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| Axis of Evil |
| U.S. Warships Cross Suez Canal for Gulf |
| 2003-02-04 |
| Seven U.S. warships crossed the Suez Canal on Tuesday heading to the Gulf to join the U.S. military buildup in preparation for a possible attack on Iraq. The seven amphibious ships, based in Norfolk, Va., carry more than 4,750 sailors and 7,000 Marines from the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade. They are the USS Kearsarge, Bataan, Saipan, Ponce, Gunston Hall, Ashland and Portland. In Washington, defense officials said on Monday that the USS Abraham Lincoln, one of the Navy's newest Nimitz-class carriers with more than 5,000 sailors and naval aviators aboard, had re-entered the Arabian Sea over the weekend. The Lincoln joined two other carriers, the USS Constellation and the USS Harry S. Truman, and brought the number of American forces in the Gulf region close to 100,000. The seven amphibious ships will help push the figure further toward the approximately 180,000 forces expected within a few weeks. Tick...tick...tick... |
| Posted by:Steve |