US pulls missile batteries from Middle East
June 19, 2021
The Pentagon confirmed Friday that the US is reducing by eight the number of Patriot anti-missile batteries in the Middle East.
The agency confirmed a report in The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) that said Saudi Arabia would see the greatest reduction in US military support, while Kuwait, Iraq and Jordan would also be impacted.
The WSJ said the US plans to pull a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, jet fighter squadrons and accelerate the withdrawal of US troops from the kingdom, in addition to the withdrawal of the anti-missile batteries.
Retooling US forces for an era of great power competition
The decision reflects both Washington's repositioning of US forces to counter Russia and China as well as shifting sands in the Middle East.
As the curtain draws on the war in Afghanistan, competition with world powers is seen by US officials as the key driver of future military operations. For nearly two decades of the global war on terror, counterinsurgency dominated.
In those two decades and even beginning under the Obama administration which sought a "pivot to Asia," the rise of China has presented myriad challenges as it is now America's main rival in national security terms.
The Biden administration is also hopeful of a more manageable relationship with Russia.
Ideally, defense and national security officials would spend less time concerned with cyberattacks and Russian troop buildups.
However, US President Joe Biden made clear in his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Geneva this week that those issues persist.
Middle East's new defense and diplomatic makeup
While Iran remains the US's chief adversary, Trump-era maximum pressure tactics have shifted toward maximum diplomacy under the Biden administration.
Saudi Arabia has also strengthened its own defenses during Yemen's ongoing and devastating war and from attacks by Iran-backed Houthi militias.
The Pentagon began sending Patriot anti-missile batteries and the THAAD system to Saudi Arabia after an attack on a Saudi oil facility carried out by Iranian drones in September 2019.
During a June 2 phone call, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin informed Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of the changes as most of the hardware being removed is currently located in Saudi Arabia.
In Iraq, the US moved Patriot anti-missile systems into the country in January 2020. That month, Iran fired missiles at US troops at the Ain al-Asad air base in retaliation for the assassination of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in a targeted US drone strike at Baghdad International Airport.
Last year, the US reduced the number of troops in Iraq by half from 5,000 to 2,500. Earlier this month, the Pentagon began pulling more troops from Iraq.
Iraqi security forces are better trained and equipped and have taken on a greater role and responsibility for security in the country.
While threats remain, a new era of defense is here
Pentagon spokesperson Commander Jessica McNulty told the AFP news agency that some of the hardware would be relocated, although she would not say where. Some is returning to the US for maintenance and refurbishment.
"The Defense Department maintains tens of thousands of forces in the Middle East, representing some of our most advanced air power and maritime capabilities, in support of US national interests and our regional partnerships," McNulty said in an email to AFP.
One senior defense official told the WSJ that the reallocation of resources is best viewed as a return to a more traditional level of defense for the region.
"What you're seeing is a realignment of resources with strategic priorities," the official said, adding, "there is still substantial presence, substantial posture in the region".
The Biden administration's much-anticipated defense posture review is due out next month.