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...