WASHINGTON [MENL] -- The United States has reduced naval assets
in the Persian Gulf in what could affect the war against Al Qaida.U.S. officials said Washington has about 20 U.S. navy ships in a
region that includes the Gulf and the Indian Ocean. The ships include only
one aircraft carrier, the USS John F. Kennedy. Over the weekend, the aircraft carrier USS John Stennis left the
Northern Arabian Sea for its home port of San Diego. Officials said this
marks the smallest U.S. naval presence in the Gulf since the start of the
war in Afghanistan in October."Parts of the force have been working very, very hard since -- for a
long time, but certainly since Sept. 11," General Richard Myers, chairman of
the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said.
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