Source: The Independent.co.uk
December 8, 2007 Author: Kristin Robertsin Manama, Bahrain
The US Defence Secretary Robert Gates will argue today that the Middle East faces a shared threat from Iran and should act collectively to counter Iranian activities in the Gulf.
In a speech to a security conference in Bahrain, the Pentagon chief will reiterate the US intention to maintain a long-term military presence in the Gulf, defence officials say.
The Pentagon says it considers much of Iran's military activities a threat to the United States and its allies in the region as well as the global oil market.
Washington also accuses Iran of funding, training and arming Shia militias in Iraq. A US intelligence assessment this week said Tehran halted its nuclear programme four years ago.
"Their behaviour has really been a problem and to the extent that it destabilises the region, which it does, then it becomes a problem for us," said Admiral William Fallon, commander of US Central Command, responsible for US military activities in the Middle East. "Everything they've done publicly has been a problem."
He noted the detention of British sailors this year and Washington's charge that Iran has delivered weapons and other support to insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"This is the kind of activity that I've seen that matches or supports their rhetoric that's a problem," he said.
