NAVY WIRE SERVICE - A WIRE (NWSA) - 14 November 1997 -
NWSA3112. Aircraft carrier USS George Washington heads for
Arabian Gulf
by JOCS(AW) Gwyneth J. Schultz
WASHINGTON (NWSA) -- The nuclear-powered aircraft
carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) is heading for the
Arabian Gulf.
President Bill Clinton announced this decision early
Friday morning, Nov. 14, after conferring with his military
and diplomatic advisors. In his statement to the press, he
said that Iraq's fight is not with the U.S., but with the
United Nations.
"What he (Saddam Hussein) says his objective is, is to
relieve the people of Iraq, and presumably the government,
of the burden of the sanctions," President Clinton said.
"What he has just done is to ensure that the sanctions will
be there until the end of time, or as long as he lasts."
Iraq's refusal to allow entry of U.S. members of the UN
weapons inspection team have caused increased tensions over
compliance with UN sanctions imposed after the Gulf War in
1991. Forces from the U.S. and the United Kingdom are
currently deploying additional forces to the region as a
precautionary measure. Other countries in the coalition have
not made changes to their present military stance.
Five ships will move from the Mediterranean Sea into
the Fifth Fleet theater. Additional ships in the George
Washington Battle Group include guided missile cruiser USS
Normandy (CG 60), guided missile destroyer USS Carney (DDG
64), attack submarine USS Annapolis (SSN 760) and the fast
combat support ship USS Seattle (AOE 3). Carrier Air Wing
ONE is deployed aboard George Washington.
In a press conference Friday afternoon, Nov. 14,
President Clinton said that he had ordered the ships to the
region "as a prudent measure to help assure that we have the
forces we need for any contingency. This is a crisis of
Saddam's making. It can be unmade only when he can no longer
threaten the international community with weapons of mass
destruction."
It will take George Washington approximately seven days
to transit the Red Sea and sail around Saudi Arabia up into
the Arabian Gulf. The ships will be joining elements of the
USS Nimitz (CVN 68) Battle Group currently operating in the
Gulf.
-USN-
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