USS Carl Vinson Sailed South Despite Indications It Was Headed To Korean Peninsula
- 7 years ago
Controversy has erupted over conflicting accounts of the USS Carl Vinson’s recent whereabouts.
Controversy has erupted over conflicting accounts of the USS Carl Vinson’s recent whereabouts.
According to NPR, on April 8, the U.S. Pacific Command announced that the aircraft carrier would begin “to sail north and report on station in the Western Pacific Ocean after departing Singapore.”
It was believed to be headed for the Sea of Japan which the New York Times says the White House indicated was a show of U.S. force amid rising tensions with North Korea.
In fact, President Trump told Fox Business last week, “We are sending an armada, very powerful.”
And Defense Secretary James Mattis had said that the USS Vinson was “on her way up there because that's where we thought it was most prudent to have her at this time," reports CNBC.
However, a week later, the carrier was spotted south of where it had been, with the U.S. Navy posting a photo showing it traversing the Sunda Strait around Indonesia on April 15, thousands of miles away from North Korea.
According to the Times, Defense department officials have since “described a glitch-ridden sequence of events, from a premature announcement of the deployment by the military’s Pacific Command to an erroneous explanation by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis — all of which perpetuated the false narrative that an American armada was racing toward the waters off North Korea.”
Nevertheless, the carrier is currently headed north, with the Korea Herald reporting that it will likely arrive at the Korean Peninsula on April 25 after which it will conduct drills with the South Korean Navy.
Controversy has erupted over conflicting accounts of the USS Carl Vinson’s recent whereabouts.
According to NPR, on April 8, the U.S. Pacific Command announced that the aircraft carrier would begin “to sail north and report on station in the Western Pacific Ocean after departing Singapore.”
It was believed to be headed for the Sea of Japan which the New York Times says the White House indicated was a show of U.S. force amid rising tensions with North Korea.
In fact, President Trump told Fox Business last week, “We are sending an armada, very powerful.”
And Defense Secretary James Mattis had said that the USS Vinson was “on her way up there because that's where we thought it was most prudent to have her at this time," reports CNBC.
However, a week later, the carrier was spotted south of where it had been, with the U.S. Navy posting a photo showing it traversing the Sunda Strait around Indonesia on April 15, thousands of miles away from North Korea.
According to the Times, Defense department officials have since “described a glitch-ridden sequence of events, from a premature announcement of the deployment by the military’s Pacific Command to an erroneous explanation by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis — all of which perpetuated the false narrative that an American armada was racing toward the waters off North Korea.”
Nevertheless, the carrier is currently headed north, with the Korea Herald reporting that it will likely arrive at the Korean Peninsula on April 25 after which it will conduct drills with the South Korean Navy.