WASHINGTON ø The U.S. military continues to reduce the number of
troops in Kuwait.
U.S. Central Command chief Gen. John Abizaid reported more than
26,000 troops in Kuwait. Abizaid said the troops support operations in
neighboring Iraq.
The figure cited by Abizaid during a recent House Armed Services
Committee hearing marked a nearly 25 percent reduction of U.S. troops in
Kuwait since July 2003. At the time, the United States reported 34,000
troops in the sheikdom, Middle East Newsline reported.
Kuwait has hosted the U.S. Army's Combined Forces Land Component Command
Forward Headquarters. The sheikdom has also hosted U.S. forces who were
preparing for
deployment throughout the Persian Gulf region.
U.S. officials said Kuwait and other Gulf Cooperation Council states
have provided
overflight rights, base and port access and staging rights. They said the
exception
has been Saudi Arabia, which achieved the departure of U.S. aircraft and
troops in September 2003.
In the March 3 hearing, Abizaid also reviewed threats to U.S. troops
around the Middle East. He said Sudan remains a safe haven for Islamic
insurgents. The general added that the United States plans to provide
security aid to Sudan and Yemen.
"Sudan has suffered from continuous civil war for decades and remains a
training and staging location for transnational terrorist organizations,"
Abizaid said.