Milley pointed out that the United States is interested in stability and peace in the region, as part of the American national security. He said the United States provides training, advice, military equipment and related things to the Jordan Armed Forces (JAF). Milley stressed that JAF are highly professional and efficient, and are led by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Maj. Gen. Yousef Hneiti, pointing to the long relations between them. “We are working together to fight the common threats of drug trafficking and terrorism,” Milley said. When asked if the Middle East is still a priority for the United States, Milley said that he believes that the United States has been committed to the Middle East since before World War II, since the 1930s, and that it is very important to the United States in terms of national security priorities. He added out that there are many international commitments around the world, such as Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and South America. He pointed out that the US interest in the region also comes from being a major source of oil and energy for other parts of the world, and therefore the United States had a strong and extended relationship with the Middle East region. Milley believes that the relationship will continue as well, noting that he does not imagine that the United States will ever abandon the Middle East. Milley reiterated that the region is very important to US national security priorities, as the United States will remain committed to it for many years and decades to come. Regarding the possibility of increasing US forces or sending more forces to the region, Milley said that the number of military forces increases and decreases based on the size of the threat at that point in time. “Of course, we had a large number of forces in the region when we were engaged in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the size of these forces has shrunk, so depending on the nature of the existing threats, this will be reflected by increasing or reducing the size of the forces, but our commitment to the region continues without interruption,” Milley stressed.
Source: Jordan News Agency