Wonder why the administration made such a stink of reducing the US airborne presence around Libya, and handing it off to France, Italy, Canada and Turkey? Here’s the answer: the CVN65 Enterprise which last week was within striking distance of Libya, has quietly left the Red Sea and is now virtually swimming in the wake of CVN 70 Vinson in the Strait of Hormuz. Because obviously whatever is about to happen in the Persian Gulf will need not one but two aircraft carrier formations.
My guess: Iran may be about to intervene in Bahrain. The US has a major base there so of course Obama has made no foolish talk about supporting democracy and freedom there except for a few timid squeaks about how Bahrain shouldn’t murder peaceful protesters. Saudi Arabia of course already has troops there. The Shiite majority in Bahrain is getting whacked by the Sunni government, and this makes Iran cranky.
From the comments
If I had to pick one event as being the beginning of all of this, the “Archduke Ferdinand” moment, if you will, I’d say a good candidate is the self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi of Tunisia
(BTW, this link is from Zero Hedge, a financial blog that more than once has drawn blood with their attacks against our compromised financial system. However their coverage of MENA and Japan is superb and makes our mainstream media look limp and compromised. Oh wait, that’s because it is.)