Petagon Chief Austin: The US will maintain and can increase its military presence in the Middle East 
The US will maintain a significant military presence in the Middle East build it up if required. This was stated by the chief of the Pentagon, Lloyd Austin, reports on Saturday, November 20, RIA Novosti.
The head of the American military department noted that Washington is counting primarily on diplomacy and considers military force as a means of support.
He stressed that the American side “insists on deepening multilateral partnerships” in the region that are capable of confronting emerging problems.
Among them Austin listed the COVID-19 pandemic, climate problems, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction , activities of extremist groups, as well as “Iran's support for terrorist groups.” According to the US Secretary of Defense, Iranian attack drones are preventing Washington from fighting the militants.
Earlier, The New York Times reported that the Pentagon withdrew information about an airstrike on Syria in 2019. According to an American newspaper, on March 18, 2019, an American F-15 fighter jet dropped a bomb on a crowd of people near the village of El Baguz, killing 70 people.