US plans troop buildup in Gulf after Iraq pullout

Plan may see combat forces in Kuwait to respond to collapse in Iraq security

The Obama administration plans to bolster the US military presence in the Persian Gulf after it withdraws the remaining troops from Iraq this year,according to officials and diplomats. That repositioning could include new combat forces in Kuwait able to respond to a collapse of security in Iraq or a military confrontation with Iran.

The plans,under discussion for months,gained new urgency after President Obamas announcement this month that the last US soldiers would be brought home from Iraq by the end of December. Ending the eight-year war was a central pledge of his presidential campaign,but US military officers and diplomats,as well as officials of several countries in the region,worry that the withdrawal could leave instability in its wake.

After unsuccessfully pressing both the Obama administration and the Iraqi government to permit as many as 20,000 US troops to remain in Iraq beyond 2011,the Pentagon is now drawing up an alternative. In addition to negotiations over maintaining a ground combat presence in Kuwait,the US is considering sending more naval warships through international waters in the region.

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With an eye on the threat of a belligerent Iran,the administration is also seeking to expand military ties with the six nations in the Gulf Cooperation Council Saudi Arabia,Kuwait,Bahrain,Qatar,the United Arab Emirates and Oman. While the US has close bilateral military relationships with each,the administration and the military are trying to foster a new security architecture for the Persian Gulf that would integrate air and naval patrols and missile defense.

The size of the standby US combat force to be based in Kuwait remains the subject of negotiations,with an answer expected in coming days. Officers at the Central Command headquarters here declined to discuss specifics of the proposals.

Back to the future is how Maj Gen Karl R Horst,Central Commands chief of staff,described planning for a new posture in the Gulf. He said the command was focusing on smaller but highly capable deployments and training partnerships with regional militaries. THOM SHANKER

& STEVEN LEE MYERS