Middle East again without US aircraft carriers

A US official confirmed on November 19 that the US Navy's only aircraft carrier in the Middle East, the USS Abraham Lincoln, left the region over the weekend after months of operations there, according to Business Insider .

The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the Pacific Ocean in August.

The Lincoln has now entered the 7th Fleet area of operations, which stretches from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific Ocean . Escorting the aircraft carrier are three Arleigh Burke-class destroyers: the USS Frank E. Petersen Jr., the USS Michael Murphy and the USS Spruance.

That leaves no U.S. aircraft carriers in the Middle East. The last time this happened was in June, when the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower left the region after months of waiting before the USS Theodore Roosevelt arrived.

The Lincoln arrived in the Middle East in August and operated with the Roosevelt for several weeks before the Roosevelt departed in September.

'Ukraine, Middle East conflicts are depleting US arsenal'

It is unclear whether the Navy will send other ships to fill the gap. The USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier strike group is currently operating in the Atlantic Ocean near Portugal’s Azores Islands. The Navy also has four destroyers in the Middle East and several other warships in the eastern Mediterranean, the official said.

The US military has been rotating carrier strike groups, including aircraft carriers, escort ships and fighter jets, to the Middle East to protect commercial and military vessels from the threat from Houthi forces in Yemen for more than a year. The Pentagon has said the naval presence is intended to support Israel and deter Iran and its proxies.

According to US special envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking, the Houthis are determined to hit a US or European warship during their campaign in the Red Sea. "Our leadership is extremely concerned about the Houthis' determination to attack us and our friends in the Red Sea, their persistence and their determination to do what they do better," Lenderking said.

The Houthis have carried out more than 130 attacks on military and civilian vessels supporting Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. While no Western military vessels have been hit, several commercial vessels have been hit and even sunk. “We have shot down almost everything they have thrown at us, but this is a growing threat,” Lenderking said.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/trung-dong-lai-vang-bong-tau-san-bay-my-185241120162845482.htm