I don't disagree, in that it shouldn't have been said publically, but I know that POTUS was being offered military options that would have allowed him to stand by the red line with minimal potential for long term escalation. He chose not to, and that's his prerogative as CinC.
In the opinion of the Pentagon........but probably not in the opinion of the NSC folks and POTUS.
That ghetto-ass POS is basically the most expensive MISO CONOP ever staffed.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-aircraft-carrier-commentary-idUSKCN12J1L2
Commentary: Why Putin is unleashing his only aircraft carrier
Sending the carrier and its escorts is in many ways a much more expensive and complex way of achieving the same thing. Nor is it without risk – in the past, Russia’s warships have sometimes shown an alarming tendency to break down, often traveling with their own oceangoing tugs.
Moscow clearly wishes to show that it can emulate Washington by sending a task force thousands of miles and then conducting weeks or months of military activity – an exercise that will highlight Russia’s renewed military capability. It will further complicate the political calculus for the United States and others when it comes to finding a way forward in Syria. And, of course, it offers a neat opportunity to remind a host of countries in northern Europe that Moscow cannot be ignored.
Do they even have the logistics to unrep the thing for an extended deployment?
...........like driving what's left of the Northern Red Banner Fleet thru the English Channel.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-aircraft-carrier-commentary-idUSKCN12J1L2
Commentary: Why Putin is unleashing his only aircraft carrier
Sending the carrier and its escorts is in many ways a much more expensive and complex way of achieving the same thing. Nor is it without risk – in the past, Russia’s warships have sometimes shown an alarming tendency to break down, often traveling with their own oceangoing tugs.
Moscow clearly wishes to show that it can emulate Washington by sending a task force thousands of miles and then conducting weeks or months of military activity – an exercise that will highlight Russia’s renewed military capability. It will further complicate the political calculus for the United States and others when it comes to finding a way forward in Syria. And, of course, it offers a neat opportunity to remind a host of countries in northern Europe that Moscow cannot be ignored.
