U.S. Extends Carrier Deployment Following Syria Attack

By Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali

The George H.W. Bush carrier strike group’s deployment will be extended by the U.S. to provide policymakers with options following the recent deadly attacks in Syria by Iran-backed forces, according to U.S. military officials on Friday.

The extension suggests that the Bush strike group comprising of over 5,000 U.S. troops in the European Command operational area, will not be returning to its homeport in the United States, as scheduled.

According to U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) spokesperson Colonel Joe Buccino, the carrier group’s extension is intended to potentially increase the capabilities of CENTCOM to respond to a range of contingencies in the Middle East. Buccino confirmed the extension, which was initially reported by Reuters.

Buccino added that there will be an expedited deployment of a squadron of A-10 attack aircraft to the region.

According to an unnamed U.S. official, the Bush strike group is expected to remain within the European Command area of responsibility.

The decision comes after the Pentagon increased its tally of wounded American troops in the recent attacks in Syria to 12, following the diagnosis of six U.S. military personnel with traumatic brain injuries. The attacks killed an American contractor and injured another.

President Joe Biden warned Iran last week that the United States would act forcefully to protect Americans. The Pentagon estimated that eight militants were killed during retaliatory U.S. air strikes against two Iran-linked facilities in Syria after the initial attack on a U.S. base near the Syrian city of Hasaka on March 23rd.

On Monday, the White House announced that the incidents would not trigger a U.S. pullback from the ongoing U.S. deployment to Syria, where American troops and local Kurdish-led partners continue to fight the remnants of the Islamic State.

The United States has prioritized Russia, Ukraine and the Asia-Pacific over the Middle East in its national security policies after two decades of U.S. intervention in the region during its global war against terrorism. This has led to a decline in U.S. military personnel and assets in the Middle East.

(Reporting by Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali; Editing by Chris Reese and Jonathan Oatis)

Copyright 2023 Thomson Reuters.