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Why the World's Largest Aircraft Carrier Just Docked in Israel

CBN

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JERUSALEM, Israel It's the largest warship anywhere in the world, the giant USS George H.W. Bush, a Nimitz-class super carrier. Named after America's 41st president, the aircraft carrier holds a central role in the war against ISIS. 

The carrier's 75 aircraft have the ability to strike the Islamic State deep inside Syrian or Iraqi territory.  It carried out its last operational mission just days ago on June 30. They can operate 20-25 sorties per day and have carried out 1,600 sorties.  

Now the floating behemoth made a port call to Haifa, marking the first time a U.S. aircraft carrier visited Israel in 17 years.     

While it dropped anchor off the port of Haifa, Israeli Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu became the first head of state to visit the carrier accompanied by the new U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman. On the eve of July Fourth, America's birthday, Netanyahu praised the common bond between the U.S. and Israel.

"Now we stand on the deck of a mighty aircraft carrier of the United States of America and a few miles here across the sea is another mighty aircraft carrier of our common civilization. It's called the state of Israel," Netanyahu said. "And we recognize a basic truth. Israel has no greater friend than the United States of America and the United States has no greater friend than Israel. This is our bond, this is our friendship. Happy Birthday, United States of America."

Israel's Minister of Intelligence and Transportation Israel Katz paid a visit one day earlier to the USS George H.W. Bush.  

He said the visit came right on time. "It is a timely show of American power projection and deterrence capability. American presence and influence in this stormy region is very important."

In a statement, Katz said Iran remains a huge strategic threat to the region. "Especially now when Iran is working to create facts on the ground in Syria, including a port on the Mediterranean, and Hezbollah continues to build its arsenal with more advanced and precise missiles."

Katz said U.S. help is key to the Middle East.  

"American backing is required not only in order to block and push back Iran and advance regional security, but also in order to realize the potential for regional economic cooperation, which can have a very positive effect on the day to day life of the people of the region and on the political climate," he said. "Super carriers like the George Bush, the largest warships in the world, deployed all over the globe, are a source of strength and confidence for all of us. They provide an umbrella under which threats can be addressed and opportunities exploited."

Commanding Officer Capt. Will Pennington told reporters the crew of the USS George H.W. Bush is constantly engaged in cooperation with Israel, including sharing intelligence. 

"There is a tremendous network of shared intelligence. As you are aware the airspace in the region is very, very, busy with lots of different actors so the need to deconflict that and make sure that everyone understands their missions is very important," he said.

 

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