US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld ended a tour of the Gulf this morning by meeting with the emir of Kuwait to thank him for backing a US-led invasion of Iraq.
Mr Rumsfeld, who was expected in Afghanistan later in the day, called on Sheikh Jaber al-Ahmad al-Sabah, First Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah and other leaders.
The visit followed Mr Rumsfeld's visit to US troops in Baghdad Wednesday and an announcement with Saudi Arabia the day before that US combat forces will be out of the kingdom by the end of the summer.
The dramatic realignment of the massive 12-year US military presence in the region closes a chapter that began with the 1990 invasion of Kuwait by Iraq and the Gulf War that followed.
This tiny oil-rich Gulf state has been the scene of almost continuous US military exercises in its northern desert since then.
What will happen to those forces now was expected to be a subject of Mr Rumsfeld's talks, as it was during his visit to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.
Mr Rumsfeld also was expected to thank the emir for allowing US and coalition forces to use Kuwaiti territory to launch the invasion of Iraq that was widely criticised in the Muslim world.
AFP