War Declared on Israel, US Mobilizes
USANN Pentagon Correspondent Bill Henderson
January 8, 2002
Washington
A Syrian Osa II-class rocket cutter off the
northern Coast of Lebanon.
With the Middle East peace talks in utter
collapse after the assassination of Yasser
Arafat on December 13th by Israeli forces,
Syria, Iraq, Iran and Libya took an
unprecedented step in issuing a combined
Holy Jihad against the State of Israel.
Although forces throughout the region have
been put on high alert, sources in the
Pentagon state that to-date, no country has
yet put their forces into an “offensive
mobilization”.
State Department Spokesmen Mary
Rickman, in a hastily arranged press
conference, stated “the United States strongly
urges all parties to step back from the brink
in order to avoid further bloodshed”.
According to sources, Secretary of State
Powell will leave for Cairo within the next 48
hours to “jump start” peace talks.
With the victory in Afghanistan only one
week old and Arab tempers running high, the
“Powell Initiative”, as one State Department
official puts it, “may bear little fruit.”
Although the State Department is attempting to play a
neutral role in the Middle East negotiations, the White
House issued a strong warning.
“Although the United States will play an active role in de-
fusing and normalizing relations in the Middle East, we
will not sit idly by if any country takes offensive actions in
the region. “
Naval Forces on the Move
To emphasize this point, The US Navy announced that
naval surface fleets are currently leaving ports in the
Philippines, Pearl Harbor, Panama, Norfolk, Boston and
Spain for points unknown.
Carrier fleet leaving Norfolk, Virginia
Pentagon sources indicate that up to 3 carrier fleets will be
ordered to the Mediterranean and Persian Gulf while the
remaining units are on “previously scheduled maneuvers.”
Despite Washington’s optimistic tone, the naval move is
seen by many as a general show of force to not only the
current hot spot in the Middle East, but to the increasingly
belligerent actions by China towards Taiwan and the
growing concerns over North Korea.
Secretary of Navy Terry Volkman stated, “if we park a
carrier in your neighborhood, it means we’re serious about
keeping the peace.”
