U.S. Navy steps up fuel deliveries to Gulf forces

[laststeamtrain]

Source: Reuters

U.S. Navy steps up fuel deliveries to Gulf forces
23 Nov 2007 11:07:33 GMT
Source: Reuters

Stefano Ambrogi

LONDON, Nov 23 (Reuters) - The U.S. military has stepped up chartering of tankers and requests for extra fuel in the U.S. Central Command area, which includes the Gulf, shipping and oil industry sources say.

A Gulf oil industry source said the charters suggested there would be high naval activity, possibly including a demonstration to Iran that the U.S. Navy will protect the Strait of Hormuz oil shipping route during tensions over Tehran's nuclear programme.

The U.S. Navy's Military Sealift Command (MSC) has tendered for four tankers in November to move at least one million barrels of jet and ship fuel between Gulf ports, from Asia to the Gulf and to the Diego Garcia base, tenders seen by Reuters show.

It usually tenders for one or two tankers a month to supply Gulf operations, which include missions in Iraq.

Read more: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L22313068.htm

[dysfunctional press]

1. oh, they plan on "demonstrating" something to iran, alright...

things like- how well our laser-guided bombs work, for instance.

[Captain Hilts]

2. They had to divert a chunk of the forces quickly to help Bangledesh. USS Kearsarge. nt

[boricua79]

6. that's ok

Iran has a more than a few Sunburn missiles to demonstrate as well.

[rockybelt]

3. With all that is going on

in the Middle East, I mean Iraq, Syria. Lebanon. Pakistan. It looks like the Middle East is about to come apart at the seams because of bushco and their corporate allies.
I guess I am a little out of touch with reality since things are going so swimmingly well in Iraq. The kill rate is down and the people are coming back home in droves. Ain't that wonderful?
Never mind that the ethnic cleansing is about complete, the country has divided itself up into sects, Syria is throwing the Iraqis out and they have neither the money nor the means to go anywhere else except back to Iraq, Lebanon's president has said "fuck it" and ran, the Taliban are taking control of Afghanistan again, Pakistan is going to the despot who W loves and admires and is able to see into his soul, Russia is backing Iran and Syria, Egypt is getting pissed and Saudi Arabia still provided most of the hijackers and W loves 'em.


I don't see what could possibly go wrong here.

[formercia]

4. What could go wrong?

Seems like Junior has Armageddon pretty well set up. Too bad if people wised up and didn't come to his party.

[Acadia Blue]

5. Bush wants to make a cluster F----k before his term ends so no one

can ever fix the disaster he created. What a piece of pure hate and malice.

[Robbien]

7. Isn't this because Japan stopped supplying tankers?

Japan's newly elected president stopped supplying fuel to the US for its occupation efforts in the Gulf. Appears this is a permanent move and now the US has to pick up the slack.

[uppityperson]

8. kick to push up for maybe more input on this.

[Robbien]

9. There is a Japanese article which talks about their tankers returning to Japan

Japanese naval tanker returns, ending six-year Afghan support mission
http://www.pr-inside.com/japanese-naval-tanker-returns-ending-six-year-r314223.htm

TOKYO (AP) - To cheers and Rising Sun flags, a Japanese navy tanker returned from the Indian Ocean on Friday, ending a six-year mission in support of Afghan coalition troops

The tanker, Tokiwa, was welcomed to port by flag-waving families, a
brass honor band and several senior government officials. The other warship that had been deployed to the Indian Ocean, a destroyer, returned to southern Japan on Thursday.

The mission, which began in 2001, was abruptly halted on Nov. 1 and the ships ordered to head home after opposition parties raised concerns the operations did not have explicit support from the United Nations and possibly violated Japan's pacifist constitution.

Fukuda's government has submitted a bill to parliament that would allow the ships to be deployed again, but in a more limited role. The opposition, emboldened by an election victory that gave it control of parliament's upper house, has shown no sign of backing down, however.