Secretary Gates Sends Gentle Reminder to Iran

In a rare overlap, two US aircraft carriers were seen in the Persian Gulf at the same time as the USS Harry S. Truman redeployed from the region to be replaced by the USS Abraham Lincoln.

A Navy official said the move was part of normal rotation of forces as the Lincoln relieves the Truman, which had been conducting maritime security operations there. “I don’t see it as an escalation,” Gates said. “I think it could be seen though as a reminder.” When asked later if the deployment was meant to send a message to Iran, Gates replied, “I think I’ll just leave it the way I did.” After last weeks incident involving small Iranian boats, which was just the latest in a string of incidents, this gentle reminder from the US Secretary of Defense about the strength of the US Navy may be more than a gentle nudge. The United States has the largest fleet of aircraft carriers in the world. Actually, the US has more aircraft carriers than all the nations of the world combined. With 11 active aircraft carriers, all of which are considered supercarriers and 10 of which are nuclear, the next largest fleets are the UK and Italy with two aircraft carriers each. Other nations with aircraft carriers are France, Russia, Spain, India, Thailand, and Brazil. These countries each have only one aircraft carrier. Currently the US, UK and India have 2 aircraft carriers under construction, and France and Spain are both constructing another. The United States is currently the only nation in the world with aircraft carriers large enough to be considered supercarriers. The Lincoln and the Truman are both nuclear Nimitz Class Supercarriers. Asked if the Defense Department was making the case for strikes against Iran, Gates answered emphatically: “No.”