U.S. to maintain long presence in Gulf region -Gates

[Judi Lynn]

Published Date: 22 December 2006
Location: Reuters Newsdesk
U.S. to maintain long presence in Gulf region -Gates

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - An increased U.S. naval presence in the Gulf is not a response to any action by Iran but a message to all countries that the United States will keep its regional footprint "for a long time", U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Friday.

CBS News reported on Monday that a projected naval buildup was intended to discourage what U.S. officials view as increasingly provocative acts by Tehran pressing for a nuclear program and support for Shi'ite militias in Iraq.

"I don't think it's a response to anything anyone else has done," Gates told reporters during a three-day visit to Iraq.

"I think the message that we are sending to everyone, not just Iran, is that the United States is an enduring presence in this part of the world. We have been here for a long time. We will be here for a long time and everybody needs to remember that - both our friends and those who might consider themselves our adversaries," he said.
(snip/...)

http://www.peterboroughnow.co.uk/ViewArticle.aspx?ArticleID=1943064&SectionID=5055

[lvx35]

1. Gates to kiss my ass -Me

nobody wants a sustained occupation of the Middle East. That's what the 2006 republican loss was about. The American people are not interested in being long term occupiers, mark my words...

[Benhurst]

4. Or as William H. Vanderbilt said,

"The public be damned."

[OneBlueSky]

2. translation . . . "It's our oil, and we intend to control it!" . . . n/t

.

[Make7]

3. ".... but we will leave as soon as it runs out. We promise." ( n/t )

[acmavm]

5. Gates may find that 'regional footprint' booted up his ass. One day

the shit is really going to hit the fan. We're gonna threaten too many people too many times and we're gonna be sorry.

The rich and powerful won't be sorry. They have their tax cuts, their kids don't serve, and they'll just keep taking the best out of this country and giving back nothing. It's the Cindy Sheehans, the mothers who aren't part of the social register, the mom down the street, who pays the ultimate price of seeing their child die for some arrogant bastard's sense of entitlement and greed.