US nuclear submarine heading towards Korean peninsula

“As a matter of routine, we do not discuss future operations or the details regarding the operations of our submarines. USS Michigan is currently on a routine deployment to the Indo-Asia-Pacific,” he added.

USS Michigan (SSGN-727)

As of June 2007, Michigan has been converted to an SSGN at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. Her hull classification symbol then changed from SSBN-727 to SSGN-727. See the section on SSGN conversions of the Ohio-class article for more information.
On 28 June 2010, Michigan was one of three Ohio-class submarines involved in a US response to Chinese missile testing in the contested East China Sea. Michigan, Ohio, and Florida all surfaced simultaneously in the waters of South Korea, the Philippines, and the British Indian Ocean Territory respectively.

Cruise missile submarine

From 2002 to 2008, the U.S. Navy modified the four oldest Ohio-class submarines: USS Ohio, Michigan, Florida, and Georgia into SSGNs. The conversion was achieved by installing vertical launching systems (VLS) in a multiple all-up-round canister (MAC) configuration in 22 of the 24 missile tubes, replacing one Trident missile with 7 smaller Tomahawk cruise missiles. The 2 remaining tubes were converted to lockout chambers for use by special forces personnel. This gave each converted submarine the capability to carry up to 154 Tomahawks. The large diameter tubes can also be modified to carry and launch other payloads, such as UAVs or UUVs although these capabilities have not yet been fully implemented. … USS Florida launched cruise missiles against Libyan targets as part of Operation Odyssey Dawn in March 2011.

so is the michigan sailing to north korea, or in the opposite direction? i imagine there will be chinese and north korean submarines sitting on the ocean floor ready to sink any/all of the us’ SSGNs should tee-rump use them to attack north korea.
tee-rump is a bullshit artist, but it’s certainly well within his limited ability to start wwiii. depends upon who’s the last guy who’s spoken to him, he has no mind of his own. the evil clown is not at all unlike the wicked witch of the west in that respect. in all respects, they only really differ in their on-stage shuffle and delivery.

Posted by: jfl | Apr 25 2017 6:38 utc | 104

Trump is about to attack North Korea, man is a complete idiot.
Breaking News: Entire US Senate to descend on White House for N. Korea briefing

Posted by: Anon1 | Apr 25 2017 12:57 utc | 106

> jfl. The F National Front exists to drain away the ‘discontented’ voters. Hollande sneeringly calls them the sans-dents (without teeth, charming for a socialist!) — to prevent them from ever organising, be it to the left, or as having an input, a clout > any other parties, figures, etc.
Thus reducing the field, scotching nasty surprises, in a power sharing two-party scheme, addressed to the better classes: rentiers, big biz, Gvmt. employees, bourgeois landholders, the edjicated, agri, local potentates, media, the creative, the globalists, etc. etc. (Arms industry is taboo and never mentioned at all.)
The FN is *nudge wink wink* demonised as ‘far right’ – though it now has zero resemblance to the original post-WW2 version, which was formed to defend the losers of WW2 and F colonialism.
Marine LP is happy with her score, she knows she can never win the Presidency. She fulfills her role, top CEO, public figure, of a lucrative and exciting family biz. As I predicted, Macron was no 1. (All one needs to do is look at magazine covers!.. not rocket science..) Mélenchon is seductive, but could not hike higher, as:
a) Socialists did not withdraw Hamon and allowed the ‘left’ vote split (to > Mélenchon // Hamon) .. Thereby showing their fawning submissive bent ***s to the PTB.
b) Méluche is a suspicious, duplicitous character, see for ex. the strong critique –not unjustified!- by O’Colmain, eng. Many call him the F Tsipras. Not one of the 7 ‘way left’ (communist) ppl I know in F voted for him.
Almost all top figures – e.g. Fillon, Hamon – who won the primaries of the 2 main parties – have called on their supporters to vote Macron. The pro-M. lists includes everyooone: ex-leader of the communists, R. Hue, the popular centrist Bayrou (Modem party, who did not stand, to not get in the way), Rudy the Red of 68 fame, ++ or all Socialist figures, Green Party figures, the gay ex-mayor of Paris, Delanoe, the famous and rich Pierre Bergé (lover of Yves St. Laurent) and on and on, economists, academics, media = 100% of course, banksters = 100%, etc. (link 2 in F, Le Monde, a frank! round up.)
http://www.gearoidocolmain.org/french-election-candidate-leftists-vote/
http://www.lemonde.fr/election-presidentielle-2017/article/2017/02/28/les-soutiens-d-emmanuel-macron_5087064_4854003.html

