drijvende democratie

In aanvulling op de USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group ligt straks mogelijk ook de USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group in de Iraanse branding. 1 groep is al veel, twee groepen is héél veel, en dat ook nog eens gedekt door de massale plaatsing van geavanceerde Amerikaanse luchtafweer door het hele Midden-Oosten. De Associated Press schrijft: "The United States will send the world’s largest aircraft carrier to the Middle East to back up another already there, a person familiar with the plans said Friday, putting more American firepower behind President Donald Trump’s efforts to coerce Iran into a deal over its nuclear program. The USS Gerald R. Ford’s planned deployment to the Mideast comes after Trump only days earlier suggested another round of talks with the Iranians was at hand. Those negotiations didn’t materialize as one of Tehran’s top security officials visited Oman and Qatar this week and exchanged messages with the U.S. intermediaries." De Wall Street Journal was gisteren nog wel iets voorzichtiger: "The officials cautioned that Trump hadn’t yet given an official order to deploy the second carrier, and that plans could change." We blijven kijken.