"An aircraft carrier that has at least 40 to 50 planes on it and 6000 forces gathered within it was a serious threat for us in the past but now...the threats have switched to opportunities," Amirali Hajizadeh, head of the [Revolutionary] Guards' aerospace division said.
Carriers provide us with a range advantage that should be exploited rather than thrown away by sailing close to Iran in a closed body of water like the Persian Gulf.
Land-based aircraft, drones, and even artillery could fire at our carriers and big ships north of the Hormuz Strait.
And Iran's small attack boats and mini-subs might actually do some damage. That close to shore even the Iranian navy could find our ships.
I've been on that problem for a while.
And if the words aren't enough of a warning, I don't imagine this was a series of unfortunate events:
Four commercial vessels were targeted by "sabotage operations" near the territorial waters of the United Arab Emirates without causing casualties, the foreign ministry said on Sunday, without giving details of the nature of the sabotage.
The incident occurred near the UAE emirate of Fujairah, one of the world's largest bunkering hubs which lies just outside the Strait of Hormuz, the ministry said in a statement.
I would be extremely shocked if Iran wasn't behind those attacks.
So thank you to Iran's nutballs for reminding us of Iran's opportunities to strike first if we are that close to Iran.
UPDATE: Sure, under certain conditions it is tough to spot a carrier. But one of those conditions is that the carrier is far over the horizon away from Mark I eyeballs that have few areas to look for it.
Keep our ships far from Iran and use our sensor and range advantages.
UPDATE: Hmmm. So exactly what do we know now that we didn't before? Tip to Instapundit.
