[pjw] News: Navy Presence Off Israel Grows as Command Ship Deploys (Military.com 10/18)

[Peace and Justice Works]

Iraq AFfinity Group supporters

As noted in each IAG meeting agenda, our mission is "  The Peace and 
Justice Works Iraq Affinity Group is committed to educating
the public about the effects of U.S. policy on the people of Iraq, and
other areas including SW Asia, North Africa, and the "Middle East,"
and on the domestic costs of war."

It's only natural that we incorporate US policy in Israel/Palestine into 
our work because, as many people in the region will tell you (and as we're 
hearing more now that the world's attention is focused there) that until 
the issue of Palestine is resolved there will not be peace in the Middle 
East.

Most of the time the US' role is relatively passive, in not stopping 
Israel's continued building of settlements on occupied land, or 
poliitically/economically biased, such as vetoing UN resolutions 
condemning Israel or sending $3 billion in military aid each year.

But now, the US has sent two aircraft carrier groups to the 
Meditteranean... and is sending a "command ship" with a three-star admiral 
aboard.

The US has started to evacuate its citizens from Lebanon, which is not 
involved in the fighting but where there is a lot of unrest because of 
Israel's actions.

The President continues to repeat unconfirmed Israeli claims, including 
most recently that the hospital explosion two days ago was caused by an 
"errant missile" from an armed faction in Gaza, while the Palestinians say 
(and are probably right) that it was an Israeli airstrike. The discussion 
about this tragedy seems to ignore all the civilian targets Israel already 
hit... I heard on the radio some propagandist saying that's because those 
are "collateral damage" and not deliberate targets. There's no difference 
in my mind, if you kill people who aren't engaged in warfare it's illegal, 
immoral and just plain wrong. Also another commentator said it's 
"probably" a war crime that Isreal cut off the water, food and medical 
supplies to all 2 million people in Gaza. PROBABLY????

The below article from Military.com about the new warship moving in refers 
to Israel's "bloody war against Hamas," sort of casually rather than with 
condemnation. Like so much reporting, it's just kind of shrugging and 
accepting that the US has some reason to place these military assets in 
the region. The claim is that this will deter other countries from 
entering the fight, but the reality is this is just another form of 
escalation.

Oh, so my final note here after that rant is that there are many 
organizations here in Portland whose main focus is the Israel/Palestine 
conflict, so we will try to keep you updated when we hear of events like 
today's two rallies (the 1 PM Jewish Voice for Peace and 3:30 SUPER events 
we sent out Tuesday night), while we continue to highlight the issue at 
Friday rallies.

OK, here's the article
dan handelman
peace and justice works iraq affinity group



  https://www.military.com/daily-news/2023/10/18/uss-mount-whitney-and-three-star-admiral-headed-mediterranean-aid-support-of-israel-amid-military.html
Navy Presence Off Israel Grows as USS Mount Whitney Deploys to Region with
Senior Admiral Aboard
    18 Oct 2023
    Military.com | By Konstantin Toropin

    The Navy's fleet commander in Europe and the command-and-control ship
    USS Mount Whitney are deploying to the Eastern Mediterranean Sea amid a
    U.S. military buildup in the region to support Israel as it wages a
    bloody war against Hamas, the service announced Wednesday.

    In a released statement, the Navy said the Mount Whitney -- the 6th
    Fleet's flagship -- departed its port at Gaeta, Italy, "in support of
    U.S. operations." A Navy spokesman confirmed to Military.com that the
    commander of 6th fleet, Vice Adm. Thomas Ishee, and his staff were
    aboard.

    The sailing of the Mount Whitney and Ishee's putting to sea comes just
    days after defense officials confirmed that the Navy would send a
    second aircraft carrier strike group into the region and move a pair of
    ships carrying a Marine Corps expeditionary unit there as well.

    Read Next: Troops Must Start Planning for Transition Out of Service
    Sooner to Be Successful, Advocates Testify

    Aside from an additional show of force and support, the command ship
    and three-star admiral could make any potential operation run more
    smoothly by offering a senior leader close by for two large formations
    that are commanded by relative peers.

    At the moment, the Navy has the USS Gerald R. Ford strike group in the
    area off the Israeli coast. Those six ships are commanded by a one-star
    admiral -- Rear Adm. Erik Eslich. The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower strike
    group -- which is set to arrive in the region soon -- is also commanded
    by a one-star -- Rear Adm. Marc Miguez.

    The Mount Whitney has a crew of just over 300, including 150 civilian
    mariners from Military Sealift Command. The Navy's website on the ship
    boasts that it can "receive, process and transmit large amounts of
    secure data from any point on Earth."

    In addition to the deployed assets, the Defense Department announced
    Tuesday that it had placed around 2,000 troops on heightened alert to
    potentially deploy.

    At the time of the announcement, defense officials said they didn't
    know which specific units had received the order.

    To date, defense and White House officials have been clear that the
    U.S. military assets off the coast of Israel or in the nearby area are
    not conducting offensive operations against Hamas or the Gaza Strip.

    Israel declared war and has waged devastating counterstrikes against
    Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, after the group launched a surprise
    terror attack into Israeli territory earlier this month with rockets
    and gunmen aimed at slaughtering as many civilians as possible. The
    coordinated attack on a music festival and Israeli communities left
    more than a thousand dead.

    Top officials including President Joe Biden and Defense Secretary Lloyd
    Austin traveled to Israel to pledge support as an increasingly large
    deployment of U.S. military assets moves into the region.

    Meanwhile, the situation north of Israel, in Lebanon, has also
    deteriorated in the last several days, and the State Department began
    allowing some employee family departures, as well as issuing a "Do Not
    Travel" order on Tuesday.

    The State Department said that U.S. citizens should not come to Lebanon
    due to "the unpredictable security situation related to rocket,
    missile, and artillery exchanges between Israel and Hezbollah or other
    armed militant factions," and because of the embassy's "limited
    capacity to provide support."

    The Associated Press has reported that the recent bombing of a Gaza
    hospital, which has further inflamed tensions in the area, has led to
    protests and clashes with security forces near the U.S. Embassy in
    Lebanon.

    Editor's note: This article has been updated to correct the name of the
    commander of the Gerald R. Ford strike group.