U.S. Military "Burns One Aircraft Carrier Per Week," Two Carriers Consecutively "Withdraw" from Combat Zone

After figuring out the clear accounts, maybe Trump should also realize that he hasn’t achieved anything in this fight…

Text | Haishangke

If what Iran says is true, and the U.S. military’s double aircraft carrier deployments in the Middle East are having problems, then the U.S. military’s fight against Iran will be hard to sustain—

Unless the U.S. military sends additional carrier strike groups to the front lines.

And according to Acting Deputy Secretary of Defense Jules Hest, I think the same—this fight is also unsustainable!

At Norfolk Naval Base in Virginia, a Marine Corps MV-22B Osprey helicopter lands on the USS Gerald R. Ford. Photo: Xinhua

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On March 12, local time, just as Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Mujetaba Khamenei, made his first statement since taking office, a fire broke out on the USS Gerald R. Ford.

According to a statement from U.S. Naval Central Command on social media, the fire in the laundry room of the Ford has been controlled. But I noticed that the statement also admitted that the fire caused injuries to “two soldiers.”

What kind of fire could injure U.S. soldiers? Short circuit? Someone smoking in the laundry room causing water to splash? Remember, there’s plenty of water in laundry rooms! If it wasn’t an explosion, how did U.S. soldiers get injured?

Of course, we must see that the USS Ford, which has come to the war zone, is itself overdue for deployment. Earlier this January, it was deployed in Venezuelan waters to assist Delta Force in capturing Venezuelan President Maduro. Afterwards, the Ford, which should have returned to its home port for rest, was redeployed across the Atlantic to Haifa, Israel, in the eastern Mediterranean. During this process, the ship faced issues like toilet flooding and had to briefly rest on Crete, Greece. Once the Ford arrived at its target location, it immediately engaged in military strikes against Iran.

U.S. military claims “Ford” carrier laundry fire

On March 2, aircraft involved in the “Epic Fury” operation landed on the Ford.

Public reports show that in early March, when Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps attacked Haifa port, they hit a U.S. “Supply-class” fast combat support ship patrolling near the port. Afterwards, the Ford crossed the Suez Canal into the Red Sea. Although the Ford claimed this was a tactical rotation and the U.S. military said it was force optimization, what I see is—

As a result, the Ford “moved into” waters where Iran’s effective strikes are unlikely.

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Compared to whether the Ford was hit or not, Iran explicitly claimed that on March 5, they launched a drone attack that hit the U.S. aircraft carrier Lincoln in the Arabian Sea, causing the carrier to retreat 1,000 kilometers.

The U.S. of course said the Lincoln was safe and sound, claiming Iran was engaging in psychological and cognitive warfare.

However, just as Mujetaba Khamenei made his first statement, the Iranian Armed Forces Command announced that the IRGC Navy attacked the U.S. Lincoln, causing it to lose combat capability and had to return to the U.S.

Looking at the seven parts in Khamenei’s statement:

Martyr revolutionary leaders,

People’s roles and responsibilities,

Armed forces,

Administrative agencies,

Resistance front,

Regional countries,

How to respond to enemies,

It’s clear he won’t compromise with the U.S., and is not interested in negotiations.

On March 12, Khamenei posted four personal photos on social media, one of which is here.

After all, it’s said that during Khamenei’s death, Mujetaba was right beside him. Mujetaba watched his father, Khamenei, and his mother, and others, be attacked and killed. This is no longer just revenge for his father’s death, but a vendetta to wipe out the entire family. Moreover, Mujetaba himself was shot in the leg during the attack by U.S. forces.

Some may question: as I write this, since becoming Iran’s Supreme Leader, Mujetaba has not yet appeared publicly. When issuing statements in his name, Iran only released a few standard photos of Mujetaba. But U.S. President Trump also said, “I believe Mujetaba is just injured and still alive.”

It seems Trump should believe that the death of Khamenei, caused by a covert attack to force negotiations, is unlikely to happen soon, and it’s unlikely that the U.S. will get Mujetaba to agree to negotiations in the short term.

Before the U.S. attacked Iran, there may have been factions within Iran, even pro-American voices. But now, U.S. strikes have actually united Iran more than ever in the past decade.

Of course, even if satellite images show that Lincoln indeed moved into the Indian Ocean far from Iran on March 6, the U.S. still claims that this area can be used to continue deploying aircraft carriers to strike Iran safely.

I have to say, if the deep Indian Ocean is more suitable for striking Iran, then why did Lincoln go near the Arabian Peninsula at the start of the conflict?

Where is actually more suitable for striking Iran? Does the U.S. have a clear answer?

Carrier USS Lincoln. Photo: Data

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As the U.S. Navy’s most advanced and largest aircraft carrier, the Ford, catches fire, the statement by Acting Secretary of Defense Jules Hest should actually give Trump more to think about.

On March 12, Hest said that last week, the U.S. spent about $11 billion on military operations against Iran. This is the first public estimate of the war’s cost—

Almost the price of a Ford-class aircraft carrier.

“A shot fired, gold flows,” as the saying goes.

Furthermore, the U.S. has moved the THAAD missile systems stationed in South Korea to the war zone, indicating how costly the Iran conflict is. And note that Iran’s “little motorcycle” drones cost less than $20,000 each, while the U.S. mobilizes interceptors costing hundreds of thousands of dollars.

“Using a cannon to kill a mosquito” isn’t about whether you can hit or not, but about the cost—this is a huge loss!

Trump has always touted himself as a successful businessman who understands “the art of the deal”—

And he has such “works” to show.

On January 31, Trump spoke to the media aboard Air Force One. Photo: Xinhua/French Press

But also, take a look at his bankruptcy record:

1991 Trump Taj Mahal Casino bankruptcy,

1992 Trump Plaza Hotel and Trump Castle Hotel bankruptcy,

2004 Trump Hotel and Casino Resort bankruptcy,

2009 Trump Entertainment Resorts bankruptcy.

All these, at least six times. Why call him a truly shrewd businessman? When dealing with Iran, Iran claims to have a civilization of 6,000 years, enough to counter America’s roughly 250-year civilization.

No matter what Iran says, the cost of destroying one of its aircraft carriers in a week, and if it turns into a protracted tug-of-war, will the U.S. be dragged down?

After all, the conflict between the U.S., Israel, and Iran is more costly than the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The U.S. is far from home, and the expenses are much higher than fighting Ukraine’s Russia on its doorstep.

After doing the math, maybe Trump should realize that he’s achieved nothing in this fight…

What a mess!