I agree the old flat tops are not the force they once were, but don't cut them short just yet, a carrier strike group or two staged in just the right part of the world, can bring down an intense amount of damage in a short time...especially in areas where any sorties without them would have to be refueling flights... And it says something to still be able to get 40+ sorties flown while bringing other assests to bear..
Oh and yeah I fully agree that 90% of the " tension" between Russia and us is staged propaganda.. I do feel that relationships were damaged to an extent with comments made by HRC & POTUS... But there is and always has been that slight underlying tension between the two, it's what kept the Cold War going ... And in the right situation, especially airspace over Syria/turkey/ etc things could happen...NK had a sub go missing recently where they shouldn't have been near us, and China.. Well China is just untrustworthy in my book... And let's not forget Iran...
My point being, If ANY one had a beef they wanted kick off with us, nothing like lining everything up to help em out... Especially in a day and age where we have shown enough weakness as it is.