U.S. carrier crosses Hormuz amid rising Gulf tensions
Reuters
2012-02-16
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ROUGH CUT - NO REPORTER NARRATION
A U.S. aircraft carrier sailed through the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday (February 14) more than a month after Iran warned a different carrier not to return to the Gulf.
Iran has threatened to close the strategic waterway, used for a third of the world's seaborne oil trade, if Western moves to ban Iranian crude exports cripple its energy sector.
The USS Abraham Lincoln -- part of the Bahrain-based U.S. Fifth Fleet -- sailed through the Strait with the Cape St George destroyer cruising behind. For the thousands of sailors onboard the carrier, Iran's threats were something they said they paid little attention to.
"To the average sailor here on board the USS Abraham Lincoln, we really don't think about that (Iran), we are trained to do our jobs no matter where we are, what time of day it is, where we are operating, who we are working with. We are here to do our jobs in a professional way. All those things, really, for the most part are not things we would pay attention to," said naval aviator Matt Driskill.
Driskill said the sailors saw their mission as one of protecting the Gulf. The commander of U.S. naval forces in the Gulf region said Iran had built up its naval forces in the area and prepared boats that could be used in suicide attacks, but the U.S. Navy could prevent it from blocking the Strait of Hormuz.
Military experts say the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet patrolling the Gulf - which always has at least one giant supercarrier accompanied by scores of jets and a fleet of frigates and destroyers - is overwhelmingly more powerful than Iran's navy.
The 5,000 sailors on board the USS Abraham Lincoln say they are always on alert for whatever might come. The crew said they remained vigilant as the aircraft carrier made the 10-hour crossing through the Strait.
With the crossing complete, fighter aircraft stationed on deck with heads pointing towards Iran, were stowed away again, while fighter planes taken below deck to avoid being targeted, were brought back up. Iran is at loggerheads with the West over its disputed uranium enrichment program. The United States, like other Western countries, says it is prepared to talk to Iran but only if Tehran agrees to discuss halting its enrichment of uranium. Iran says its nuclear programme is for generating electricity. Western officials say Iran has been asking for talks "without conditions" as a stalling tactic while refusing to put its nuclear program on the table.
A U.S. aircraft carrier sailed through the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday (February 14) more than a month after Iran warned a different carrier not to return to the Gulf.
Iran has threatened to close the strategic waterway, used for a third of the world's seaborne oil trade, if Western moves to ban Iranian crude exports cripple its energy sector.
The USS Abraham Lincoln -- part of the Bahrain-based U.S. Fifth Fleet -- sailed through the Strait with the Cape St George destroyer cruising behind. For the thousands of sailors onboard the carrier, Iran's threats were something they said they paid little attention to.
"To the average sailor here on board the USS Abraham Lincoln, we really don't think about that (Iran), we are trained to do our jobs no matter where we are, what time of day it is, where we are operating, who we are working with. We are here to do our jobs in a professional way. All those things, really, for the most part are not things we would pay attention to," said naval aviator Matt Driskill.
Driskill said the sailors saw their mission as one of protecting the Gulf. The commander of U.S. naval forces in the Gulf region said Iran had built up its naval forces in the area and prepared boats that could be used in suicide attacks, but the U.S. Navy could prevent it from blocking the Strait of Hormuz.
Military experts say the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet patrolling the Gulf - which always has at least one giant supercarrier accompanied by scores of jets and a fleet of frigates and destroyers - is overwhelmingly more powerful than Iran's navy.
The 5,000 sailors on board the USS Abraham Lincoln say they are always on alert for whatever might come. The crew said they remained vigilant as the aircraft carrier made the 10-hour crossing through the Strait.
With the crossing complete, fighter aircraft stationed on deck with heads pointing towards Iran, were stowed away again, while fighter planes taken below deck to avoid being targeted, were brought back up. Iran is at loggerheads with the West over its disputed uranium enrichment program. The United States, like other Western countries, says it is prepared to talk to Iran but only if Tehran agrees to discuss halting its enrichment of uranium. Iran says its nuclear programme is for generating electricity. Western officials say Iran has been asking for talks "without conditions" as a stalling tactic while refusing to put its nuclear program on the table.
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