Seven carriers assembled off China, not.

Gunboat diplomacy near China last hurrah of the neocons, Chalmers Johnson of the LA Times, July 19, 2004

This will be the first time in U.S. naval history that seven of our 12 carrier strike groups deploy in one place at the same time. It will look like the peacetime equivalent of the Normandy landings and may well end in a disaster.
...
According to Chinese reports, Taiwanese ships will join the seven carriers being assembled in this modern rerun of 19th century gunboat diplomacy.

U.S. Navy - Status of the Navy, July 23, 2004

Carriers:
USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) - Pacific Ocean
USS John F. Kennedy (CV 67) - Persian Gulf
USS George Washington (CVN 73) - Atlantic Ocean
USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) - port visit, Pearl Harbor
USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) - Atlantic Ocean

Chalmers Johnson doesn't seem to understand that the carriers are deployed at about the same time, but to different locations throughout the world.

Summer Pulse '04 is about sending a message to China about the US Navy's ability to respond quickly, but it's not the start of a major attack.

-HJC