1. catdynamics
  2. fuelling rumours

fuelling rumours

By catdynamics on March 1, 2007.

unconfirmed AsiaTimes article claims "refueling assets" are being relocated to Diego Garcia

big US air base on Diego Garcia (leased from UK)
if one were to make active contingency plans involving large numbers of aircraft dropping stuff, then one step would be to quietly move air refueling squadrons forward a week or two earlier.

Not sure which squadrons those could be, many are ANG or reserve; some were called up for recent Red Flag exercises. No news on them.

In the meantime the 5th Fleet got a new commander, the old one moves back to Pentagon and up in rank after 16 months on the job

IAEA meets march 5-9 to discuss Iran, right after that there is the multi-nation meeting in Iraq, and the UN Security Council should meet.
Hope no one does anything provocative or diplomatically clumsy during those delicate times.

Tags
Random

More like this

hello sailor
Am at a meeting out west, with remarkably poor internet access given the location and sponsors. But good meeting nevertheless. But it keeps being interrupted by the Blue Angels, navy air show team, buzzing the hotel. So the USS Nimitz is in town, which answers the question of where she's been. USS…
Explosives Story, Round 2
Sandefur says I "fell" for a false story about the disappeared explosives: Explosives disappear in April of 2003 or so, before American troops arrive. The probable explanation is that Iraqi troops moved the material out of the bunker and camouflaged it prior to American bombing, and that it was…
"Life goes on as it did before..."
"...As the country drifts slowly to war" Update: Why do I keep hammering on the "paranoid Iran scenario"? Because I am worried that the decision to "take out" Iran has been made in DC, and that it is now merely a question of when, and with what rationale. There are two considerations: one is next…
here we go, here we go, here we go...
The USS Reagan Carrier Strike Group is surging - it will forward deploy to the western pacific next week. That makes three. Caveat... ...this is to backstop the Kitty Hawk which is going in for maintenance in harbour in Japan. The Stennis was supposed to cover the Kitty Hawk, but was deployed…

I'm always a bit wary about asia times, not sure how much is honest (and usually pretty good) journalism, and how much is influenced by the Chinese government.
IMHO neither Bush, nor Iran want this to come to blows. But both are too much into brinksmanship, which makes the odds of something spinning out of control much higher than my comfort zone.

Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad.

The US does not have to actually attack Iran, or even have a serious intention of attacking Iran for something catastrophic to happen as the result of its actions. Brinksmanship puts one at the brink, and sometimes one falls off that brink unintentionally.