5,000 U.S. troops will not be able to return home as early as planned. The Pentagon has extended the deployment of the George HW Bush carrier operating in the European Command area and will instead head to be placed near Syria.
According to US Central Command spokesperson Colonel Joe Buccino, the decision to extend the deployment is in order to “respond to a range of contingencies in the Middle East.” Last week, US President Joe Biden warned Iran that the US would act forcefully to protect its troops. Pentagon officials say that around eight Iranian-backed militants died during the response to US airstrikes against several Iranian-linked bases in Syria, with officials from the Pentagon hailing the efforts as successful.
“The extension of the George HW Bush Carrier Strike Group is the right choice given the ever-present threat facing America and its allies in the Middle East. It is also a reminder that the US Navy, and armed forces in general, are under-resourced. From China to Russia, North Korea to Iran, the US is facing many threats,” explained Matthew RJ Brodsky, a Senior Fellow at the Gold Institute for International Strategy to Foreign Desk News.
“The message this sends to Iran and its proxies is that the US will remain engaged at some level. Unfortunately, I don’t believe it sends a strong enough message of deterrence. Since Biden took office, Iran-backed forces have launched some 83 attacks on US personnel in Iraq and Syria,” added Brodsky.
Colonel Buccino also mentioned to reporters the expedited deployment of a squadron of A-10 attack aircraft to Syria when many of the country’s military forces were hoping for a withdrawal after several years of American deployment. In the past eight years, American troops have partnered with Kurdish militias to battle against the Islamic State (ISIS) and Iranian-backed terrorist fighters supporting the Assad regime.