Posted by: Noirette | Apr 25 2017 15:52 utc | 108

@ noirette
Did you see b post previously advising your posts were being trapped in queue for no reason and we’re being manually released ? Raised with Typepad, IIRC

Posted by: Outraged | Apr 25 2017 18:22 utc | 110

Reese Ehrlich:
– Russia’s story about the “gas attack” in Khan Sheikhoun also has a lot of holes.
– The gas attack of 2013 couldn’t have been executed by ISIS. Because it requires sophisticated installations and that is something ISIS doesn’t have.
Source:
https://scotthorton.org/interviews/41017-reese-erlich-on-the-syrian-gas-attack-and-trumps-missile-launch-response/

Posted by: Willy2 | Apr 25 2017 21:36 utc | 112

@108 noirette
sorry you’ve lost your handle. you’re still noirette, though, no matter the malfeasance of the boors, of the ‘deep state’ at moa. b is to moa as the titular heads of our nation states are to our ‘domains’ … commander in name only.
the goons at typepad run the blog, censure the posts that they don’t like … send b the bill.

Posted by: jfl | Apr 26 2017 16:17 utc | 114

Reese Erlich:
– The Obama administration has made it clear to Israel that they wouldn’t allow an israeli attack on Lebanon. But the Trump adminsitration is much more friendly for Israel (even deep in Israel’s pocket) and then it much more likely that Israel would be allowed to attack Lebanon.
It came from the same source as in post #111 in this thread.

Posted by: Willy2 | Apr 26 2017 16:34 utc | 116

The French election fiasco is becoming less opaque.
The French Swamp are openly soiling their underwear at the prospect of a Le Pen win in the May 7 run-off. Sarkozy has added insult to Hollande’s injury by recommending a vote for Macron to which proudly French Frenchmen have responded: “We’re not children and don’t appreciate being told how to vote by political has-beens.”
The EU Parliament has moved to defend the French Swamp’s right-to-exist by announcing its intention to revoke Le Pen’s immunity from prosecution – for fraud. Apparently, Marine put her Chief of Staff & her personal bodyguard on the EU payroll despite never having attended the EU Parliament in an official capacity (even I, HW, could get her off that crock on the grounds of ‘administrative expedience’). The EU committee carrying out the investigation has admitted that it can’t revoke her immunity before May 7 – which makes its anti-Le Pen contribution as pointless and counter-productive as the (unsolicited and) idiotic advice of Hollande and Sarkozy.

Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Apr 26 2017 17:26 utc | 118

@117 Not a good start for Macron. He got heckled by what the BBC helpfully calls ‘pro Le Pen workers’ i.e xenophobic bigots.
“Ms Le Pen upstaged her centrist rival earlier by turning up to speak to the workers as he met their union representatives a few miles away.
Mr Macron, who is far ahead in opinion polls, is in Amiens, his home town, amid accusations of complacency.
He got another boost when former President Nicolas Sarkozy endorsed him.”
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-39723285

Posted by: dh | Apr 26 2017 18:34 utc | 120

@118 noirette
so, any observations on the french election. still view macron – the not-le-pen-candidate – as the winner in may? glad you’re back. i’d thought it was us.

Posted by: jfl | Apr 26 2017 18:52 utc | 122

Posted by: dh | Apr 26, 2017 2:34:04 PM | 119
(Macron upstaged by Le Pen)
According to Zio Jazeera, Macron was meeting with company bosses and union reps (about 300 Fr jobs slated for off-shoring to (cheaper) Poland) while Le Pen was telling the workers that she’d keep their jobs in France. If Zio Jazeera’s version is correct then the optics of Macron’s priorities at the plant are devastating for Macron. Typical infantile Neolib dumbfuckery/eerie ineptitude, imo.

Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Apr 26 2017 19:18 utc | 124

@123
although this gives one pause …

Le Pen went from Jugelé’s commemoration to the studios of TF1 television, where she gave a long and bellicose interview on her campaign. She called for protectionism, the abandonment of the euro currency and the return of the French franc, and a doubling of French military spending. … She pledged to raise the defense budget to two percent of GDP by next year, and 3 percent by the end of her first term in 2022, if she were elected.

… meet trump’s demand, and raise it. as though macron won’t. i think the french moment of truth was with Mélenchon. but …

In a cynical effort to cover for an endorsement of Macron, Mélenchon announced on Tuesday that he was launching a “consultation” of supporters to determine whether his Unsubmissive France movement should formally back Macron against Le Pen.

… the people will make him do it?

Posted by: jfl | Apr 26 2017 19:50 utc | 126

Bilderburger favoured neolibs running for national office in this age are pretty much running from a pop-music-industry-boy-band-image formula. Macron has arrived… France if you wanna keep your factories, time to import some more cheap labour…its the economy stupid…!

Posted by: MadMax2 | Apr 26 2017 21:27 utc | 128

Senators Told North Korea Nuclear Threat Is Urgent
Rare White House session hears from Mattis, Tillerson, Coats, Dunford

The Senate took part in a rare White House briefing on Wednesday to hear what senior leaders described as “an urgent national security threat” posed by North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs.
The hour-long secret session for all senators was held at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, next to the White House, and included a brief appearance from President Trump who made short, introductory remarks.
Marine Corps Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also took part in the session. His presence is an indication that military options for dealing with North Korea likely were discussed.[.]
Sen. John Barrasso (R., Wyo.) told MSNBC the meeting was “very consequential” and included discussion of North Korea’s shift from liquid to solid fuel missiles, and improving nuclear weapons and missile capabilities.
Barrasso said he favors increasing sanctions, including sanctions on China.

(emphasis added)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Oh right, now sanctions on China !!? Yes sanctions your banker.
USA, USA, never learns sanctions are readily bypassed.
Should we now rush out and buy our every day essentials. Made in China.

Posted by: likklemore | Apr 26 2017 23:16 utc | 130

@129 likkle
the military seems firmly in charge of us foreign policy. using tee-rump as their mc. lecturing the senate on how it’s going to be. i say seems, because of course they are just another pointy-headed angle in the financier/fusilier/fossil-fueler triangle. they are where the rubber meets the road, though.
they do seem ready to begin, don’t they? talk of sanctions rather than attack is encouraging though. perhaps the financiers are still intent on bluffing their way through, ‘just’ bringing the military out to scare everyone. perhaps they will engineer their own destruction.
but will the military then follow orders from the formerly wealthy, lords of the universe, anyway? they might. might act out of denial and try to reinstate the bluff. i think that once a bluff’s been called it’s worth the same as yesterday’s newspaper. so wwiii will be a rearguard action, destroying everything in order to change nothing.
events do seem to have achieved an impetus of their own.

Posted by: jfl | Apr 27 2017 2:01 utc | 132

@ jfl 131
I recall W. Bush the “Decider” Now we have DJ Trump (tee-rump) the “Delegator”
It’s sad and disconcerting. We can only hope that the military are really too scared to go hot.

Posted by: likklemore | Apr 27 2017 2:42 utc | 134

Whats wrong with South korea, are they looking for war?
South Korea, US warn NK with coming measures
http://presstv.ir/Detail/2017/04/27/519619/South-Korea-US-punitive-measures-Pyongyang

Posted by: Anon | Apr 27 2017 9:43 utc | 136

One wonders how expendable the US Military personnel in South Korea and Japan are feeling whenever they hear their leaders blustering about provoking North Korea?
Or are they kept in the dark?
Or have they all got the wrong coloured skin/religion for AmeriKKKa’s White Christian Supremacists to consider their fate worth losing any sleep over?

Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Apr 27 2017 15:08 utc | 138

A new hologram? It’s trending! i bet on 60-40 or even less. What matters now are parliament election in one month.
I wonder why some candidates don’t pull the red card and complain at the CJEU about the 500,000 voting cards sent twice to the same voters at old and new addresses

Posted by: Mina | Apr 28 2017 17:26 utc | 140