Convergence on the 42nd Parallel

Of the many aircraft carriers built by the United States since World War II, none have been successfully attacked by an aggressor. Not yet, that is.

It is the final port call during the first deployment of a new US Navy aircraft carrier. There is no better place for a week of shore leave than an allied port way down south on the 42nd parallel. It's quiet, friendly, out-of-the-way—perfect—because nothing ever happens here.

But the location is ideal for another nation too—a superpower with st...