U.S. Carrier Group Makes Way Through Strait of Hormuz
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Image credit: Marwan Naamani/AFP/Getty Images
It was just after dawn when three U.S. warships and a carrier strike group began their long, tense transit through the Strait of Hormuz.
The strait has become a pressure point as Iran increases the heat of its rhetoric against the United States because of fresh economic sanctions imposed against it.
In December, Iranian officials warned the United States not to return to the Persian Gulf after the carrier USS John Stennis departed.
“You want to be always at the max state of readiness to respond to anything,” Capt. Richard McDaniel of the USS Sterett said.
Iran recently threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz, attempting to use its control over the waterway as a trump card in its standoff with the West.
One-fifth of the world’s oil supply — 17 million barrels a day in 2011 — passes through the strait, and the United States gets approximately 10 percent of its oil supply — 1.7 million barrels a day — from the strait.
Though Iran is not expected to close the strait, analysts still fear that a closure could double the price of oil thereby erasing any prospect of a U.S. economic recovery and plunging the world into a new Great Recession.
Today, ABC News was in the lead ship — the USS Sterett, a destroyer with dozens of missiles and machine guns manned — as the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln steamed through the strait.
On the bridge, the concentration was intense. The captain and crew monitored radar; surveillance tracked everything that moves.
The Iranians silently shadowed the carrier group as well.
U.S. surveillance showed Iranian navy vessels, drones and a patrol plane flying overhead. Much of Iran’s Navy was concentrated here.
The shipping lane is only two miles wide, so there was very little room to maneuver. The USS Abraham Lincoln’s dozens of F-18 fighter jets were on alert today. On Monday, before entering the strait, jets roared off the deck one after another on security and training missions.
Today, U.S. helicopters beamed real-time images back to the ship.
Hours into the crossing, the captain was called to the deck. A small boat — similar to those of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Navy that have been harassing U.S. ships in the last few months — had approached.
“Any surface vessel that you see out here, you’re definitely going to pay attention to identify, figure out, what they’re doing,” McDaniel said.
The crew quickly determined that it was a smuggler who eventually turned away.
Naval commanders say these transits are routine, but they also fear that miscalculations on either side could threaten not only these ships but also close down the waterway and put the world’s economy at risk.
ABC News’ Martha Raddatz contributed to this story.
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I’d drop anchor and park the whole fleet right in the middle of the straight. Bring it on Iran!
Posted by: NH Guy | February 14, 2012, 9:29 pm 9:29 pm
Rather than “plunge the world into a Great Recession”, lets make Iran the 51st state of the Union!
Posted by: Jiva Soul | February 14, 2012, 9:32 pm 9:32 pm
OK, see, the sort of “bring it on!”/”Bomb Iran!” mentality is what got us into 2 (count ‘em, TWO) simultaneous wars that have dragged on for a decade.
In sharp contrast, this administration has stressed diplomacy, then, if that failed, moved rapidly on to firm, quick, resolute, surgical action (providing air support to a people overthrowing a dictator; sending in the Navy Seals to rescue American hostages from Somali pirates and to bring bin Laden to justice; using drones to help quietly apprehend dozens of terrorist king-pins; issuing sanctions; and NOW, making a show of strength by calling Iran’s bluff and cruising through the straight.)
As the hilarious comedic bit of Obama with his “anger translator Luther” put it (as Luther “translated” Obama’s calm, reasonable comments), “Yo! All y’all dictators out there? I thought I done TOLD y’all! You go on and pull some stuff…just WATCH what I do! Just WATCH!” …..LOL. Brilliant!
Because Obama is neither a war-monger ready to jump into battle OR a wussie willing to allow America to be pushed around or those seeking freedom to go without our support as they battle despots.
He seems to recognize that TRUE strength entails large measures of wisdom and restraint, as well as forceful action. I know I trust him to do everything in his power to avoid another endless war while still protecting our interests a hell of a lot more than I do these Republicans who are already mapping out the Iran war.
Posted by: RAVEN | February 15, 2012, 1:01 am 1:01 am
Iran has the USA in a wild goose chase. While they perfect their nuclear weapons they have USA cheering for the obvious. SNAFU.
Posted by: Georgio Cypriano | February 15, 2012, 1:34 am 1:34 am
To true Raven to true.
These gung ho clowns out there do not care about the innocent men woman and children that this and the other ridiculous wars kill.
Please take a look at your own children lying there watching tv and imagine the heart ache wars bring out.
Also Ron Paul must also be the next US pres for the sake of the world
May the Buddhas blessing bring peace to all
Posted by: vic | February 15, 2012, 2:24 am 2:24 am
The US does not need to touch Iran. Undermine their nuclear capacity all you want through other means or let Israel attack them, but the US doing it would be a huge mistake.
What the west continually seems unaware of is that Iran is the most westernized of the Muslim countries in the region … they are not Arabs (they are of Persian decent) … they speak english, play the PS3, get nose-jobs, go snowboarding and are better educated than much of the muslim world (excepting the Emirates perhaps). Ahjme-call-me-crazy is just a tool/puppet for the religious leaders of the country who enjoy his anti-west rhetoric and hate-filled speech (reminds them of the good ole’ days).
Sure..stop them from getting the bomb, but do it non-militarily… start a war and you’ll turn our greatest muslim-allies against us … the youth of Iran. Look at the Arab-spring … Secularism is finally coming to the middle-east … LET IT! Bombing them will only push things backward a generation.
Posted by: C. Ray Z. | February 15, 2012, 3:10 am 3:10 am
RAVEN | February 15, 2012, 1:01 am —- Drink much koolaid? Our “foreign policy” is a mess. You think we’re bad arses because we sail theough the Straights? Iran knows it can’t close them down so all they have is rhetoric. BTW, we were supposed to create a no fly zone to protect civilians (UN mandate) and Obama did it illegally first of all. And secondly, Obama decided to go after Ghadafi (obviously not the UN mandate) and consinued to do so without proper authorization from our government. So for all of your praise of Obama trampling on our laws, Constitution and UN mandates, had it been Bush, you would have continued screaming “”war monger”". Hypocritical minions like yourself and our main stream media are the reason we have the most inexperienced POTUS in history. Obama is driving us so far into debt and all his minions have to say is he killed OBL, Ghadafi and a few Somali pirates. Just keep looking the other way like the rest of his trained minions.
Posted by: commonsenseparty | February 15, 2012, 3:36 am 3:36 am