U.S. committed to MENA despite Asia pivot

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KUWAIT CITY, Oct. 18 (UPI) -- The U.S. defensive pivot to the Asia-Pacific region doesn't mean national security interests in the Middle East are sidelined, a U.S. official said from Kuwait.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter addressed military forces stationed in Kuwait. He said there is still a need for a U.S. military presence in the region even though the war in Iraq is over and the Afghan mission is drawing to a close.

"We have a need for an enduring presence in this region," he said in his address.

Carter in August described the Asia-Pacific region as "one of the most prominent and important" issues for the Department of Defense. The State Department, meanwhile, has said it's been focused on a "pivot to Asia" in recent months.

Carter, however, said that regional conflicts and the lingering impacts of political revolutions in the Middle East meant a longstanding commitment was necessary. The Arab Spring, he said, was a reflection of the "reality of instability in this region."

A September report from U.S. think tank Rand Corp. warned a "fourth wave" of al-Qaida was emerging in the Middle East and North Africa as the U.S. strategic focus moves east.