycée Voltaire in central Paris.

Kubilius warns Russia of 'equally painful' response to hybrid attacks

Kubilius warns Russia of 'equally painful' response to hybrid attacks

Pietro Guastamacchia

The EU should be ready to respond to Russian hybrid attacks with measures that are “as painful” as the damage inflicted on European countries, EU Defence Commissioner Andrius Kubilius said Thursday.

“If we are hit by hybrid attacks and we are feeling pain because of that, our answer to Russia, if Russia organised such kind of hybrid attack, should be as painful as we were feeling,” Kubilius said upon leaving the European Parliament following an address to the Defence Committee.

He said Europe’s response should not necessarily be publicly disclosed in advance.

“Our hybrid defence should also be of such a kind that we would be ready to make painful influence on Russian territory, Russian country, but we would not in advance tell,” Moscow what form that response would take, he said.

Kubilius was also asked about Russia’s warning that it could use its full arsenal, including nuclear weapons, if NATO sought to isolate Kaliningrad.

He said Moscow was escalating through threats as well as “real actions, hybrid actions, sabotage actions”.

“We are not afraid of all those Russian threats. We need to be ready,” Kubilius said, adding that the EU was improving its defence readiness.

“If Russia will make any kind of real military aggression against European Union member states, NATO has power to answer in a very painful way to Russia,” he said.

Asked whether Russian military factories could be considered legitimate targets for European countries after Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said EU factories supplying Ukraine were legitimate targets for Russia, Kubilius warned: “If Russia will hit our factories in European territories, that would be Article 5,” he said.

US sends Patriot batteries to Saudi Arabia, Qatar amid Iran war concerns

US sends Patriot batteries to Saudi Arabia, Qatar amid Iran war concerns

Israel National News

The US military has deployed two additional Patriot missile batteries to Saudi Arabia and Qatar in recent weeks to help protect key oil and natural gas facilities, Axios reported Thursday, citing two US officials and a regional source.

The deployments are intended to reassure the two US allies that Washington would defend their critical energy infrastructure if President Donald Trump decides to resume major military operations against Iran. Last month, one Patriot battery was sent to Saudi Arabia to protect a key oil facility, while another was deployed to Qatar to defend a natural gas facility.

The moves follow concerns raised in early August, when Trump was considering a major attack on Iran that could have included strikes on its energy infrastructure. The leaders of Saudi Arabia and Qatar urged Trump not to proceed, warning that Iran could retaliate by targeting their oil and gas facilities. 

US officials told Axios that the concerns played a key role in Trump's decision to abandon a major attack and pursue an economic pressure campaign instead.

Saudi Arabia would also need to permit US forces to use its airspace if major combat operations against Iran resume. According to the report, Riyadh could be reluctant to grant such access if it does not believe its energy infrastructure is adequately protected. 

A spokesperson for US Central Command (CENTCOM), Capt. Tim Hawkins, declined to comment.

At the same time, Washington is reinforcing its military presence in the Middle East with additional warships, fighter aircraft and troops amid the possibility of renewed fighting.

The USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier and its strike group departed San Diego “quietly" on Sunday and are expected to reach the region around mid-November, according to a US official cited by Axios.

The Roosevelt would join the USS George H.W. Bush, which has been deployed in the region since March, and the USS George Washington, which was sent from Japan during the summer and has been in the region for about a month. “This means the Middle East region could potentially have up to three aircraft carrier strike groups. This is much more firepower," the US official said.

A second US official said, however, that it has not yet been decided whether the Roosevelt will replace one of the carriers currently deployed in the Middle East or arrive as an additional carrier.

The report came after Trump said at an event in Texas that Iran is “ready to fold up" and again predicted that the war with Tehran could end shortly after the November midterm elections.

He said the conflict would end “one way or the other...either they'll do something very proper and smart or they won't be around very long, which is, you know, frankly, I hate to see that, but they won't be around very long."

Trump made similar remarks Wednesday, saying the US was nearing a decision on its next steps toward Iran and indicating that Washington could either carry out additional strikes or reach an agreement with Tehran.