page_title: New Zealand–United States relations
section_title: The Middle East (1982–present)
hierarchical_section_title: New Zealand–United States relations / History / The Middle East (1982–present)
caption_attribution_description: English: New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark and United States of America President George W. Bush meet formally at the White House.
context_page_description: New Zealand–United States relations refers to international relations between New Zealand and the United States of America. According to the U.S. State Department, relations as of August 2011 are "the best they have been in decades." New Zealand is a major non-NATO ally of the United States.
  Both the United States and New Zealand share some common ancestry and history. Both countries had native peoples who were at times dispossessed of their land by the process of colonization. Both states have also been part of a Western alliance of states in various wars. Together with three other Anglophone countries, they comprise the Five Eyes espionage and intelligence alliance.
context_section_description: New Zealand has assisted the United States and Britain in many of their military activities in the Middle East. However New Zealand forces have fought only in Afghanistan; in other countries New Zealand support has been in the form of support and engineering. During the Iran–Iraq War two New Zealand frigates joined the British Royal Navy in monitoring merchant shipping in the Persian Gulf. and in 1991, New Zealand contributed three transport aircraft and a medical team to assist coalition forces in the Gulf War.
  New Zealand's heaviest military involvement in the Middle East in recent decades has been in Afghanistan following the United States-led invasion of that country after the September 11 attacks. A Squadron of New Zealand Special Air Service (NZSAS) personnel were dispatched, and in March 2002 they took part in Operation Anaconda against about 500 to 1000 Al-Qaeda and Taliban forces in the Shah-i-Kot Valley and Arma Mountains southeast of Zorma, Afghanistan. New Zealand has also supplied two transport aircraft and a 122-strong tri-service Provincial Reconstruction Team, which has been located in Bamyan Province since 2003.
caption: New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark and United States President George W. Bush meet formally at the White House.
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