The amphibious assault ship Uss Wasp has crossed the Strait of Gibraltar and is headed to Eastern Mediterranean with its cargo of Marines, attack helicopters and fighter planes. While the tension between Israel they Hezbollah threatens to unleash a war on the border with Lebanon, Washington is banking on deterrence. Securing a military option in case it has to proceed with the evacuation of diplomatic personnel and American citizens who have been put on alert in the Land of Cedars.
The Uss Wasp in Route
While the White House calls on Americans to leave Beirut, and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant repeats “We don’t want war, but we are preparing for any scenario“, the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp carrying the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit is ready to cruise the Mediterranean as asset of deterrence.
Assault units like the Wasp are capable of conducting autonomously amphibious operations “in response to crises and limited emergency operations.” According to US officials, who confirmed the mobilization of diplomatic personnel and all Americans residing in Lebanon, the USS Wasp “will serve to discourage the war between Hamas and Israel from becoming a larger regional conflict“. Fear is as always a Iran’s involvement, that siding with Hezbollah would raise the level of the conflict and lead Israel to request US intervention on its side.
A deterrent move
The dispatch of Wasp, joined by the landing ships USS Oak Hill and USS New York as members of its Amphibious Ready Group, “it is carried out for deterrent purposes and to promote regional stability“, officials repeatedly state Pentagon.
The Amphibious Ready Groups With their 2,200 Marines on board they are trained for a wide variety of missions, including “the evacuation of large numbers of American citizens from conflict zones“. The USS Wasp can launch Ah-1w Viper attack helicopters and Av-8 Harrier ground attack aircraft, accommodate new multirole fighters F-35 in the Stovl configuration, and a wide range of transport helicopters to conduct all types of operation required.
The U.S. State Department estimated that in 2022 there were 86,000 Americans living in Lebanon. In 2006the United States had 15 thousand evacuated people in the conflict that broke out between Israel and Hezbollah for 34 days.
According to what was reported by the CBC also the Canadalike the United States, is preparing “Contingency plans to evacuate about 20,000 Canadians from Lebanon“. Military and political leaders were expected to meet in Ottawa on Tuesday to discuss options if an evacuation were to occur. US national security spokesman John Kirby explained that the White House and the American security apparatus continue to monitor the situationmodifying “force protection procedures and protocols as the threat changes”.
Growing fears of escalation
US officials have underlined several times in the last two weeks the growing concerns about a conflict between Israel and Hezbollah which would effectively affect the whole of Lebanon, a political constellation with an extremely delicate balance. Currently “No decision has been made for the ship and its Marines to assist American citizens in leaving the country.”
However, the growing tensions we are witnessing and the possibility that the Israeli Defense Forces open a “second front” to put an end to the aggressions by Hezbollah, with catastrophic consequences for the civilian population, seem to have suggested to the United States the advancement of a military option as a guarantee in the event that the diplomatic solution tensions do not achieve the desired success.
“We will not accept Hezbollah troops and military formations on the border with Israel” e “We will not accept threats to our northern communities”, said Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who recalled that Israel is willing “to do everything in our power” to protect the Jewish population subjected to rocket fire from Hezbollah, which has threatened to attack the city of Haifa and the Dimona nuclear site.We don’t want to get into a war because it’s not good for Israel” asserts the Israeli Defense summit. But escalation seems to be around the corner.
As reported by Nbc News, “Israel hopes to create one buffer zone 10 miles above the Lebanese border“.
A move that would hardly stick without consequences and responses from the Lebanese Shiite paramilitary and anti-Zionist organization Hezbollah, and from their main supporter: the Islamic Republic of Iran.
