The US should move bases in the Gulf to Israel and neighboring countries to better protect US military installations from Iranian missile and drone attacks. General Frank McKenzie, the former head of the US Central Command (CENTCOM), made such comments to Khabar Middle East Eye.
In a webinar at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA) last week, he said, ‘No sane person would have decided to place CENTCOM’s forward headquarters at the Al-Udeid base in Qatar, just 100 miles from Iran. But that is still there.’
McKenzie, who served as the head of US forces in the Middle East from March 2019 to April 2022, said in 2022 he and other officials warned the Biden administration that US bases in the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain were vulnerable to attack by Iran. It was therefore proposed to consider shifting these bases westward, i.e. to countries like Israel and Egypt.
In his words, ‘We told the Biden administration that if there is a conflict with Iran, we can move to the West. That’s why we should think about moving the base to some other countries including Israel and Egypt.’ However, he also claimed that the Eden administration had ‘vehemently’ rejected the proposal.
According to McKenzie, the structure of the current US military base in the Middle East now rests on a much older reality. It was originally planned during the Cold War, when there were fears of possible Soviet aggression in the oil-rich Gulf Arab states. Later, the same structure was maintained during the US military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
His comments are consistent with a Middle East Eye report published last June. In that report, former US officials and analysts said that Iran’s military capabilities may require a realignment of the current configuration of US bases in the Middle East.
According to reports, Iran has effectively forced the US to withdraw from the Gulf Coast. Middle East Eye first reported that the United States received permission to use Saudi Arabia’s Taif air base in March this year. Earlier, this decision was taken after a massive Iranian attack on the Prince Sultan Air Base, located southeast of Riyadh.
In addition, several other US military bases along the Gulf Coast were also significantly damaged by Iran’s attacks.
TimesBD/ rabbi
