Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said yesterday that the Navy has added a second aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf. Asked if the carrier move went hand in hand with rising Bush administration rhetoric against Iran, Gates said: “I don’t see it as an escalation. I think it could be seen, though, as a reminder.” Gates said during a trip to Mexico City that the deployment of the second carrier to the gulf “has been planned for a long time.” He declined to elaborate and provided no details about the deployment. Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell later said the second carrier is expected to replace one scheduled to leave the gulf in two days.
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