Obama, Ashton Carter, And The Joint Chiefs Send The USS Laboon Into The Abyss!
With his cadre of hand-picked Admirals and Generals, salvaged from a drowning pool of upper echelon Military who might be otherwise capable of staging a coup d’etat, Barack Obama has sent a lone warship deep into the belly of the beast to taunt Russian President Vladimir Putin. The USS Laboon (DDG-58), an Arleigh Burke Class Destroyer of the Sixth Fleet, has traversed the Turkish Strait from the Aegean Sea into the Black Sea, porting in Batumi. The Port of Batumi, in Georgia, Ukraine, is a tiny harbor on the eastern side of the Black Sea. To sail there, the Laboon not only had to obtain permission for the transit from the Turkish Government http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/english/home/9774236.asp, but had to make a lengthy transit through the dangerous Turkish Strait, and across the Black Sea. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Sea.
“While the Black Sea has perhaps the most pleasant climate and conditions in all of Russia, it has possibly the worst strategic location of all the four fleets. The only exit from the Black Sea is through the 180 mile long Turkish-controlled Turkish Straits. The straits are composed, from NE to SW, of the Bosporus, the Sea of Marmara and the Dardanelles. In the Bosporus, at the northern end of the straits, ships must navigate a passage that narrows to as little as 800 yards before the Sea of Marmara is reached. After the Sea of Marmara, ships transit the final 40 miles of the straits, the Dardanelles, which are from one to four miles wide.”
“Once through the straits, ships must pass through the Aegean Sea. It is dotted with approximately 2500 small islands and is controlled/patrolled by the Greek and Turkish Navies, which are equipped with specially designed ships and boats to operate in such areas at great speeds. Sovereignty over the islands is one of the causes of on-going tensions between the Greeks and Turks. Further, one should note that both states are members of NATO.” http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/russia/mf-black.htm
The Black Sea is home to Russia’s Black Sea Fleet (Черноморский Флот, Chernomorsky Flot) which is, according to Wikipedia: “. . . a large operational-strategic command of the Russian (and formerly Soviet) Navy, operating in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea since the late 18th century. Its ships are based in various harbors of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. . .”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Sea_Fleet#List_of_Black_Sea_Fleet_warships
The Laboon is ported at the Port of Batumi, a non-strategic port adjacent to a small, albeit relatively modern city, with a population of 154,100. http://ports.com/georgia/port-of-batumi/. She may as well be in another galaxy! The Turkish newspaper Hurriyet’s internet version reported: “By choosing Batumi, the U.S. opted for a less confrontational move than docking at Poti, another Georgian port where Russian troops are dug in. The U.S. may have also suspected that the Russians had mined the harbor at Poti.”
Shades of the USS Stark and the USS Cole! The USS Laboon, is but yet another sacrificial lamb ordered by a Commander-in-Chief, accused by many high-ranking Admirals and Generals of Treason, into a land-locked abyss from which there is no escape — or rescue. With the apparent blessing of his lackey, Joint Chief Chairman General Martin Dempsey, and Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, Barack has sent the Laboon unescorted into the Black Sea merely to make a political statement. What is really surprising is that the CNO (Chief of Naval Operations) signed off on sending this lone warship into hostile seas. Vladimir could easily seize the Laboon, or block her egress from the Black Sea with impunity, and without repercussion. It is evident to me that the tenticles of Barack’s manipulation of Admirals and Generals has invaded the inner sanctum at Suitland, and the Pentagon. This warship should be ordered to return to its battlegroup immediately!