The two guests of the episode of "Beyond the News" agreed that Washington's dispensation with its modern multirole aircraft in the Middle East with old attack ones does not mean a withdrawal from the region, but rather comes within the framework of a repositioning in the volatile conflict areas, and a change in US national security priorities.

In the program's episode (2023/3/23), Khalil Al-Anani, a professor of political science and international relations, said that it is wrong to think that the United States' move comes within the framework of a withdrawal from the Middle East in the real sense, as its military bases are still in place in different countries of the region, and there are more than 30,<> soldiers, in addition to a different arsenal of weapons.

This comes against the backdrop of what the Wall Street Journal reported in a report that the United States will send old A-10 attack aircraft to its bases in the Middle East, and will transport modern multirole fighters from there and divert them to the Asia-Pacific region and Europe, to deter China and Russia.

U.S. officials said the A-10 deployment in April was part of a broader plan that also included maintaining limited naval and ground forces in the Middle East.

Speaking to the program "Beyond the News", Anani said that Washington's vision is to reposition strategically in areas of global conflicts, which reflects its consideration that the Middle East is no longer the most inflammatory, and this comes within the framework of its attempt to deal with the dangers in the Arab region from a different perspective.

He stated that the process of replacing the aircraft carried political messages, including what reflects America's vision that the war in Ukraine continues and will be prolonged, and therefore there is a need to send aircraft with advanced capabilities there, as well as a message of reassurance to its allies in the South China Sea region, especially Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, of the existence of advanced military support to deter the Chinese threat, if any.

A different perspective

In this context, he points out that the United States, in the context of the conflict with Iran, prefers to contain it through negotiations, while the possibility of a military option remains, and in this context seeks to rely more on its regional allies, including its relentless attempts to integrate Israel into the new security structure in the Arab region.

He saw that there is a secret aspect of Washington's plan that carries guarantees of calm for its allies, who rely almost entirely on American weapons in terms of deterring any dangers in the region, but he also saw that an Arab feeling - especially from the Gulf states - is increasing, that it is difficult to rely entirely on the American pole, as its protector.

Recently, there have been frequent US signals of strategic dimensions related to deep differences with China and Russia, including what US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said in recent statements, that the post-Cold War world is "over", and there is a fierce competition underway to determine what will come next, considering that the Chinese president's visit to Russia sent a very worrying signal.

In turn, military and strategic expert Maj. Gen. Fayez al-Duwairi said that there has been a shift in the recent period, which comes within the framework of Washington's assessment of the strategic position of the hottest conflict areas, as the severity of the danger in the Middle East has decreased and the rest of the regions have advanced on it.

He explained in his speech beyond the news, that with this new estimate, Washington saw that there is no objection to transporting these aircraft to the South China Sea, which has become the hottest conflict area, pointing out at the same time that if the danger increases in the Middle East, it is possible that these planes will return within 24 hours.

"America has not withdrawn from the Middle East, it is still present in it as it is in the other two conflict zones (East Asia and the South China Sea) - and it cannot withdraw from any of them, but the importance varies from time to time, and now the importance of the other two regions is beginning to overshadow the Middle East in terms of heat," he said.