This unit used to be off of Yemen when we were in the embassy closing business and it seemed as if Yemen was ground zero for whatever we worried about. Now part of it is off of Syria:
The amphibious transport dock San Antonio, carrying elements of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, has joined the five Navy destroyers in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, a defense official confirmed Friday evening.
The LPD San Antonio is only one of the three ships that would haul around the Marines and we didn't send the carrier-like ship that would be the primary assault ship for a combat mission. Although San Antonio could carry up to 800 Marines, it lacks the air assets to move the Marines to shore rapidly into a hostile environment and lacks any aircraft for supporting the Marines ashore.
And even if the entire MEU was off of Syria, it would be a drop in the bucket unless we had a lot more boots waiting to be put on the ground. And President Obama has been clear he doesn't want that.
I expect the Marines are there to land in Lebanon to assist in evacuating Western citizens to Cyprus in case that is needed if and when we strike Syria.
UPDATE: More on naval movements.
One, San Antonio has 300 Marines aboard. Their mission?
A second official said the San Antonio had been asked to serve as an afloat forward staging base, which could provide a temporary base for special operations forces, if they were needed. It could also assist with evacuations.
The mini-carrier of the amphibious group is on the way, however:
The USS Kearsarge, a large-deck amphibious ship that is part of a readiness group with the San Antonio, is also on the way toward the Red Sea after a port call in the United Arab Emirates, officials said.
It has six Harrier fighters, upt to a dozen Ospreys, and helicopters. Plus more Marines, of course.
Also, our big carrier Nimitz isn't staying with the newly arrived Truman carrier strike group to deter the Iranians while we prepare to act against Syria, but is moving into the Red Sea possibly on the way to the Mediterranean.
I'd rather leave the carrier group in the Red Sea. Her planes or cruise missiles could overfly Saudi Arabia and Jordan, if need be, to attack Syria. And in the Red Sea could make a rapid dash back to the Arabian Sea if Iran gets noisy. If we can't generate enough sorties from Air Force planes on nearby land bases, we're doing it wrong.
And we're up to five destroyers in the Mediterranean, carrying 200 Tomahawk cruise missiles.
UPDATE: Now the news is that Kearsarge is not moving toward the Med. I'd rather have her in place to seize Iranian islands in the Persian Gulf if Iran truly wants to fight over Syria.
