US Aircraft Carrier Leaving Asia-Pacific This Summer To Support Afghan Pullout - Reports

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 27th May, 2021) The United States is mobilizing its only aircraft carrier in the Asia-Pacific to the middle East this summer to support the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Wall Street Journal reported citing defense officials on Wednesday.

The report said the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft will be deployed in the Middle East for up to four months.

The report said US Central Command (CENTCOM) Chief Gen. Frank McKenzie requested a carrier to replace the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier that is currently in the Persian Gulf but scheduled to return to its homeport in the United States by July. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin approved McKenzie's request but is expected to review the matter again in the coming days, the report added.

The US Navy declined to comment on the situation, the report said.

On Tuesday, CENTCOM said the United States was at least 16 to 25 percent complete with its withdrawal of forces from Afghanistan.

On May 1, the United States began withdrawing troops from Afghanistan after 20 years of war that resulted in the deaths of over 2,300 US servicemen and hundreds of thousands of Afghan casualties. US President Joe Biden vowed to complete the pullout by the 20th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks against the United States that sparked the so-called War on Terror by then-President George W. Bush.