US cuts Gulf aircraft presence

2007-08-01 18:15

Manama - The United States have reduced their aircraft carrier presence in the Gulf region to a single carrier, Vice Admiral Kevin Cosgriff, commander of the US Naval Forces Central Command/US 5th Fleet said on Wednesday.

"This morning the USS Enterprise and four surface combatants have transited through the Suez Canal, entering the 5th Fleet area," Cosgriff told Deutsche Presse-Agentur after a change-of-command ceremony for the Combined Task Force 150 in Manama.

"The USS Enterprise is the only aircraft carrier under my command in the 5th Fleet area, the two other aircraft carriers have left the 5th Fleet area recently," he said.

Cosgriff described the current US and coalition naval presence in the region as "average," attributing the fluctuation in force numbers to the normal rotation of forces.

On July 10, the Bahrain-based US 5th Fleet Command said that the USS Enterprise was transiting to the region to join the USS John C Stennis (CVN 74) and USS Nimitz (CVN 68) Carrier Strike Groups (CSG) that have been operating in the region since early this year.

The two US aircraft carrier presence that began in February was the highest US Naval deployment to the region since the 2003 Iraq war, as tension between Washington and Tehran mounted over Iran's controversial nuclear programme.

The US 5th Fleet area of operations encompasses about 2.5 million square miles of water and includes the Arabian Gulf, Arabian Sea, Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Oman and parts of the Indian Ocean.

It includes three critical waterways: the Suez Canal, the Strait of Hormuz and the Strait of Bab al-Mandeb.

Cosgriff comments came during a ceremony at the 5th Fleet Command in Manama to mark the second time Pakistan leads one of the task forces conducting Maritime Security Operations in the region.

The first time the Pakistan navy held command of CTF 150 was from April 24 to August 22 2006, marking the first time a Muslim commander lead one of the key coalition groups in the on-going war on terror. - Sapa-dpa

- SAPA