high spirits
Bit of a false argument there. The level of escorting a carrier or other high value unit needs is dictated by the threat level. The threat off the coast of Libya is not that high - apart from the no zone the presence of so many NATO warships and ISTAR aircraft means that the chance of a surprise attack is low. Naval units tend to get send to crisis zones anyway - and we have ships busy in the Mediterranean. See this about HMS
Liverpool:
Liverpool intercepts suspect ship bound for Libya
TRUCKS for Colonel Gaddafi’s war machine were intercepted by HMS Liverpool as the ship helped draw a dragnet along the Libyan coast.
The Portsmouth-based destroyer intercepted the MV Setubal Express, bound for Tripoli from Malta, and sent her boarding team of Royal Marines and sailors aboard.
There, after a thorough search of the 13,000-ton ferry, they found trucks which could have been used by the Gaddafi regime. They also found the Setubal Express’ manifest did not tally.
Liverpool is operating under the banner of NATO’s Operation Unified Protector. As a result of the destroyer’s inspection, NATO chiefs ordered the ferry not to proceed to Libya, but put into Salerno in Italy.
In addition to enforcing the arms embargo, Liverpool's mission includes directing the Allied aerial mission over Libya enforcing the no-fly zone – including working with Coalition F18 jets, refuelling tankers and maritime patrol aircraft on surveillance missions.
Clearly a carrier would be better equipped for the air direction role.
FB
The carriers would come into their own if we were going to bomb the Marianas!
Did you go to the Gerald Ratner School Of Public Relations? From yesterday's
Telegraph:
To overcome a shortage of Nato combat planes France has provided extra fighters and was moving its Charles De Gaulle aircraft near to Misurata to provide “faster rotations and targeting”, said a source.
From
here.