The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln conducts a replenishment-at-sea with the fast combat support ship USNS Arctic, April 12, 2019 in the Atlantic ocean. IMAGE: US Navy
A second United States aircraft carrier, the USS Abraham Lincoln, arrived in the Middle East on August 21 escorted by guided missile destroyers, the U.S. Central Command announced.
The carrier, equipped with F-35 stealth fighter jets, added to the U.S. warships already in the region, including the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier, which arrived in July.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin ordered the Lincoln to accelerate its deployment to the CENTCOM area of responsibility earlier this month, Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said on August 22.
She noted that the secretary ordered the plus-up of U.S. forces in the region “as part of broad adjustments to [the] U.S. military posture” to ensure U.S. force protection, increase support for the defense of Israel and ensure the United States is prepared to respond to a wide range of contingencies.
An Air Force F-22 Raptor squadron has already arrived in the region, and the USS Georgia, a cruise missile nuclear-powered submarine, is operating nearby.
“The deployment of U.S. forces to the region may have gotten into the headspace of Iranian officials who have threatened strikes on Israel,” Singh said, stressing that U.S. forces are well positioned to counter any attack from Iran or its allies.
“We remain focused on efforts to de-escalate tensions in the region, and while also remaining focused on securing a ceasefire as part of a hostage deal, to bring all of the hostages home and to end the war in Gaza,” Singh added.
Israel has been preparing with help from the U.S. for a possible response to its recent strikes on the Houthi-held Yemeni Red Sea port of al-Hodeida as well as for the assassinations of Hezbollah’s military chief Fuad Shukr in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, and Hamas’s leader Ismail Haniyeh in the Iranian capital, Tehran.
The U.S. unconditional support for Israel could eventually spark a dangerous confrontation with Iran and its allies in the Middle East.
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