From the San Diego Times Union: Amid mounting concern over
Iran’s nuclear program and violence elsewhere in the region, U.S.
Central Command quietly dispatched a Marine fighter jet squadron from
San Diego to an undisclosed country in the Middle East, U-T San Diego
has learned.
The deployment
follows threats by the U.S. and Israel of military strikes if needed to
prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.
At
the same time, the conflict in Syria is threatening to drag Lebanon,
Turkey and Jordan into war, Iraq is beset by renewed violence, and
terrorist groups hoping to capitalize on political upheaval in the
region covet Syria’s chemical weapons and Libyan arms.
Against
this tense geopolitical backdrop, aviation spotters tracked a dozen
jets from Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 314, an F/A-18 Hornet
squadron based at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, en route in late
September through Europe.
The
heavily armed jets — capable of firing 2,000-pound laser-guided bombs,
cluster munitions, air-to-air missiles and a six-barrel 20 mm gun — are
used for a variety of missions, including ground attack, escort, enemy
air defense suppression, reconnaissance and close air support of ground
forces.
U.S. Central Command and the Marine command in the region declined to
say which country the squadron deployed to or to comment in detail on
its mission, citing political and security sensitivities of the host
nation and its neighbors.....
Meanwhile, the U.S. is also
maintaining two aircraft carrier strike groups in the region longer than
planned and deploying additional units such as the Miramar fighter
squadron as both deterrent and potential response if Iran comes close to
developing nuclear weapons or threatens oil supplies, analysts said.
Stratfor,
an intelligence and geopolitics news service, noted the deployment of
VMFA-314 and reported that an Air Force F-22 Raptor squadron had
deployed earlier this year to the Persian Gulf. Given “the fluid
conflicts in North Africa, Syria and Afghanistan, as well as the current
tensions with Iran,” Stratfor concluded that “the United States ...
could simply be positioning military assets in a region that is rife
with conflict and that may eventually require rapid military
intervention or action.”
Can we say "Wag The Dog"? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wag_the_Dog
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