Source: Stop War On Iran

Growing threat - Join us in mobilizing to Stop War on Iran!



As we write, the arrival of new U.S. warships will mark the largest build-up of Naval forces in the Gulf since the 1991 Gulf War.



The aircraft carriers USS Theodore Roosevelt and the USS Ronald Reagan, along with the USS Iwo Jima, an Amphibious Assault Ship are sailing toward the Persian Gulf to reinforce the US strike forces in the region, along with a British Royal Navy carrier battle group and a French nuclear hunter-killer submarine.



This move follows the ominous Operation Brimstone, a massive military exercise involving more than a dozen warships from the US, England, and France in the Atlantic Ocean in preparation for a possible confrontation with Iran.



The USS Roosevelt, which participated in the just-concluded exercise, and the USS Ronald Reagan will join two US naval battle groups in the area: the USS Abraham Lincoln with its Carrier Strike Group Nine ; and the USS Peleliu, and Amphibious Assault Ship with its expeditionary strike group.



Naval forces now heading towards the Gulf include:



Carrier Strike Group Nine:

USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN72) nuclear powered carrier with its Carrier Air Wing Two

Destroyer Squadron Nine:

USS Mobile Bay (CG53) guided missile cruiser

USS Russell (DDG59) guided missile destroyer

USS Momsen (DDG92) guided missile destroyer

USS Shoup (DDG86) guided missile destroyer

USS Ford (FFG54) guided missile frigate

USS Ingraham (FFG61) guided missile frigate

USS Rodney M. Davis (FFG60) guided missile frigate

USS Curts (FFG38) guided missile frigate

Plus one or more nuclear hunter-killer submarines

Peleliu Expeditionary Strike Group:

USS Peleliu (LHA-5) a Tarawa-class amphibious assault carrier

USS Pearl Harbor (LSD52) assult ship

USS Dubuque (LPD8) assult ship/landing dock

USS Cape St. George (CG71) guided missile cruiser

USS Halsey (DDG97) guided missile destroyer

USS Benfold (DDG65) guided missile destroyer



Carrier Strike Group Two:

USS Theodore Roosevelt (DVN71) nuclear powered carrier with its Carrier Air Wing Eight

Destroyer Squadron 22:

USS Monterey (CG61) guided missile cruiser

USS Mason (DDG87) guided missile destroyer

USS Nitze (DDG94) guided missile destroyer

USS Sullivans (DDG68) guided missile destroyer

USS Springfield (SSN761) nuclear powered hunter-killer submarine

IWO ESG ~ Iwo Jima Expeditionary Strike Group

USS Iwo Jima (LHD7) amphibious assault carrier with its Amphibious Squadron Four

and with its 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit

USS San Antonio (LPD17) assault ship

USS Velia Gulf (CG72) guided missile cruiser

USS Ramage (DDG61) guided missile destroyer

USS Carter Hall (LSD50) assault ship

USS Roosevelt (DDG80) guided missile destroyer

USS Hartfore (SSN768) nuclear powered hunter-killer submarine



Carrier Strike Group Seven:

USS Ronald Reagan (CVN76) nuclear powered carrier with its Carrier Air Wing 14

Destroyer Squadron 7:

USS Chancellorsville (CG62) guided missile cruiser

USS Howard (DDG83) guided missile destroyer

USS Gridley (DDG101) guided missile destroyer

USS Decatur (DDG73) guided missile destroyer

USS Thach (FFG43) guided missile frigate

USNS Rainier (T-AOE-7) fast combat support ship



This massive deployment means that hundreds of nuclear-armed warplanes, thousands of troops, and destroyers capable of launching cruise missiles carrying nuclear weapons, bunker busters, or fragmentation bombs will be available for a strike on Iran. While Russia is bogged down with the crisis in Georgia, and China is occupied with the Olympics, the Bush Administration may believe that this is an opportune time to strike. This massive deployment is occurring as both Houses of Congress are set to approve resolutions that would mandate a U.S. blockade (which is an act of war under international law).



The time to act is now:

Please sign the petition online at http://stopwaroniran.org/petition.shtml



And please help us get the word out - use the Tell a Friend Link at http://stopwaroniran.org/friend.shtml



Also, in the next few days and weeks, we will be mobilizing in the streets against an attack on Iran. As we write, we are preparing placards, banners, and printed material to take to the Republican and Democratic national conventions. We know that the only force that will stop the warmongers in Washington is a grassroots peoples movement. We need your help to take the message to the conventions and to mobilize for other emergency actions. Please consider making a donation to help with expenses at http://stopwaroniran.org/donate.shtml