A map shows where and how many U.S. troops are located in the Middle East and Afghanistan, many of them in nations near Iran.
The United States has tens of thousands of troops deployed across the Middle East and Afghanistan, many of them in nations near Iran at a time when the two countries were nearing an all-out conflict., Revolutionary Guard Quds Force commander Major General Qassem Soleimani, and Iraq militia leader Abu Mahadi al-Muhandis in Baghdad has sent shockwaves throughout the region. The administration argued that the senior Iranian military figure had"plans to attack" U.S.
The Trump administration has engaged in successive rounds of diplomacy with the militant group's diplomats in the Qatari capital of Doha in hopes of striking a peace agreement that would foster direct Taliban-Afghan government negotiations. The U.S. and Iran both supported Iraq's battle against the jihadi group, but ISIS' defeat opened the door for new international tensions as the U.S. waged a"maximum pressure" campaign against neighboring Iran. Unclaimedtargeting military bases that were blamed by Washington on Iran-backed, Shiite Muslim fighters, and last week's retaliatory U.S. strikes, threatened to relegate the country to a battleground between two foreign powers that Baghdad considered to be partners.
Amid flaring tensions between the U.S. and Iran, Kuwait has reportedly begun to receive most of the additional 3,000 Pentagon personnel being sent to the Middle East. The country now hosts about 13,000 U.S. troops, tying it with Qatar. U.S. Army Paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division arrive at Ali Al Salem Air Base, Kuwait, January 2, 2020. This deployment was described by the Pentagon as"an appropriate and precautionary action taken in response to increased threat levels against U.S. personnel and facilities in the CENTCOM area of responsibility."Qatar is home to the largest U.S. military base in the Middle East, Al Udeid Air Base, which was built after the first Gulf War.
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