Analysis: UK getting non-essential staff out of the area as Iran moment of truth is edging closer
The US and UK withdrawing military personnel from the Qatar base is a “perfectly sensible precautionary measure” as Iran tensions mount, military analyst Michael Clarke explains.
The base in question, just to the west of Doha, serves as the American hub in the Middle East, he explains.
There are normally about 10,000 US personnel and about 1,000 British personnel.
“Sending some hundred away is just a way of getting the non-essential staff out of the area,” Clarke says.
“So anybody who doesn’t need to be there needs to leave.”
He says this was happening at US bases across the region right now, where the Americans have stationed nearly 40,000 troops, that “don’t all need to be there”.
“So I think they’ll be getting quite a lot of them out of the way just in case there was a series of attacks or retaliatory responses,” Clarke added.
Some of these may also come from Iranian proxies, which include Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen.
As to the likelihood of impending American military action against Iran, Clarke also says that “Trump wants to create that impression.”
“Whether there’s any reality behind it, we’ll probably find out in the next 48 hours.”
Watch Clarke’s full analysis in the video…
UK and US withdraw military base personnel from Qatar as Trump and Iran exchange threats
