The National quotes Brent Scowcroft Center Resident Senior Fellow for Middle East Security Bilal Y. Saab on the announcement that the US navy is removing its sole aircraft carrier from the Gulf:
Some analysts say the timing of the gap, even if one is unavoidable, is another misstep by the Obama administration in effectively communicating its Middle East policies, but others say Gulf officials are not overly concerned about the issue. “Gulf leaders are not paranoid and fixated on every US military move,” said Bilal Saab, an expert on US-GCC military affairs at the Atlantic Council think tank.
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Despite this, analysts said it does not represent a strategic shift and would not significantly change the overall US military posture in the region. “This means absolutely nothing,” said Mr Saab. “I realise some people will want to make a big deal out of it, but it’s not even politically significant, let alone militarily … there is plenty of US firepower to go around in the Gulf.”