Warren's call to exit Mideast would end longstanding policy

Sen. Elizabeth Warren's call Tuesday for the United States to "get out" of the Middle East, if implemented, would end a generations-long U.S. military presence in the volatile region.

"I think that we ought to get out of the Middle East," Warren said in a Democratic presidential debate during a discussion of President Donald Trump's decision to pull troops out of Syria.

"I don't think we should have troops in the Middle East," Warren added.

Warren has advocated shrinking the U.S. footprint overseas and has said she wants to withdraw troops from Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria. But her call to pull back from all of the Middle East appeared to go a step further.

U.S. forces, including air and naval forces, have been based in the Middle East for decades, in part to ensure a free flow of oil from countries such as Saudi Arabia that have long been an energy lifeline to some Western countries.

The U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet, for example, is headquartered at Bahrain, and the Air Force operates aircraft, including fighter jets, bombers and intelligence-gathering planes, at bases in Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait.

The U.S. also has about 5,200 troops in Iraq to support Iraqi security forces overrun by the Islamic State group in 2014. Those troops are not engaged in direct combat.

The number of U.S. troops in Syria has shrunk this year from about 2,000 to about 1,000, and Trump last week directed that the 1,000 leave to avoid getting caught between invading Turkish forces and a Syrian Kurd group that had been partnering with the U.S. to fight IS.

Warren, who serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee, has long argued that the U.S. military is overcommitted in the Middle East and mired in conflicts that sap America's strength.

Reducing or ending U.S. involvement in Middle East wars, however, is different than ending the U.S. military presence in the region. Those forces are intended as a deterrent to potential enemies such as Iran and Russia and as reassurance to allies such as Israel.

Ever since President Jimmy Carter in 1980 declared that the U.S. would use force, if necessary, to stop any outside power from gaining control of the Persian Gulf — the so-called Carter Doctrine — America has made that area a key focus of its military strategy.

LUTON, England (AP) — Tom Lockyer, the Premier League player who suffered an onfield cardiac arrest earlier this season, says he is “at peace” with the prospect of having to retire from the sport.

The Luton captain had a defibrillator fitted after collapsing during a game against Bournemouth in December. He had previously collapsed seven months earlier during a game at Wembley Stadium because he suffered atrial fibrillation.

The 29-year-old Lockyer, who recently became a father for the first time, has not given up hope of resuming his playing career. But he accepts that may not be possible.

“I’ve made no secret saying I would love to return to football, but ultimately it would have to come down to someone who’s a cardiologist or a specialist who has done full research into what has gone on and if it could happen again, because we’ve got a little girl now and she takes priority,” Lockyer told BBC Radio Wales.

“I would love to play football again, of course I would, it’s my life but if it’s the case that I can’t, then I’m at peace with that as well."

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Luton Town's Tom Lockyer, centre, and team-mate Elijah Adebayo applaud the fans following the Premier League match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Luton Town at Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton, England, Saturday April 27, 2024. Tom Lockyer, the Premier League player who suffered an onfield cardiac arrest earlier this season, says he is “at peace” if he is forced to retired from the sport. (Nick Potts/PA via AP)