Pentagon sending aircraft carrier to Mideast early

The Pentagon is sending an aircraft carrier to the Middle East several months early to make sure two will constantly be present in the troubled region.

There are two aircraft carriers in the area currently, but one was scheduled to leave before its replacement arrived.

Defense Department press secretary George Little says the USS John C. Stennis will be sent by late summer to fill the gap that would have occurred.

Questioned about whether the deployment is a response to problems with Iran or perhaps the violence in Syria, he declined to be specific.

Little said the need is "not about any one particular country or any one particular threat."