The United States has reduced naval assets in the Persian Gulf in what could affect the war against Al Qaida.

U.S. officials said Washington has about 20 U.S. navy ships in a region that includes the Gulf and the Indian Ocean. The ships include only one aircraft carrier, the USS John F. Kennedy.

Over the weekend, the aircraft carrier USS John Stennis left the Northern Arabian Sea for its home port of San Diego. Officials said this marks the smallest U.S. naval presence in the Gulf since the start of the war in Afghanistan in October.

"Parts of the force have been working very, very hard since Ñ for a long time, but certainly since Sept. 11," General Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said.

U.S. allies are also withdrawing their naval assets from the Persian Gulf as part of the Washington-led war against terrorism. Japan, for example, has ordered the return of two of its five-member carrier force in the region. They include a destroyer and supply ship.

Officials said there are no immediate plans to send additional carriers to the Persian Gulf region. They said the decision to reduce naval assets in the region is part of a long-term effort to rotate warships.

The reduced naval presence, the officials said, will not harm U.S. allies in the Gulf. But they said the United States will have a more difficult time tracking down Al Qaida insurgents and shipments of missiles and weapons of mass destruction from North Korea to such clients as Iran and Iraq.

Print this Article

Email this article

Free Headline Alerts