Oh shit. I'm tempted to call this "breaking", but since it was first reported on August 7th, it's not exactly new news. What is surprising, however, is that this has not been picked up AT ALL by the American press.
UPDATE: it has, however, been previously diaried by Troutfishing on August 7th. It may be merely routine cycling of ships, as Rogneid suggests. I really, really hope (s)he's right, but I still admit to some trepidation at the fact that the Kuwaitis are worried enough to start emergency plans. Of course the sabre-rattling has been going on for some time, but why hadn't they done so earlier?
From Global Research.ca
Operation Brimstone ended only one week ago. This was the joint US/UK/French naval war games in the Atlantic Ocean preparing for a naval blockade of Iran and the likely resulting war in the Persian Gulf area. The massive war games included a US Navy supercarrier battle group, an US Navy expeditionary carrier battle group, a Royal Navy carrier battle group, a French nuclear hunter-killer submarine plus a large number of US Navy cruisers, destroyers and frigates playing the "enemy force".
The article lists a huge force being assembled, but the news coming out of the Middle East is somewhat inconclusive.
The article, which was originally written on the 7th of August, noted
A strategic diversion has been created for Russia. The Republic of Georgia, with US backing, is actively preparing for war on South Ossetia. The South Ossetia capital has been shelled and a large Georgian tank force has been heading towards the border. Russia has stated that it will not sit by and allow the Georgians to attack South Ossetia. The Russians are great chess players and this game may not turn out so well for the neo-cons.
Ok, this may be a bit tin-hat, but we all know by now many of the connections the Georgians have with our evil overlords. Could it be that we were aware of the potential for conflict and began moving in, in order to position ourselves for a blockade of Iran? I have to admit that the absolute lack of sourcing by the author had me skeptical, but further digging has turned up some other sources.
For example, the blog Point Rider Republican was one of the few sources I was able to turn up on this. Ok, again, not entirely a credible source... and their point of view is a bit disgusting:
Multi-national allied war games have been held and are finished.
Get ready, folks.....if Iran pulls any funny stuff,
KAAAAABOOOOOOOOOM!
Their nukes will be NO MORE.
Russia is attacking Georgia while everyone else is preoccupied with the Olympics....perhaps the allies have decided it's a good time to have it out with Ayatollah.
BUT, what's noteworthy about this is that they linked to this article by the Jerusalem Post, dated August 7th:
Two additional United States naval aircraft carriers are heading to the Gulf and the Red Sea, according to the Kuwaiti newspaper Kuwait Times.
Kuwait began finalizing its "emergency war plan" on being told the vessels were bound for the region.
The US Navy would neither confirm nor deny that carriers were en route. US Fifth Fleet Combined Maritime Command located in Bahrain said it could not comment due to what a spokesman termed "force-protection policy."
Jerusalem Post states that the two carriers currently underway are the USS Theodore Roosevelt and the USS Ronald Reagan. The Reagan is with the Seventh Fleet, which stretches from the eastern coast of Africa to the International Date Line - a huge area which includes the Persian Gulf.
The JP goes on to note:
Meanwhile, the Arabic news agency Moheet reported at the end of July that an unnamed American destroyer, accompanied by two Israeli naval vessels traveled through the Suez Canal from the Mediterranean. A week earlier, a US nuclear submarine accompanied by a destroyer and a supply ship moved into the Mediterranean, according to Moheet.
Currently there are two US naval battle groups operating in the Gulf: one is an aircraft carrier group, led by the USS Abraham Lincoln, which carries some 65 fighter aircraft. The other group is headed by the USS Peleliu which maintains a variety of planes and strike helicopters.
Note that the JP cites the Kuwait Times in their report. Their source can be found here. From August 7th:
KUWAIT: The government is finalizing its emergency plan this week in order to ensure that the country is protected from foreign dangers in case the regional situation escalates and a war breaks out between Iran and the USA.
An unnamed senior official revealed that the government has learnt that two aircraft carriers are scheduled to arrive in the Gulf and the Red Sea in preparation for the expected war at any time. The official said that this information led the government to accelerate its emergency plan preparations, which include arrangements for protecting all sectors and vital installations.
Press TV in Iran is also reporting the ship movements.
Patriot Missive, a veteran's blog, suggested on August 8th that the timetable to get out of Iraq may coincide with the decision to move a blockade into the Persian Gulf.
I’ll be shocked if the Bush administration agrees on a withdraw timeline by the end of 2008. It would be a HUGE turn-around from the Mr. "I refuse to say shit about withdrawing troops" Bush. Then again, it’ll be convenient to free up a few ground forces, ya know, with an Israeli strike against Iran in the horizon.
DEBKAfile, an independent news organization out of Jerusalem, claims
DEBKAfile’s military sources note that the arrival of the three new American flotillas will raise to five the number of US strike forces in Middle East waters – an unprecedented build-up since the crisis erupted over Iran’s nuclear program.
This vast naval and air strength consists of more than 40 carriers, warships and submarines, some of the last nuclear-armed, opposite the Islamic Republic, a concentration last seen just before the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.
...
DEBKAfile’s military sources name the three US strike forces en route to the Gulf as the USS Theodore Roosevelt , the USS Ronald Reagan and the USS Iwo Jima . Already in place are the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea opposite Iranian shores and the USS Peleliu which is cruising in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
I have a bad, bad feeling about this. Especially as it coincides with the Olympics, the Georgian conflict, the Presidential race, and Congress being out of session.
edited to add: a Navy friend of a friend was just shipped off to Iran, which is additional confirmation.