Global Research, May 03, 2018
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The
US aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman, which set sail from the world’s
largest naval base in Norfolk (Virginia), entered the Mediterranean with
its strike group.
The
strike group consists of the guided-missile cruiser USS Normandy and
the guided-missile destroyers USS Farragut, USS Forrest Sherman, USS
Bulkeley, and USS Arleigh Burke. Two others, USS Jason Dunham and USS
The Sullivans, will rejoin the strike group at a later date. German
destroyer FGS Hessen is added to the Truman strike group.
The
fleet, with more than 8,000 men on board, has an enormous firepower.
The Truman – a supercarrier 300 meters long, equipped with two nuclear
reactors – can launch 90 fighters and helicopters in consecutive waves.
Its strike group, supplemented by 4 destroyers already in the
Mediterranean and some submarines, can launch over 1,000 cruise
missiles.
The
US Naval Forces Europe-Africa – whose headquarters are located in
Naples-Capodichino while the base of the Sixth Fleet is located in Gaeta
– are thus strengthened. They are under the orders of the same admiral
(currently James Foggo) who commands the Allied Joint Force Command Naples at Lago Patria.
The
deployment of the US fleet in the Mediterranean is part of the overall
strengthening of US forces in Europe, under the orders of the same
general (currently Curtis Scaparrotti) who holds the position of Supreme Allied Commander in Europe.
In
a congressional hearing, Scaparrotti explains the reason for the
strengthening of US forces in Europe. What he presents is a real war
scenario: he accuses Russia of carrying out “a campaign of
destabilization to change the international order, fracture NATO and
undermine US leadership around the world”.
After
“the illegal annexation of Crimea by Russia and its destabilization of
Eastern Ukraine”, the United States, which deploys over 60,000 troops in
European Nato countries, has increased its posture in Europe by
deploying an armored brigade combat team and a combat aviation brigade,
and by pre-positioning equipment for additional armored brigade combat
teams. At the same time the US doubled its maritime deployments to the
Black Sea.
To
strengthen its forces in Europe, the United States spent more than 16
billion dollars in five years. At the same time the US pushed the
European allies to increase their military spending by 46 billion
dollars in three years to strengthen the NATO deployment against Russia.
This
is part of the strategy launched by Washington in 2014 with the putsch
of Maidan and the consequent attack on the Russians of Ukraine: making
Europe the first line of a new cold war to strengthen the US influence
on its allies and hinder Eurasian cooperation. The NATO foreign
ministers reaffirmed their consent on April 27, preparing a further
expansion of NATO to the East against Russia through the entry of
Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia, Georgia and Ukraine.
This
strategy requires an adequate preparation of public opinion. To this
end, Scaparrotti accuses Russia of “using political provocation,
spreading disinformation and undermining democratic institutions” even
in Italy. He then announces that “the US and NATO counter Russian
misinformation with truthful and transparent information”. In their
wake, the European Commission announces a series of measures against
fake news, accusing Russia of using “disinformation in its war
strategy”.
It
is to be expected that NATO and the EU will censor what is published
here, by decreeing that the US fleet in the Mediterranean is a fake news
spread by Russia in its “war strategy”.
Source: PandoraTV
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This article was originally published in Italian in Il Manifesto.
Manlio Dinucci is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization.
Disclaimer: The contents of this article are of sole responsibility of the author(s). The Centre for Research on Globalization will not be responsible for any inaccurate or incorrect statement in this article.
Disclaimer: The contents of this article are of sole responsibility of the author(s). The Centre for Research on Globalization will not be responsible for any inaccurate or incorrect statement in this article.
Copyright © Manlio Dinucci, Global Research, 2018
