As U.S. President Joe Biden travels to the Middle East, he has emphasized that he will be the first U.S. President to visit the region without large numbers of U.S. troops deployed across the region.

The reality is as many as 65,000 U.S. troops remain deployed in Saudi Arabia and Gulf nations with smaller forces in Iraq and Syria.  The Middle East still plays a central role in U.S. foreign policy this U.S. presidential trip underlines that reality.

CGTN’s Nathan King reports.

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