The Pentagon ordered two B-52 bombers to conduct a 36-hour ‘show-of-force’ mission in the Persian Gulf on Thursday, which military officials told the New York Times was intended to “deter Iran and its proxies from carrying out attacks against United States troops in the Middle East” amid rising tensions.
The massive warplanes embarked on the 36-hour trip from Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana – and is unusual in that it’s the the second such long-range flight by Air Force bombers near Iranian air space within a month. The US periodically conducts ‘show-of-force’ flights to the Middle East and Asia.
The multinational mission, which included aircraft from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain, was routed well outside Iranian air space. The American warplanes were in the broader gulf region for about two hours before returning home, officials said. Two other B-52s from Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota conducted the same type of long-range mission in the area on Nov. 21.
The flight on Thursday comes on the heels of the assassination last month of Iran’s top nuclear scientist, an attack Iran has blamed on Israel with possible American complicity. The bomber missions also come just weeks before the anniversary of the American drone strike in January that killed a senior Iranian commander, Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani, in Iraq.
Iran has vowed to avenge both deaths. –New York Times
“Potential adversaries should understand that no nation on earth is more ready and capable of rapidly deploying additional combat power in the face of any aggression,” said Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., head of the US military’s Central Command, in a Thursday statement, adding “The ability to fly strategic bombers halfway across the world in a nonstop mission, and to rapidly integrate them with multiple regional partners, demonstrates our close working relationships and our shared commitment to regional security and stability.” – READ MORE
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