by Matthew Adams at Stars and Stripes
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Friday ordered additional warships, including destroyers and cruisers, and an additional fighter squadron to the Middle East to bolster defenses as the region braces for a potential attack from Iran in retaliation for the killing of a Hamas leader.
“To maintain a carrier strike group presence in the Middle East, the secretary has ordered the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group to replace the USS Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group currently on deployment in the [U.S.] Central Command area of responsibility,” Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said in a statement announcing the additional forces.
In addition to destroyers and cruisers, the Pentagon is also taking steps to increase its readiness to deploy additional land-based ballistic missile defenses. Austin also ordered the deployment of an additional fighter squadron to the region, Singh said.
The decision to move U.S. forces comes ahead of an anticipated Iranian attack in response to the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on Wednesday.
President Joe Biden on Thursday discussed U.S. efforts to support Israel’s defense against threats,…
Continue Reading