The article says that “the carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt will head to the Middle East to maintain a presence in the region”.
So it looks like it could be a routine ship swap. But if that were the case, I’d expect NPR to emphasize that in the article, and they don’t. They mention the other ship one time and then the rest of the article is talking about how the Houthis are doing lots of attacks.
I’m just confused about this article from a propaganda perspective, I guess. Is it trying to say “the Ike has done good work, it’s time for it to come home and be replaced by another ship, no worries, the US rocks, we have this under control” or is it trying to say “the Houthis are terrifying, they’re an absolute menace and our smol bean navy is trying valiantly to keep the strait safe, but we have to bring home our carrier because the Houthis are just too scary”?
Because this article seems to gesture in both of those directions, and they’re pretty contradictory.
Another article I read mentioned that the navy said it was the most intense deployment since WW2. Reading between the lines, my hypothesis is that the ship, the planes, the pilots, and sailors are all tired. Equipment is breaking, systems are inoperative for too long, and the crew is getting more injury and mistake prone.
If Answer Allah actually managed to score a hit, that would be an amazing accomplishment by them. But until I see evidence, I think it has just reached the limit of what it can accomplish without rest for the crew and repairs/maintenance/restocking back at home.
“…following unprovoked attacks on innocent mariners by Iranian-backed Houthis,” Central Command added.
Maybe they just felt like it. I bet they also didn’t offer any warnings or demands that would lead to them stopping those unprovoked attacks.
They probably don’t want to be in the neighborhood when things kick off with Hezbollah
b-but it thought yanks didnt have healthcare for this
I wonder if future historians will look back on this as the first step in America’s Suez moment.
