U.S. aircraft carrier moves from Gulf to back up Afghan operations

A U.S. aircraft carrier has moved to the Arabian Sea to support military operations in Afghanistan, leaving the Gulf without a carrier, U.S. defense officials said Tuesday.

The shift by the USS Abraham Lincoln over the weekend comes amid stepped up insurgent violence in Afghanistan where U.S. combat casualties have been on the rise even as they have dropped sharply in Iraq.

The operations in Afghanistan and Iraq "are extremely dynamic and sometimes we have to adjust the posture of forces so we can take advantage of certain opportunities that are there," said a Navy official, who asked not to be identified.

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