US President Donald Trump agreed to the request of the commander of the US Central Command (US CENTCOM) to deploy 1500 additional troops in the Gulf region. He confirmed the move of this force on Friday, May 24 for mostly protective role.
The extra US force will include approximately 1,500 U.S. military personnel and consist of the next:
- A fighter aircraft squadron to provide additional deterrence and depth to our aviation response options.
- A Patriot battalion to defend against missile threats.
- An additional intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance aircraft.
- An engineer element to provide force protection improvements throughout the region.
It seems that all of the above-mentioned forces, as well as the previously deployed forces, increase the defensive and fire capabilities, but not capabilities of ground invasion inside Iranian territory.
On another side, the Chargé d’Affaires of the US Embassy in Baghdad confirmed the US commitment to the Strategic Framework Agreement, including the prohibition of the use of Iraqi territory to attack any other country.
It’s worth to be mentioned that the US CENTCOM Area of Responsibility includes the Middle East, including Egypt in Africa, and Central Asia, most notably Afghanistan and Iraq; but it does not include Israel, which is considered in the area of responsibility of the U.S. European Command (USEUCOM) so far. Israel-Arab relations development may reconsider changes of the US future policies and strategies, specially with the development the map of alliances in the region.
Sayed Ghoneim
