Washington, D.C., August 19 (ANI): With the conflict between the United States and Iran having dragged on for months, the Pentagon is evaluating its military footprint in West Asia with the aim of reducing its presence, The Washington Post reported Tuesday (local time), citing eight officials familiar with the matter.
According to the report, the analysis is not yet a formal review and will include consideration of whether to rebuild bases damaged by strikes.
A key issue being assessed by the Department of War is whether to pull back troops from the Persian Gulf, where major American overseas military bases have been damaged by months of Iranian strikes, two people familiar with the ongoing analysis said.
According to The Post, the damage to these facilities has presented a once-in-a-generation opportunity for the Pentagon to reconsider its presence in the region. The Department of War has already signaled that it might not rebuild its bases in their previous form.
The outlet reported that the evaluation is being led by the Pentagon’s policy office. A senior Pentagon official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the Joint Staff and U.S. Central Command were also studying the issue.
The official said Secretary of War Pete Hegseth had not yet ordered a formal review of the U.S. posture in the region. Instead, the official characterized the analysis as “prudent planning” that could eventually inform how the administration decides whether to rebuild bases damaged during the war.
“Decisions are going to have to be made on some of this stuff,” the official said.
According to The Washington Post, U.S. Central Command normally stations about 40,000 troops across nearly 20 sites along a 1,500-mile arc stretching from Jordan to Oman.
Since early this year, the military has surged warships, fighter aircraft, air defense assets and other military equipment to the region to defend American forces and conduct more than 13,000 strikes against Iran, the report said.
Allies in the region have long depended on American forces for their defense. Any regional drawdown could leave some states less able to defend themselves against Iranian attacks. Developing domestic capabilities or partnering with other powers to offset any shortfall could take months or years.
Meanwhile, people familiar with the Pentagon’s analysis said the issue is likely to intensify a debate between factions within the administration. One camp supports military interventions, while another has argued that the Pentagon should curtail some of its security commitments to refocus on defending the American homeland or deterring more powerful adversaries such as China.
According to The Post, the discussions have also involved Admiral Bradley Cooper, the head of U.S. Central Command, who supports deliberations about potentially moving American troops west from the Persian Gulf, according to a U.S. official.
However, a spokesperson for U.S. Central Command declined to comment.
Before the conflict began in February, U.S. Central Command evacuated personnel from many of its bases, determining that they were too vulnerable to Iranian missile and drone attacks to maintain normal staffing levels. Some of the shifts away from major Gulf facilities could continue after the war, a person familiar with the posture adjustments said.
“Iran thinks we are in the traditional places,” the person said, declining to specify the changes to avoid putting U.S. service members at risk. “And we are not.”
However, multiple people familiar with the Pentagon’s analysis cautioned that any permanent changes to the American military posture remain distant and would require approval from senior administration officials.
The development comes as the Pentagon has publicly estimated that the war’s cost will reach about $37.5 billion by the end of September, The Washington Post reported. That amount does not include the cost of rebuilding bases in the region. (ANI)
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