But Nimitz and Kitty Hawk are in the South China Sea exercising with other regional navies.
All I'm saying is that after a good work up, these ships aren't all that far from the Persian Gulf should the need arise in the near future.
UPDATE: A reminder that the Navy site linked above is not intended as an intelligence source for enemies. Nimitz is actually exercising in the Bay of Bengal:
Taking part in the exercises are 13 U.S. warships, including the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz and the nuclear submarine USS Chicago. India has seven warships participating, including its sole aircraft carrier, the INS Viraat.
Two Japanese destroyers, a frigate from Singapore and an Australian frigate and tanker are also taking part.
There is no mention of Kitty Hawk's whereabouts.
While the Indians won't admit it, China has brought these navies together:
"The Chinese are expanding in a huge way into the Indian Ocean," says Rahul Bedi of the London-based Jane's Defense Weekly.
He pointed to a series of moves by Beijing into the Indian Ocean — an area that New Delhi has long considered its turf — that have raised alarm bells in Asia and America.
Myanmar's military junta has allowed China to build an intelligence gathering post on the Coco Islands, deep in the Bay of Bengal. And China is assisting both Pakistan and Bangladesh with the construction of deep sea ports its navy could use.
"The whole game, as I see it," Bedi says, referring to the naval exercises, "is about China containment."
Even if we don't need additional carriers further west in the near future, this serves us well for the future.
UPDATE: This Indian defense site says Kitty Hawk is part of the MALABAR exercise.
