Washington _ Agencies
The United States will pull a number of anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) batteries from the Middle East in October October, the Wall Street Journal quoted US military officials as reporting.
Four Patriot missile systems will be withdrawn from Jordan, Kuwait and Bahrain, the report said.
The Pentagon´s move is aimed at redeploying these systems away from protracted conflicts in the Middle East and Afghanistan, and the US military is now focusing on tensions and challenges with China and Russia, the paper said.
The Patriot missile systems from Kuwait and one from Jordan and Bahrain will be withdrawn and all returned to the United States for some improvements, and there are no plans to compensate them, according to official US sources.
As the "Wall Street Journal" said, although some patriot systems remain in the region, U.S. officials have confirmed that removing these four batteries will result in a significant decrease in the capability provided by the Patriot systems across the region.
US Central Command officials did not comment on the move, but a command spokesman, Capt. Bill Urban, said, "The Central command is strongly committed to working with our allies and partners to promote and provide regional security and stability."
"Our troops will remain stationed to carry out operations throughout the region and respond to any emergency," he said.
The head of the general Staff of the Kuwaiti army announced that the US forces ´ withdrawal of Patriot batteries was "a routine procedure."
"This measure is at the discretion of the US forces and in coordination with the Kuwaiti army, since what will be withdrawn is intended to provide protection for U.S. forces," the military said in a statement.
According to the statement, the Chief of the General Staff of the Army confirms that Kuwait´s al-Batatot system "independently believes in the protection and full coverage of the geographical borders of the State of Kuwait."
