00:00So a third U.S. aircraft carrier now sailing towards the Middle East, the USS George H.W. Bush
00:06taking the longer route, more cautious route, sailing along the coast of Africa,
00:11intentionally avoiding the Red Sea, where Iranian-backed terror groups could pose a threat
00:17to ships going through that area. Retired four-star General Jack Keane is here with us,
00:22first to national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin. Hi, Jennifer.
00:26Hi, Martha. Iran's interior minister ordered the governors of border provinces to neutralize
00:32the threat of a naval blockade. President Trump warned Iran's fast attack ships they would be
00:38blown up if they approach any U.S. ships involved in the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
00:43So there appears to be a standoff. The U.S. Navy has 18 warships right now in the Middle East,
00:49including the USS Tripoli, which has Marines on board who can carry out search and seizure
00:55operations at sea of ships that left Iranian ports and try to leave the Strait.
01:00The USS Michael Murphy and USS Frank E. Peterson, two guided missile destroyers,
01:06entered the Strait this weekend to begin setting conditions for clearing mines.
01:10We learned yesterday that the USS George H.W. Bush aircraft carrier strike group,
01:16which left Norfolk, Virginia on March 31st, had to go around the southern tip of Africa,
01:22following threats from the Houthis to strike ships in the Red Sea and close the Bab al-Mendab Strait
01:28in solidarity with Iran. Remember, from March to May last year, the Pentagon carried out Operation
01:34Rough Rider, a six-week operation to degrade the Houthis' ability to threaten ships in the Red Sea.
01:41It cost over a billion dollars and led to concerns about depleting U.S. munition stockpiles.
01:46$200 million were spent on missiles in the first three weeks of that operation. The U.S. lost seven
01:53MQ-9 Reaper drones worth $30 million apiece and two F-A-18 jets worth $50 million each.
02:00CENTCOM hit more than 1,000 targets using these weapons, and yet the Houthis survived and are now
02:06threatening to disrupt global shipping by closing the Bab al-Mendab Strait, very similar to what they're
02:11doing in the Strait of Hormuz, Martha.
02:13Okay, we'll see where it goes, Jennifer. Thank you very much, Jennifer Griffin.
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