WASHINGTON Ñ The United States has more than 19,000 troops in the
Persian Gulf and other parts of the Arab world, Pentagon officials said.
They said the troops were deployed in the areas under the
responsibility of U.S. Central Command. These include Gulf Cooperation
Council states and Egypt.
Gulf Defense sources estimate the true figure may be more than 25,000, Middle East Newsline reported.
About 10,000 U.S. troops are based in Kuwait and 4,000 in Saudi Arabia, U.S. officials said.
U.S. Army Deputy Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. David McKiernan told the House
Armed Services Committee special oversight panel on terrorism on Wednesday
that currently the troops include both active and reserve units. He cited
such units as the 2nd Battalion, 153rd Infantry, 39th Enhanced Separate
Brigade from the Arkansas Army National Guard and the 1st Battalion, 86th
Infantry, 41st Enhanced Separate Brigade from Oregon.
"As of mid-summer, there were over 19,000 soldiers deployed across the
Centcom area of responsibility conducting full spectrum operations,"
McKiernan said. "Some, like the army forces deployed in Kuwait, Saudi
Arabia, and elsewhere have been deterring Iraqi aggression since 1991.
Others, like those soldiers monitoring the peace in the Sinai as part of the
Multinational Force Observer mission, have been there since 1982."
The figure cited by the general is less than the estimate of Gulf
defense sources. They assert that the United States has deployed more than
25,000 military personnel in Gulf Cooperation Council countries. They said
many of the personnel are based in air bases in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman
and Saudi Arabia.
McKiernan said additional reserve units are being sent to participate in
the Multi-National Force Observers in Sinai. The general said that in 2002
units from the 82nd Airborne Division and the 10th Mountain Division will
share observer duties.
