incursions against the persians

This is a US Navy aircraft carrier group, of which we have ten. Even from high up and far away you easily spot the carrier, like a whale shark surrounded by so many pilot fish.

We currently have two carrier groups stationed in the Persian Gulf, in order to intimidate Iran but also to try to provoke them into open war. Until a couple of years ago, we just had one carrier group parked on their doorstep, but the tensions have become considerably greater since then.

Now comes the word we're cutting back to one carrier group stationed in the Gulf once more. The Associated Press coverage tells us this "represents one of the most significant effects of budget cuts on the U.S. military presence overseas. The decision comes as Washington struggles to find a way to avoid sharp automatic spending cuts set to strike the Pentagon and domestic programs next month."

I feel very much of two minds about this "sequestration" clusterschnazzle. On the one hand, I have to like anything that makes us less belligerent and saves some serious money in the process. Anyway, why did we need two carrier groups over there? Are we planning to kill them all twice?

On the other hand, the economic effects, especially the employment picture, will be devastated by these crude, unplanned-for cuts which are essentially surgery with a chainsaw. And that's what austerity does -- crashes economies.

Hang on, Slupe, Slupe hang on.