Two aircraft carriers stationed off the Syrian coast were
sent back to the US
this week in a move that the Obama administration thought would ease tensions,
but angered Turkish officials who hoped for significant US
military presence in the region.
The USS Eisenhower aircraft carrier and the USS Iwo Jima
Amphibious Ready Group and its 2,500 marines were recalled after being
stationed on the Syrian coast, allegedly in preparation of potential military
invasion.
The USS Eisenhower, which has the capacity to hold thousands
of men, joined the other warship during the first week of December, ready to
launch an American-led military intervention “within days” if Syrian President
Bashar al-Assad were to use chemical weapons against the opposition, Time
reported. But as the violence escalated in the past few days, the warships took
off and headed back to the US.
The US usually has two aircraft carriers stationed in the
Persian Gulf at all times, but will only have one deployed this month –
the USS John C. Stennis, which is stationed nowhere near Syria. By recalling
the USS Eisenhower and the USS Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group, the US
simply outraged its key ally in the region – Turkey.
An unnamed senior Turkish officer told Israel's
DEBKAfile that America’s
removal of the aircraft carriers is “hard to understand and unacceptable to
Ankara.” Turkey
became one of the main opponents of the Assad regime on the international stage
and fears that the Syrian missiles with chemical weapons might be used against
it. Syria never
recognized that it has a chemical stockpile. Nevertheless Syrian officials
repeatedly said that their country would never use such weapons "even
if they had them."
None of Syria’s
neighbors, which include Turkey,
Jordan, Qatar,
Saudi Arabia
and Israel,
have officially criticized the Obama administration for its recall of its naval
forces, but unnamed officials told DEBKAfile that Turkish officials are very
upset about the move.
According to the Israeli news outlet, Washington hoped to “to
appease the Turks” by sending to the region US Defense Secretary Leon
Panetta to sign a deployment order for the Patriot Air and Missile Defense
System, which would be stationed at the Syrian border. While Panetta visited Turkey
on Friday, the defense secretary allegedly visited an air base where US
strike aircraft are stationed alongside Turkish warplanes.
But the US
attempt to ease tensions and calm Turkey
had little effect: Turkish officials remain outraged at the US
abandonment at a time when violence with its neighbor has escalated and
relations with Iran
and Syria are
at its worst.
Meanwhile the deployment of the Patriot missile
interceptors has escalated tensions between Turkey
and Iran.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad canceled a trip to Turkey
for an annual ceremony this week, claiming the missile interceptors might lead
to a “world war.”
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