Is Another War on the Way?

[morphball]

Apparently the Times is reporting that "Prepare to Deploy" orders were issued...

What Would War Look Like?

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The first message was routine enough: a "Prepare to Deploy" order sent through naval communications channels to a submarine, an Aegis-class cruiser, two minesweepers and two mine hunters. The orders didn't actually command the ships out of port; they just said to be ready to move by Oct. 1. But inside the Navy those messages generated more buzz than usual last week when a second request, from the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO), asked for fresh eyes on long-standing U.S. plans to blockade two Iranian oil ports on the Persian Gulf.

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thenation.com is reporting that a aircraft carrier and other ships have been ordered to go the Gulf...(I don't know much about how reliable thenation.com is as a source, though...)

War Signals?

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As reports circulate of a sharp debate within the White House over possible US military action against Iran and its nuclear enrichment facilities, The Nation has learned that the Bush Administration and the Pentagon have issued orders for a major "strike group" of ships, including the nuclear aircraft carrier Eisenhower as well as a cruiser, destroyer, frigate, submarine escort and supply ship, to head for the Persian Gulf, just off Iran's western coast. This information follows a report in the current issue of Time magazine, both online and in print, that a group of ships capable of mining harbors has received orders to be ready to sail for the Persian Gulf by October 1.


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In addition, other sites are pointing toward the potential for conflict between Syria and Israel...(Again, reliable sources??)

Damascus official: Syria losing patience with Israel

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Syrian Information Minister Mohsen Bilal said that his country is losing patience in the matter of the Golan Heights, and that the Syrians would not wait much longer before they act.


"Syria has made a strategic choice for peace, but it will not wait much longer before it recaptures the Golan Heights," Bilal told Egyptian newspaper al-Ahram al-Arabi.


"The Syrian people have waited 40 years for the implementation of the United Nations Security Council resolutions, but to no avail, and
they are losing their patience," he stated.

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While of this is going on, the Middle East appears to be literally foaming at the mouth, as the riots over the cartoons and the recent papal remarks demonstrate.