US Navy Deploys 2nd Aircraft Carrier to Gulf

What is going on? From Yahoo! through the AP:

The U.S. Navy said Monday it has deployed a second aircraft carrier to the Persian Gulf region amid rising tensions with Iran over its disputed nuclear program.

The deployment of the nuclear-powered USS Enterprise along with the Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group marks one of the few times the Navy has had two aircraft carriers operating in waters near the Persian Gulf, said Cmdr. Amy Derrick-Frost of the Bahrain-based 5th Fleet.

The two carriers will support the American military operations in Afghanistan and anti-piracy efforts off Somalia's coast and in the Gulf of Aden, she said.

The warships also patrol the Gulf's strategic oil routes that Iran has threatened to shut down in retaliation for economic sanctions slapped on the Islamic Republic because of its nuclear program, which the West suspects aims to develop nuclear weapons.

Iran denies the allegations, and says its program is solely for peaceful purposes.

Please bookmark!