Carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77) Deploys to Middle East from Norfolk + CENTCOM Commander Meets with IDF Chief of Staff in Israel + China & Pakistan 5 Point Ceasefire Initiative + Ukraine Offer of Easter Truce with Russia

For review:1. The US Central Command confirms that CENTCOM chief Adm. Brad Cooper visited Israel this week and met with IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir.2. The aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush deployed Tuesday and is slated to go to the Middle East along with three destroyers, two U.S. officials said. The carrier strike group consists of more than 6,000 Sailors.3. US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said Iran does not have to agree to a deal to end the ongoing US-Israeli war with the Islamic Republic, as he stated that the United States will probably wrap up the war in two or three weeks.4. China and Pakistan presented on Tuesday a new initiative for ending the war in Iran that includes an immediate ceasefire and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.5. Gulf allies of the United States, led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, are urging US President Donald Trump to continue prosecuting the war against Iran, arguing that Tehran hasn’t been weakened enough by the monthlong US-Israeli bombing campaign, according to US, Gulf, and Israeli officials.6. The day after Spain announced it was closing off its airspace to US planes involved in the Iran war, senior US officials seemingly called into question a fundamental pillar of the NATO alliance: collective defense.7. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he will ask US mediators to relay his offer of an Easter truce to Russia, halting attacks on the country’s energy facilities, amid an ongoing deadlock in peace talks.