Billions spent on expended munitions.
NYTimes-March 25, 2026
https://archive.ph/e7yOL#selection-835.0-849.174
Many of the 13 military bases in the region used by American troops are all but uninhabitable, with the ones in Kuwait, which is next door to Iran, suffering perhaps the most damage.
Despite a punishing air campaign, the Iranians “still retain some capability,” Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, acknowledged in the Pentagon news conference last week
Iran responded forcefully to the joint American and Israeli strikes, targeting not only U.S. bases but also embassies and oil and gas infrastructure throughout the region.
The lack of better planning, some military officials said, also reflects a miscalculation on the part of the administration about how Iran would respond.
Apparently Iran is NOT rolling over and surrendering. Basically they are telling the Americans:“Show me what ya got!”
Iran has been laying traps and moving additional military personnel and air defenses to Kharg Island in recent weeks in preparation for a possible US operation to take control of the island, according to multiple people familiar with US intelligence reporting on the issue.
But US officials and military experts say there would be significant risks involved in such a ground operation, including a large number of US casualties. The island has layered defenses, and the Iranians have moved additional shoulder-fired, surface-to-air guided missile systems known as MANPADs there in recent weeks, the sources said.
“I would be very worried about this,” said retired Adm. James Stavridis, the former NATO Supreme Allied Commander who now serves as a CNN military analyst. “Iranians are clever and ruthless. They will do everything they can to inflict maximum casualties on US forces both on the ships at sea, and especially once ground troops are anywhere in their sovereign territory.”
And the Iran war might affect the Ukraine war.
Last week, we reported that trilateral talks about the Ukraine war had been suspended, thanks to the United States now having to focus on executing Trump’s war on Iran with Israel. However, in an interview with Reuters , Zelensky said that Trump is now pressuring Ukraine to cave on its biggest demand just to wipe the war off his to-do list .
“The Middle East definitely has an impact on President Trump , and I think on his next steps. President Trump, unfortunately, in my opinion, still chooses a strategy to put more pressure on the Ukrainian side,” he told Reuters.
Zelensky also bemoaned what he says is an insufficient supply of interceptor missiles for Patriot air defense systems.
It seems obvious to me anyway that the US defense industrial plant is inadequate to fight both wars. Perhaps even one war.