A test for US military strategy

According to Reuters, the US's support for Israel in successfully preventing Iran's missile and drone attack on April 13 shows that the US is well prepared militarily as Iran and Israel move from a shadow war to a direct confrontation.

Tensions between Iran and Israel will be a test for the new US military strategy. Photo: RESPONSIBLE STATECRAFT

Not ready for the big conflict

But observers say US forces are not ready for a major, protracted conflict in the Middle East, and the US Defense Department may have to rethink its assumptions about military needs in the region if the crisis deepens. Michael Mulroy, a former deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East under President Donald Trump, said the US does not have enough forces to support Israel in a direct war with Iran. Since Hamas’s attack on Israel led to the conflict in the Gaza Strip, the US has sent thousands of troops to a region that has seen its presence dwindle for years.

The US strategy of relying on reinforcements could be tested if Iran and Israel break their taboo and openly attack each other militarily. “This means the US has to rethink the idea of ​​the military capabilities that it needs to maintain in the region,” said General Joseph Votel, the former US commander in the Middle East.

Shortage of staff

Many former US officials share the same opinion that the US helped Israel successfully prevent Iran's attack thanks to the support of US intelligence, which helped the US Department of Defense predict the time and target of Tehran's attack.

Gen. Michael “Erik” Kurilla, head of US Central Command, told US lawmakers last month that he had requested more troops be sent to the Middle East, something President Joe Biden’s cabinet has deemed a lower priority than other challenges.

In a written statement to the House Armed Services Committee, General Kurilla said that the lack of intelligence personnel has created many gaps in detecting and disrupting extremist plots. General Kurilla's comments were partly reflected in the war in the Gaza Strip, when a lack of intelligence on the Houthi arsenal in Yemen made it difficult to attack Houthi missile and drone storage facilities.

However, sending more troops to the Middle East and bolstering intelligence assets in the long term will be difficult because the US military is spread across Europe and Asia is also a focus. A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said it was unclear whether Washington would be willing to withdraw forces from Asia or Europe if tensions in the Middle East continued to rise. The last time the US deployed thousands of troops to the Middle East was under President Donald Trump.

Recent tit-for-tat attacks between Iran and Israel have raised concerns about a regional war that Washington is trying to prevent. Iran does not appear to want a full-scale war with Israel, according to US officials, with the latest move downplaying the significance of the April 19 attack in the central Iranian province of Isfahan.

PEARL

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/bai-kiem-tra-cho-chien-luoc-quan-su-cua-my-post736308.html