We Blinked–Not Them
The U.S. Embassy in Georgia had earlier said the Dallas was headed to the port city of Poti but then retracted the statement. A Georgian official said the port in Poti could have been mined by Russian forces.
Poti’s port reportedly suffered heavy damage from the Russian military. In addition, Russian troops have established checkpoints on the northern approach to the city, and a U.S. ship docking there could have been seen as a direct challenge.
Would be very interested in knowing what’s really going on here. Was the US Embassy talking through its . . . hat? Was it right that the Poti mission was planned, but something caused it to be scrubbed? If so, what? It would have been better not to have said anything than to declare that USCGC Dallas was headed for Poti and then do a Roseanne Rosannadanna-esque “Never mind.” That’s bush league–the question is whether it was Bush league.
In other navy-related FUBARS, apparently the Fernandez story based on a Wired story based on the McClatchey news service stating that the USS Dallas (SSN700-a Los Angeles class fast attack sub) is wrong. That boat is NOT in the Black Sea, having returned to its base in Groton, CT (where I spent this week 30 years ago–eek!) on 21 August. The Dallas had been in the Black Sea on maneuvers and port calls, but began its return to its home port prior to the outbreak of the war.
Nonetheless, it appears that the naval situation in the Black Sea is very tense. The Russians seem nervous as cats over the NATO naval presence there.
Oh, and BTW, re Russian assertions that “battleships” never deliver humanitarian aid–tell that to tsunami victims, and others the US Navy has saved over the years.
