{"id":340273,"date":"2025-10-29T07:54:12","date_gmt":"2025-10-29T07:54:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/340273\/"},"modified":"2025-10-29T07:54:12","modified_gmt":"2025-10-29T07:54:12","slug":"us-to-be-left-with-no-aircraft-carrier-in-the-middle-east-or-europe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/340273\/","title":{"rendered":"US to be left with no aircraft carrier in the Middle East or Europe"},"content":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 President Donald Trump\u2019s decision to shift the nation\u2019s most advanced aircraft carrier<\/a> to South America in his campaign against drug cartels is pulling the ship out of the Mediterranean Sea at a time when a tenuous ceasefire between Israel and Hamas<\/a> has been threatened by new strikes in Gaza. <\/p>\n

The U.S. is set to be in the fairly unusual position of having only a single aircraft carrier deployed and none in the waters off both Europe and the Middle East. The change is especially stark after the U.S. joined Israeli strikes on Iran<\/a> in June and has engaged in some of the most intense combat operations<\/a> since World War II against Yemen\u2019s Houthi rebels in the Red Sea.<\/p>\n

Aircraft carriers, with their thousands of sailors and dozens of warplanes, have long been recognized as one of the ultimate signifiers of U.S. military might and the nation\u2019s foreign policy priorities. There have been five carrier deployments to the Middle East<\/a> since the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, including two carriers in the region at multiple points<\/a> this year and last.<\/p>\n

The new orders for the USS Gerald R. Ford illustrate the Trump administration\u2019s increasing focus on the Western Hemisphere and mark a major escalation of firepower as the U.S. military ramps up fatal strikes on alleged drug boats<\/a>. With a buildup of warships, aircraft and troops already in the region, Trump himself has signaled what could be next.<\/p>\n

Speaking from another aircraft carrier, the USS George Washington, in its home port of Japan, Trump noted<\/a> the U.S. attacks at sea and reiterated that \u201cnow we\u2019ll stop the drugs coming in by land.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mark Cancian, a senior adviser with the Center for Strategic and International Studies and a retired Marine colonel, questioned how long the Ford would be able to remain in South America, when only three of the 11 U.S. aircraft carriers are typically out to sea. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s such a powerful and scarce resource, there will be a lot of pressure to do something or send it elsewhere,\u201d Cancian said. \u201cYou can imagine the peace negotiations breaking down in the eastern Mediterranean or something happening with Iran.\u201d <\/p>\n

The USS Nimitz also is deployed but is heading home from the South China Sea to the West Coast before being decommissioned. It recently lost two aircraft<\/a> \u2014 a fighter jet and a helicopter \u2014 in separate crashes that are under investigation. A third carrier, the USS Theodore Roosevelt, is not deployed but is conducting exercises off the coast of San Diego. <\/p>\n

The shift is happening just as violence has flared up again in Gaza despite a ceasefire that Trump helped broker after two years of war. The Israeli army launched a barrage of attacks<\/a> Tuesday as tensions with Hamas grew two weeks into the fragile ceasefire.<\/p>\n

Carrier\u2019s move adds pressure on Venezuela<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the U.S. military\u2019s growing presence near Venezuela and its 13 fatal strikes on alleged drug boats have stoked fears that Trump could try to topple<\/a> authoritarian President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro<\/a>, who faces charges of narcoterrorism in the U.S.<\/a><\/p>\n

In response to questions about the speculation, Secretary of State Marco Rubio insisted Saturday<\/a> that the U.S. is taking part in a counterdrug operation. And he again accused Maduro\u2019s government of participating in the shipment of narcotics.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a very serious problem for the hemisphere, and a very destabilizing one,\u201d Rubio said. \u201cAnd that has to be addressed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maduro said in a recent national broadcast<\/a> that the Trump administration is manufacturing a war against him. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey are fabricating an extravagant narrative, a vulgar, criminal and totally fake one,\u201d Maduro added. \u201cVenezuela is a country that does not produce cocaine leaves.\u201d<\/p>\n

Experts say the U.S. forces in the region aren\u2019t large enough for an invasion. But they could help push out Maduro \u2014 and possibly plunge the nation into chaos. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a really high potential for violence and instability,\u201d according to Geoff Ramsey, an expert on U.S. policy toward Venezuela who is a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council. If Maduro loses power, he said Venezuela could \u201cdevolve into a Libya-style meltdown that could last years.\u201d <\/p>\n

Land strikes are \u2018a real possibility\u2019<\/p>\n

The Ford strike group, which includes five destroyers, will add to an unusually large U.S. military buildup in the waters off Venezuela. The Navy already has eight warships in the region \u2014 three destroyers<\/a>, three amphibious assault ships, a cruiser and a smaller littoral combat ship that\u2019s designed for coastal waters. It was not clear if all five of the destroyers in the Ford strike group would make the journey.<\/p>\n

A U.S. Navy submarine also is operating in the broader area of South America and is capable of launching cruise missiles. The U.S. military also sent a squadron of F-35B Lightning II fighter jets to an airstrip in Puerto Rico<\/a> and recently flew a pair of supersonic, heavy bombers up to the coast of Venezuela.<\/p>\n

The administration says the military has killed at least 57 people in the strikes against vessels accused of transporting drugs. Trump has declared drug cartels to be unlawful combatants<\/a> because of narcotics flowing into the country and said the U.S. is in an \u201carmed conflict\u201d with them, relying on the same legal authority used by the Bush administration after 9\/11.<\/p>\n

Lawmakers from both political parties have expressed concerns about Trump\u2019s lack of congressional approval and unwillingness to provide details about the attacks. Others, such as Trump ally Sen. Lindsey Graham, believe the president has all the authority he needs. <\/p>\n

The South Carolina Republican said Sunday on CBS\u2019 \u201cFace the Nation\u201d that land strikes in Venezuela are \u201ca real possibility.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not going to sit on the sidelines and watch boats full of drugs come to our country,\u201d Graham said. \u201cWe\u2019re going to blow them up and kill the people that want to poison America, and we\u2019re now going to expand operations, I think, to the land.\u201d <\/p>\n