U.S. sends aircraft carrier to Persian Gulf as Obama weighs options in Iraq

U.S. sends aircraft carrier to Persian Gulf as Obama weighs options in Iraq
(Image credit: U.S. Navy / Getty Images)

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel on Saturday ordered an aircraft carrier into the Persian Gulf to bolster the United States' military presence in the region as Iraq drifted deeper into chaos. The carrier, the USS George H. W. Bush, was flanked on its trip by a guided-missile destroyer and a guided-missile cruiser.

The move, which gives the U.S. a launching pad for air strikes in Iraq, came one day after President Obama ruled out a ground campaign to combat the insurgent jihadist forces that seized parts of Iraq last week.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Jon Terbush

Jon Terbush is an associate editor at TheWeek.com covering politics, sports, and other things he finds interesting. He has previously written for Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, and Business Insider.