US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says the United States will reduce its military presence in the Persian Gulf area.
Mr. Rumsfeld says the US military can cut back its forces now that Iraq no longer poses a threat to the region.
The defense secretary says no final decisions have been made on how US forces might be arranged at bases around the Gulf. The New York Times reported on Monday that the US military is shifting its major Mideast air operations center from Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia to al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
Mr. Rumsfeld made his comments to reporters today after addressing about a thousand American troops at the U-S Central Command base in Doha, Qatar.
He told the troops that the speed and precision shown by US forces in Iraq will be studied as a blueprint for military operations in the 21st century. He said the liberation of Baghdad in less than a month was possibly the fastest march on a capital in modern military history.
Mr. Rumsfeld is a on a tour of the Gulf to meet with regional leaders and discuss future U-S military commitments. In Doha today, he met with Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani.
In an interview with Arab satellite television network al-Jazeera, he said the United States does not plan to build new military bases in Iraq. He also insisted that Washington does not want to base American troops in places where they are not welcome.
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