The commander of U.S. and allied naval forces in the Middle East says the increased coalition naval presence in the Persian Gulf in recent years has prevented the waterway from being used by drug traffickers and terrorists.  Vice-Admiral David Nichols spoke on a video link from his headquarters in Bahrain to reporters at the Pentagon.

Admiral Nichols says one of the main missions of the 45 ships under his command inside and just outside the Persian Gulf is to deny access to the area to terrorists.   He says the effort appears to be succeeding.

"Based on what we have learned over the last year-and-a-half to two years, we don't think that the maritime environment is routinely being used to move terrorists or terrorist-related equipment around the region.  Intel [intelligence reports] indicates that the smugglers and the terrorists know that we're out there, paying close attention.  So it seems that the deterrent effect that is the primary effect we're trying to have is occurring," he explained.

Admiral Nichols says one indication of reduced insurgent activity in the area is that there have been no attempts to attack oil platforms in the Persian Gulf since April of last year.