Aircraft Carrier

Joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises announced Tuesday are intended to impress on North Korea the need to change its behavior, but not allow the sinking of a South Korean warship four months ago to stymie nuclear talks, analysts said. The naval and air exercises will begin Sunday in the Sea of Japan and include the aircraft carrier George Washington. They were announced by Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates and South Korean Defense Minister Kim Tae-young after a meeting in Seoul.

India signed five deals Friday to purchase more than $7 billion in hardware and expertise from Russia, including an aircraft carrier, a fleet of MIG-29 fighters, defense and space technology and at least 12 civilian nuclear reactors. On the minds of both parties, analysts said, was a nation not present at the signing. "China will be the ghost in the room," wrote analyst C. Raja Mohan in an opinion piece this week in the Indian Express. Having a working aircraft carrier -- India's only carrier, the 50-year-old British-built Viraat, rarely leaves port -- should allow India to expand its presence in the Indian Ocean.

Since World War I, the Navy has been big in San Diego -- so big, in fact, that locals and tourists alike tend to take it for granted. But the Navy's footprint here is well worth examining. Even without setting foot on Naval Base San Diego (the largest Navy base on the West Coast, with more than 50 ships and 20,000 military personnel), a visitor, whether hawk or dove, can spend hours or days looking at publicly accessible Navy spots. Beyond the history lessons they tell, they include dramatic views, serious weaponry, historic hardware and architecture, bike paths, playgrounds and, yes, ballet lessons.

Reporting from Port-Au-Prince, Haiti, and Washington -- The leading edge of a massive relief effort gained a toehold around the Haitian capital Friday, with the U.S. military taking control of the airport and helicopters ferrying supplies from an aircraft carrier positioned off the coast. But deep within the city's neighborhoods, residents fended for themselves -- evacuating those who could go, caring for those who couldn't and putting to rest those who would move no more. Hundreds of doctors and aid workers and tons of supplies arrived at the airport, now teeming with traffic.

ALAMEDA, CALIF. New Year's Eve on the USS Hornet When, where: Dec. 31, USS Hornet Highlights: Aboard this historic aircraft carrier, three dance floors come alive with big-band music as attendees get dance lessons, party favors and a panoramic view of San Francisco's skyline from the flight deck. There will also be a midnight countdown and a silent auction; the event is black-tie optional but period, swing and formal military attire are encouraged.

President Bush landed Saturday on the aircraft carrier George H.W. Bush, a new ship named after his father -- the ultimate honor for a decorated Navy pilot from World War II. "So what do you give a guy who has been blessed and has just about everything he has ever needed?" the president asked the estimated 20,000 gathered for the commissioning at Naval Station Norfolk. "Well, an aircraft carrier."

Re "Marine jet crashes into house," Dec. 9 If the pilot of the fighter jet that crashed near San Diego knew so quickly after taking off from the aircraft carrier that something was terribly wrong with his aircraft, how could he be told to try to get to a base several miles inland? It seems (and not surprisingly so) that the military was more concerned with losing an expensive airplane than showing concern for the homes and people between the carrier and the runway at the base. Why didn't the pilot punch out over the ocean, near his ship, and dump the plane, harmlessly, into the sea?

Re "McCain's economic adjustment," Sept. 17 The anti-regulation and anti-union John McCain explains that his remark that our economy is fundamentally sound actually refers to America's working men and women, not the economy itself. That's as believable as the White House saying the "mission accomplished" banner on the aircraft carrier referred to the ship and its crew completing their mission in Iraq, and not to the war itself. Up is down and down is up. Next, Republicans will be asking Americans, "Who're you gonna believe?

Top U.S. and Pakistani military officials met this week on a U.S. aircraft carrier in the Indian Ocean to discuss the presence of militant havens in Pakistan and their role in Afghan violence, officials said. Adm. Michael G. Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, played down any expectation that Tuesday's meeting aboard the Abraham Lincoln would lead quickly to progress against militants in Pakistan's northwestern tribal region.