WarSclerotic

USS Laboon deploys to make history | WAVY.com | Norfolk, Va..

Updated: Thursday, 12 Jul 2012, 8:51 AM EDT
Published : Thursday, 12 Jul 2012, 8:51 AM EDT

NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) – The USS Laboon is off and making history Wednesday when the guided missile destroyer left Norfolk with one of the most advanced weapons systems in the Navy.

The USS Laboon got underway early Wednesday morning, but the ship’s commanding officer has been preparing the crew for this deployment for at least 12 months.

“This is a strategic, national mission,” Cmdr. James Storm told WAVY.com. “This is a priority of the President of the United States.”

That sense of urgency heightened by recent missile tests in Iran and intelligent reports that show sophisticated ballistic missile technology is more available than ever to nations hostile to the United States and our allies.

“Technology has kept pace with the proliferation of these threats and we have the capability to counter those threats,” Storm said.

That capability is the Ballistic Missile Defense System the ship was outfitted with last July. A number of Norfolk-based destroyers are equipped with the BMD system. Those vessels are the cornerstone of what is known as the president’s “Phased Adaptive Approach” to protect our European allies from the growing ballistic missile threat.

“The nature of war has changed dramatically since World War II,” Bill Morine said. His son, Grant, is a junior officer on the USS Laboon. “It’s great to see our son and this ship and all the people on board serving at the forefront, pioneering in new warfare on behalf of the defense of our nation.”

The opportunity to make history does not go unrecognized by the crew.

“To go out and actually do something for my country instead of sitting back and watching other people do it,” Thomas Taylor said.

Like many of his shipmates, this will be Seaman Taylor’s first deployment. Fir this mission, though, their youth may actually be an advantage.

“They’re more technologically savvy than I probably was when I first came in,” Storm said.

All are possessing the same devotion to duty.

Israel fears window for Iran attack starting to close, while US urges more patience | The Times of Israel.

Allies hold strategic dialogue in Jerusalem, but friction is growing behind the scenes, Times of Israel told

An Israeli F-15I at the Hatzerim Airbase (photo credit: Ofer Zidon/Flash90)

Israeli and American officials on Thursday held one of their semi-annual “strategic dialogue” meetings in Jerusalem, which concluded with a statement issued by the Foreign Ministry noting that Iran’s nuclear program was high on the agenda. Behind the bland public comments, however, one well-placed Israeli source spoke of friction in US-Israeli ties over the struggle to thwart Iran, with the US urging Israel to allow more time for sanctions to bite, and Israel expressing concern that its window of opportunity for military action is starting to close.

Thursday’s talks were led by Israel’s Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon and US Deputy Secretary of State William Burns. “Iran’s continued quest to develop nuclear weapons, which the United States and Israel are both determined to prevent, the destabilizing role which it plays in the region, and its promotion of international terrorism were all addressed by the parties,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Ayalon noted that these were the fifth such talks between the two nations within the strategic dialogue framework. “Of course, at the top of the daily agenda is the issue of stopping the Iranian nuclear development process. Iran is the most severe and immediate threat to regional security and world peace.”

US Deputy Secretary of State William Burns (left) with Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon in Jerusalem (photo credit: Yossi Zamir/Flash 90)

The Foreign Ministry quoted Burns as stressing the importance of the meetings in light of regional changes. Burns was also said to have stressed American commitment to Israel’s security.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak have for months been publicly expressing skepticism about the prospect of sanctions thwarting Iran’s nuclear drive, with Netanyahu urging the international community in March to consider the consequences of a failure to act in good time against Iran and Barak stressing how much more complex it would be challenge an Iran that has attained a nuclear capability.

Privately, said the well-placed Israeli source, speaking on condition of anonymity, the issue is a source of profound friction between Israel and the US, with Washington urging Israeli patience and Jerusalem responding that time is running out.

The source sketched out four possibilities unfolding on the diplomatic front over the coming months: The first, a negotiated agreement with Iran that resolves Israeli and American concerns, he said, was out of reach. The second, an unsatisfactory negotiated agreement, that does not fully address those concerns, was also highly unlikely, he said. In its latest interactions with the P5+1 powers (the permanent members of the Security Council and Germany), Iran rejected proposals to negotiate the safeguards and restrictions that would prevent it attaining a nuclear weapons capability, and referred to plans to build a new enrichment facility and four new research reactors, according to a document obtained by The Times of Israel.

