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U.S. Sending Second Carrier Strike Group to Eastern Mediterranean
(CNN) Oren Liebermann - The Pentagon has ordered the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower carrier strike group to the eastern Mediterranean Sea to join the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group which arrived last week, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Saturday. The U.S. warships are not intended to join the fighting, but their presence is designed to send a message of deterrence to Iran and Hizbullah in Lebanon. The Biden administration made clear that the ships and planes are not there to engage in combat activities on behalf of Israel. "There is no intention or plan to put American troops on the ground in Israel," said John Kirby, strategic communications coordinator for the National Security Council, on Thursday. Kirby said the purpose of the bolstered force posture was "to act as a deterrent for any other actor, including Hizbullah, that might think that widening this conflict is a good idea."