WASHINGTON: The Pentagon has decided to keep an aircraft carrier in the Middle East to help provide protection for American and allied troops during their planned withdrawal from Afghanistan in coming weeks, US defence officials said on Friday.

Also, two US Air Force bombers will be deployed to Afghanistan as part of the pre-pullout bolstering of security.

The moves back up Pentagon officials’ public assurances that US forces will be prepared to meet whatever resistance the Taliban might present during the withdrawal of more than 10,000 US and coalition troops starting after May 1. About 2,500 to 3,500 of those troops are American.

“I would advise the Taliban that we will be well-prepared to defend ourselves throughout the withdrawal process,” Gen Frank McKenzie, the head of US Central Command, said at the Pentagon.

Before President Joe Biden’s announcement last week that he would complete the US withdrawal by Sept 11, the Taliban had insisted that Washington stick to an agreement signed last year the militants had reached with the Trump administration to complete the US withdrawal by May 1.

US officials said after Biden’s announcement that extra military personnel would likely be positioned in Afghanistan to facilitate the pullout of troops and equipment, and the Pentagon typically beefs up its military presence as a precaution when executing a sizable withdrawal. When the US pulled troops out of Somalia in January it kept an aircraft carrier in the region as a precaution.

Officials said on Friday the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, an aircraft carrier that is operating in the Arabian Sea, will remain in the region. Two US bomber aircraft will be deployed to Afghanistan, along with hundreds of Army Rangers to provide security during the pullout, the officials said.

Published in Dawn, April 24th, 2021