A third possibility, the Israeli source said, was that the international community would declare that the diplomatic track had failed. This, too, was highly unlikely, he stressed, given that a declared failure could be read in Israel as a signal to strike, and given the oft-stated American and European interest in ensuring more time for diplomacy and for sanctions pressure to bite, including the recent EU sanctions on Iranian oil.

The fourth possibility, and by far the most realistic one therefore, the source said, was that the diplomatic engagement would be maintained, however unsuccessfully. Since the US administration is anxious to avoid a dramatic conflict on the Iranian front ahead of the presidential elections in November, since Europe has no desire to be harsher than the Americans, and since the Iranians are primarily interested in buying time while they make further nuclear headway, there is an unfortunate case of common interests at play.

In early May, when Israel appeared to be heading for early elections, Channel 2 commentator Amnon Abramovich made headlines by asserting that Netanyahu was heading to the polls so that he would safely reelected, at the head of a transition government, and free to strike at Iran in September-October, with no need to worry about voter sentiment and aware that President Barack Obama would be paralyzed by the US presidential campaign. The Likud-Kadima coalition deal staved off elections then, but the September-October period remains potentially significant, given the need for pre-winter clear skies in any potential military intervention.

Iran’s capacity to withstand sanctions should not be underestimated, the Israeli source noted, saying that Turkey and India were among the countries letting Iran off the hook.

Meanwhile, Thursday’s talks also addressed the ongoing bloodshed in Syria. The two sides voiced concern over both the Syrian regime’s continued crackdown on its civilian populace and the assistance Syrian President Bashar Assad receives from Iran and Hezbollah. According to the Foreign Ministry, the situation in Syria “is a source of major humanitarian concern and the violence of the Syrian regime against its citizens could also lead to severe consequences for the entire region.”

Ya’alon threatens Hezbollah, dema… JPost – Diplomacy & Politics.

By REUTERS

07/12/2012 18:42

Strategic affairs minister says Iran believes itself immune from further US action before November election, warns Hezbollah of “heavy price” if it attacks Israel at behest of Tehran, Damascus.

Photo: Reuters

The United States must do more to show Iran it is serious about curtailing its nuclear ambitions because the current pressure is not working, Vice Premier Moshe Ya’alon said on Thursday.

Ya’alon also fired a warning at the terrorist Hezbollah movement in neighboring Lebanon, saying the Shi’ite group would be crushed if it tried to attack Israel at the behest of Tehran in any future war.

Speaking just days before US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visits Jerusalem, Ya’alon said Iran appeared to believe it was safe from military attack or from further sanctions before November’s US presidential election.

“As long they perceive this, they don’t feel like they are under pressure. That is a pity,” said Ya’alon, who is also Israel’s minister of strategic affairs.

“It is up to the United States to try to change this perception in Iran. This is crucial,” he told Reuters, adding that Iran would top the agenda during Clinton’s visit on July 15 and 16 — her first trip here in almost two years.

Western powers believe Iran is developing technology to build nuclear weapons and have imposed an increasingly tough regime of economic sanctions to make it reverse course.

Iran insists its atomic program is peaceful and has shrugged off the latest round of sanctions, with a European Union embargo on Iranian crude oil taking full effect on July 1.

“We’ve witnessed the impact of the sanctions in Iran, but up until now the regime prefers to suffer rather than give up its military nuclear capabilities,” Ya’alon said, adding that the time had come to introduce “really crippling sanctions.”

Reputed to have the Middle East’s only nuclear arsenal, Israel has threatened to resort to force if it deems diplomatic and economic means are failing. Ya’alon repeated the threat, but made clear that he thought Washington should lead the way.

“We believe of course that the military option should be the last resort and we believe that someone else should be doing the job. But we should be ready to defend ourselves by ourselves.”

Ya’alon predicts Assad’s impending downfall

A former chief of staff in the IDF, Ya’alon said he was sure Hezbollah would jump to Iran’s aid if hostilities broke out, but predicted it would soon regret any attack.

“Any provocation will be responded to by us, by charging them with such a heavy price that they will ask for a ceasefire,” he said, sitting in the sun-filled gardens of the King David Hotel in central Jerusalem.

Some Israeli officials have worried that Hezbollah, which is estimated to have thousands of missiles ready to rain across the border, might start trouble with Israel to divert attention from the woes besetting its ally, Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Ya’alon did not see such a threat and thought that Assad was doomed to lose the violent power struggle gripping Syria.”We are not sure when it will happen, but it will happen. From day to day we have witnessed an acceleration of the process as a result of the power that the opposition has succeeded in gaining,” he said.

Two more US carriers, dozens of mini-subs rushed to Hormuz.

