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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran | |
| Iran blockade exercise to feature French aircraft based on US carrier | |
| 2008-07-26 | |
| About 15,000 sailors will be involved in Operation Brimstone. Both the Roosevelt and Iwo Jima will be deployed in the Middle East in the coming months. The exercise is scheduled to end July 31, two days before the US-European ultimatum to Iran expires. Immediately after the Geneva talks ended in failure, the US State Department issued a statement giving Tehran the option of "cooperation or confrontation." A partial blockade of Iran's shores, a key element of the new sanctions, would be limited to withholding from Iran supplies of benzene and other refined oil products - not foodstuffs or other commodities. Short of refining capacity, Iran has to import 40 percent of its benzene consumption and will be forced to react to the stoppage. Operation Brimstone boasts two striking features: 1. It will include for the first time units of the US Expeditionary Combat Command, who are trained to operate in shallow coastal waters and rivers, such as the coastal waters of the Persian Gulf and the small islands around its chokepoint, the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian Revolutionary Guards marine units are posted on these islands. The international force will have to control the islands to ensure oil shipping freed passage out to world markets. 2. The Roosevelt's decks will for the first time host French Rafale fighter jets which will share space with US warplanes, while the only French carrier Charles de Gaulle undergoes maintenance. I can't imagine that's going to be fun for the Navy. Spares and so on. Plus the unwashed French pilots will stink up the mess halls.
This joint endeavor signifies that French President Nicolas Sarkozy is fully committed to a joint US-European military action if necessary to halt Iran's progress toward a nuclear weapon. Go Sarkozy. | |
| Posted by:gromky |
| #13 I think it will be the French that suffer - no grog aboard American aircraft carriers. |
| Posted by: mrp 2008-07-26 23:40 |
| #12 Ive posted pix here of French interop flights. Its not new. But it is good to have the French on our side rather than in our way. Watch this before you diss the french pilots. These guys can flat out fly, low and in there, star wars style. If I were the Iranian air defense guys, this footage would give me nightmares. Without an overhead look-down radar, they'd never see these guys coming. Pardon the crappy eurodisco. turn down the sound and just watch. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2008-07-26 21:21 |
| #11 So the Great Satan brings Operation Brimstone to the gulf, huh? Cute. |
| Posted by: Sonny Creash8673 2008-07-26 20:35 |
| #10 I hope the French contingent brought along (to share) their complement of chefs. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2008-07-26 20:13 |
| #9 Love one another? I don't think so. Perhaps if Sarkozy had not meddled in our election by paying obeisance to the Obamessiah, but I still eat Freedom Fries. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2008-07-26 19:46 |
| #8 Perhaps the French pilots will be kind enough to bring some tidbits for the mess hall, or whatever it's called on American carriers. I imagine the sailors and pilots will have lots of fun together making the Iranians even more nervous than they already are. /now children, you know you love one another, so behave! ;-) |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2008-07-26 18:54 |
| #7 agreed. Thanks to the French for the joint exercise. I believe Sarkozy is doing good things over there, and it's disrespectful to throw the slurs at our resident French RBers, who I like...yes, even you, Kevin ;-) |
| Posted by: Frank G 2008-07-26 16:47 |
| #6 I am surprised the US planes can even take off given the weight of their pilots. That was my contribution to the I can do it. Now people I could think of many things smarter for an American than wetting the seeds planted by gaulists, communists and national-europeists. |
| Posted by: JFM 2008-07-26 16:43 |
| #5 Ulolump...Most Super Hornet drivers will tell you that it's a pig...it does nothing really well, and is marginal in a lot of phases of flight and mission. I have a couple of buddies who have had some harrowing cat shots. |
| Posted by: anymouse 2008-07-26 15:40 |
| #4 Plus the unwashed French pilots will stink up the mess halls. Deck-scrubbing brushes and harsh laundry soap, operated by some of the tougher Boatswain's Mates or guys from the Marine detachment, should go a long way to correcting & discouraging Frankish scrounginess... |
| Posted by: Ricky bin Ricardo (Abu Babaloo) 2008-07-26 13:57 |
| #3 All Rafale training was made in USA. Also French carroers have E-2C Hawkeyes. Oh and btw i think Rafales are better than F-18 which isnt suprising they are newer. |
| Posted by: Ulolump Hitler7428 2008-07-26 13:51 |
| #2 On second thought, I should have added something about Viet Nam, because in Europe, everyone knows that the US soldier can't fight, and has to rely on technology and massive firepower to overcome even a rag-tag opponent!/see, I can do it too II |
| Posted by: anonymous5089 2008-07-26 12:35 |
| #1 Plus the unwashed French pilots will stink up the mess halls. Gee, I hope seeing all those nimble french pilots won't do too much harm to the self-esteem of all those obese, lazy americans! And I hope too that when they tell them they come from France, they will have at least an approximate idea of where the country is, and not think it's an US State from the other coast! See, I can do it too! |
| Posted by: anonymous5089 2008-07-26 12:32 |