Agence France Presse December 27, 2002
U.S. Carrier Truman Leaves Marseille for Possible War on Iraq
MARSEILLE, France -- The U.S. Navy's most modern aircraft carrier, USS Harry S. Truman, left the French port of Marseille Friday en route for the eastern Mediterranean to support a possible war on Iraq, harbor authorities said.
The huge, nuclear-powered vessel, which anchored here Monday for a Christmas stop-over for its 5,000 sailors and flight personnel, attracted a demonstration by 1,000 French anti-war protesters Thursday who carried signs reading "U.S. Go Home!" and "Don't Chop Up Iraq!".
U.S. Defense Department officials said the Truman was replacing another carrier, USS George Washington, which last week returned to its home port after a six-month deployment in the Mediterranean.
The deployment of USS Truman means two U.S. aircraft carriers are now currently available for military operations against Iraq, according to the U.S. defense consultancy globalsecurity.org. The other carrier, USS Constellation, is in the Persian Gulf.
Each carrier is accompanied by a "battle group" -- up to a dozen smaller escort vessels including sumbmarines, destroyers and minesweepers.
The Truman, commissioned four years ago, carries 80 aircraft -- F-14 and F-18 fighter/bombers and EA-6B electronic jammers -- and has a battle flag whose motto reads "give 'em hell".
© Copyright 2002 Agence France Presse