DEBKAfile Special Report July 12, 2012, 10:23 AM (GMT+02:00)

Tiny SeaFox submersibles for destroying mines

As Russia and NATO continued to boost their military strength in the eastern Mediterranean, debkafile‘s military sources report substantial US reinforcements, led by the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier, are being rushed to the Persian Gulf opposite Iran, with dozens of unmanned underwater craft for destroying mines.
The USS John C. Stennis arrives in August, raising the number of American aircraft carriers in waters off Iran to four including the USS Enterprise and the USS Abraham Lincoln, with the French Charles de Gaulle due soon to make up a fifth.
The Eisenhower, which reached its new position in the first week of July, operates under the joint commands of the US Sixth (Mediterranean) and Fifth (Gulf) Fleets.
Thursday, July 12, American military officials announced that the US is also dispatching to the Persian Gulf dozens of tiny, unmanned SeaFox submersibles that can detect and destroy mines if strewn by Iran to block the strategic Strait of Hormuz, the chokepoint for transporting one-fifth of the world’s oil.
About 4 feet long, they each carry an underwater television camera, homing sonar and an explosive charge.

There are now additionally eight American minesweepers in the Persian Gulf as well as the USS Ponce, a platform for the special forces, helicopters and warships there to fight off Iranian marine units attempting to plant mines in the vital waterway.
debkafile‘s military sources say that Washington decided to expand its military deployment in the area after concluding, in consultation with French and British naval experts, that Iran is short of the military strength and sophisticated measure for completely sealing off the Strait of Hormuz to all sea traffic, especially oil tankers.

All the Iranians can do is plant enough underwater mines to impede traffic and slow it down.
The new, bolstered US deployment in the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea and the Mediterranean is on the ready for immediate action against any Iranian military threat. “If Iran starts spreading underwater mines in international waterways, i.e., the Strait of Hormuz, it will find American forces ready to dismantle them on the spot,” said a Western military source.

In any case, said the source, a slowdown of oil traffic through Hormuz won’t have an immediate impact on the world oil market or prices. “The world has enough reserve oil in storage to supply its needs for six full months,” said the source.

Israel to deploy Iron Dome system on Egyptian border – Israel News | Haaretz Daily Newspaper.

( My little tourist town now needs Iron Dome.  Sigh…  – JW)

Rocket intercepting system to be set up near Eilat after the border with Egypt grows tense since a popular uprising ousted Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak last year.

Syrian ambassador defects, joins revolutio… JPost – Middle East.

U.S. moving submersibles to Persian Gulf to oppose Iran – latimes.com.

WASHINGTON — The Navy is rushing dozens of unmanned underwater craft to the Persian Gulf to help detect and destroy mines in a major military buildup aimed at preventing Iran from closing the strategic Strait of Hormuz in the event of a crisis, U.S. officials said.

The tiny SeaFox submersibles each carry an underwater television camera, homing sonar and an explosive charge. The Navy bought them in May after an urgent request by Marine Gen. James Mattis, the top U.S. commander in the Middle East.

Each submersible is about 4 feet long and weighs less than 100 pounds. The craft are intended to boost U.S. military capabilities as negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program appear to have stalled. Three rounds of talks since April between Iran and the five countries in the United Nations Security Council plus Germany have made little progress.

Some U.S. officials are wary that Iran may respond to tightening sanctions on its banking and energy sectors, including a European Union oil embargo, by launching or sponsoring attacks on oil tankers or platforms in the Persian Gulf. Some officials in Tehran have threatened to close the narrow waterway, a  choke point for a fifth of the oil traded worldwide.

The first of the SeaFox submersibles arrived in the Gulf in recent weeks, officials said, along with four MH-53 Sea Dragon helicopters and four minesweeping ships, part of a larger buildup of U.S. naval, air and ground forces in the region aimed at Iran.

The U.S. already has sent two aircraft carriers and a squadron of F-22 fighters to the Persian Gulf, and is keeping two U.S. army brigades in Kuwait. Though much of the buildup has been publicly acknowledged by the Pentagon, the deployment of the submersibles has not been publicly disclosed, apparently to avoid alerting Iran.

The SeaFox is small enough to be deployed from helicopters and even small rubber boats, but it also can be dropped off the back of a minesweeper. It is controlled by a fiber optic cable and sends live video back to a camera operator.

It can be used against floating or drifting mines, which Iran has used in the past. It operates up to 300 meters deep, and moves at speeds of up to six knots. But the $100,000 weapon is on a what amounts to a suicide mission. The “built-in, large caliber shaped charge” it carries destroys the mine but also the vehicle itself.