Source: Fortune
Summary
President Donald Trump has suggested that a change in power in Iran would be the best outcome, as the US weighs military action against Tehran. Trump made the comments after visiting troops at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina, and confirming the deployment of a second aircraft carrier group to the Mideast. The USS Gerald R. Ford will join the USS Abraham Lincoln and its accompanying guided-missile destroyers in the region. Trump has repeatedly threatened to use force to compel Iran to agree to constrain its nuclear program.
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The numbers tell one story.
Trump’s comments on regime change in Iran come as the US deploys a second aircraft carrier group to the Mideast. The USS Gerald R. Ford will join the USS Abraham Lincoln, adding over 5,000 troops to the region. Trump has suggested that a deal with Iran is still possible, but warned that failure to reach an agreement would be “very traumatic.” The move is seen as a significant escalation in the region, with Gulf Arab nations warning that an attack could spiral into another regional conflict.
The strategy enters a familiar phase.
Trump’s deployment of the USS Gerald R. Ford is a quick turnaround for the carrier, which was previously part of a Venezuela strike force. The move is at odds with the Trump administration’s national security and defense strategies, which emphasize the Western Hemisphere over other parts of the world. The Ford’s deployment will bring more than 5,000 additional troops to the Middle East, but few capabilities or weapons that don’t already exist within the Lincoln group.
Somehow, “very traumatic” sounds like a plan.
Author: Evan Null
