The United States is preparing to replace its
peacekeepers in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula.
Officials said many U.S. Army units are heading for such Gulf
Cooperation Council states as Kuwait, Oman and Qatar to bolster military
assets as part of preparations for a military campaign against Iraq.
Instead of the U.S. Army unit, the military has chosen a National Guard
unit for the Sinai mission, according to Middle East Newsline. The unit chosen is the Oregon National Guard's
1-186th Infantry Battalion. Officials said the guard unit will remain in
Sinai for six months and is the first time a reserve unit has been sent to
the area.
The replacement of the peacekeepers will take place this summer as part
of a rotation of U.S. troops deployed to monitor the Egyptian-Israeli peace
treaty.
Officials said the replacement effort has been hampered by the
increasing need for U.S.
troops as part of Washington's war on terrorism. They said the war has
required the deployment of American soldiers both in the new Homeland
Command as well as in such areas as the Persian Gulf.
The United States has about 960 soldiers in Sinai. The troops are part
of the Multinational Force and Observers mission, which monitors the
Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty and the demilitarization of much of the
peninsula.
Officials said the U.S. Army was to have sent an active unit Ñ the
172nd Separate Infantry Brigade out of Fort Wainwright, Alaska Ñ to the
Sinai in July as part of rotation duties. But the army unit was called to
remain on hand for an undisclosed mission in the U.S.-led war against
terrorism.