The current deployment of the US Navy Sixth Fleet in the eastern Mediterranean is by no means an unprecedented move adopted by the US administration. Thus, for example, as far back as April 1957, the fleet was stationed there as part of a move designed to showcase US power projection and the determined commitment of the Eisenhower administration to protect the Hashemite kingdom of Jordan when faced with threats from both Egypt and Syria.
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Four months later, the situation in the Middle East developed and changed, when the administration transformed the Sixth Fleet into a powerful lever to curb and restrain the radical Syrian regime, and thus counter the challenge it posed under the auspices of its patron from the Kremlin to Damascus' neighbors and regional stability as a whole.
In both of these international crises, as has been the case too throughout an entire series of additional highly stressful incidents occurring in the decades that followed, US saber rattling has often achieved its objective, enabling Washington to prevent any breach of the exceedingly fragile status quo by any militant forces and those seeking to challenge it.
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So, although US President Joe Biden's decision to dispatch a naval force to the area is by no means unprecedented, the tremendously extensive scope of such an operation (including the immediate transfer of the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier to the Eastern Mediterranean, escorted by three destroyers), along with the fact that this move also comes with a substantial military aid package to Israel in the form of munitions for aircraft and the Iron Dome system, the White House has made a firm decision to send a blunt, clear and strong message of deterrence not only to Hamas itself but also to its patrons in Tehran and in the broader global framework (including Moscow).
The core of this message is deeply embodied in the ostensible proof that the US superpower has no intention of denying its profound commitment to its regional allies, or of completely severing its ties with the region. On the contrary, the deployment of the formidable USS Gerald Ford in the eastern Mediterranean (with 75 aircraft on deck), together with the immediate supply of weapons to Israel, with additional aid packages already in the pipeline, was intended to indicate to all the relevant players in the international community that the rumors of the collapse of the status of the US superpower in this sub-campaign are, as in the words of Mark Twain, "much exaggerated". In practice, and in view of the challenge we face from the south, the message emanating from the US strategy is unequivocal: any offensive action from the north – Hezbollah's home patch – will be met with a US iron fist, which, as was the case in the Korean War, is ready to teach the agitators from the north a lesson that they will not forget.
Projecting credibility
Yet, beyond the desire to make a show of solidarity and to provide immediate support and aid to its close ally Israel, which was brutally attacked by a radical and murderous terrorist organization, the objectives of the administration in this bold and decisive strategic initiative go way beyond Israel's immediate surroundings. As this genuinely involves a dramatic decision, whose ripple effect is expected to be strongly felt in Riyadh too. As Uncle Sam is supposed to play a key role in the evolving process of normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia, this current show of force is intended to encourage and galvanize the Saudi leader, Mohammed bin Salman, to continue to walk tall and unhesitatingly along the path towards a diplomatic accord under the auspices and with the backing of the Americans. In other words: the Biden Administration, which appears to be determined in its efforts to deter and counter any additional aggression against Israel (and at the same time is working to bolster and reinforce Israel's capabilities in light of this mass cross-border infiltration of terrorists from the Gaza Strip), may be expected to act with a similar degree of resolve when faced in the future by potential attempts by Iran to undermine the regional peace process, which is rapidly taking shape.
The intention of "All Biden's Men" by their current conduct is to reflect their basic "operational code" in projecting unconditional credibility and determination pertaining to the realization of both their moral and formal commitments. The US naval presence is also intended to illustrate to Saudi Arabia that its specific and contractual promises to compensate Riyadh for its preparedness to move ahead at a more rapid pace towards realization of the desired vision of normalization, are iron clad and that it is also just as determined to grant Riyadh a security net and a robust defensive umbrella in face of all the challenges with which the kingdom might have to contend as a result of signing the accords.
It thus follows that the act of sending the largest aircraft carrier in the US Navy to the region might be attributed additional significance. Specifically, assuming that the Israeli response to the atrocities and acts of mass murder carried out by Hamas will be both massive in scale and relentless in terms of intensity, by adopting such action, Washington is essentially indicating to Riyadh that it should not be deterred or deviate from its policy, even if stern condemnation is voiced against Israel by its regional neighbors. As, given the clear and present danger inherent in the activity of the Axis of Evil, Murder, and Terrorism, which has just been exposed in such a traumatic and horrifying manner, the American eagle remains the only global protector and guardian that is resolutely determined to fight an all-out war against the Axis. The message has never been clearer: Saudi Arabia should grant its unconditional support to the US, which is currently taking action to stand firmly against the powers of darkness that only recently threatened the stability and indeed the very existence of the Saudi kingdom.
Another key question that is worthy of a separate discussion is whether this current show of American regional force will completely pull the plug on Washington's specific policy towards Iran. For Tehran is a permanent breeding ground and stronghold of support and major assistance to the Hamas terrorist effort. We should remember that this policy has been based to date, in the Biden era, on waving the 'carrot' of compensation as a means of softening the Ayatollah regime in Tehran more than using the 'stick' of deterrence, enforcement, and punishment against the Islamic regime. Can we now expect the administration to come to its senses and abandon its belief that it really is possible to ride on the back of a hungry tiger without getting bitten and to direct it towards a path of greater moderacy? Is it at all possible to resolve the contradiction between the president's desire to establish an Israeli-Saudi peace accord under his auspices and his staunch backing, in parallel to his efforts to improve the US administration's relations with the Iranian terrorist regime? We shall wait and see.
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