Classified Assessment Warns Iran War Weakens US Elsewhere
The Story
Military leaders warned Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that extending large scale operations against Iran is unsustainable and weakens US defenses elsewhere.
The warnings appear in the classified August 14 Secretary of Defense Orders Book, the twice monthly document that maps where American warships, aircraft, troops and weapons are available worldwide.
The heads of European Command, Pacific Command and Southern Command, along with Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Daryl Caudle, entered a formal non concur: they disagree with the order to extend their forces but will carry it out.
Caudle told Hegseth that barely one fourth of the Navy's destroyer fleet is ready to deploy, a sharp fall from prewar levels, and that the service cannot sustain this level of support with no end date in sight.
Central Command has held more than 50,000 troops on alert for months, the orders book keeps some units in the Middle East through September and others into 2027, and the 82nd Airborne's 2,000 soldiers are expected to stay.
A spokesman for Hegseth said the Pentagon does not discuss internal deliberations or specific non concurrences, and the administration maintains that reports of munitions shortages are inaccurate.
Six months in, one person familiar with the assessment summed up the tenor from military leadership as too much for too long, with ships and interceptors pulled toward Iran leaving Europe, the Pacific and the homeland thinner than planned.
The warnings appear in the classified August 14 Secretary of Defense Orders Book, the twice monthly document that maps where American warships, aircraft, troops and weapons are available worldwide.
The heads of European Command, Pacific Command and Southern Command, along with Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Daryl Caudle, entered a formal non concur: they disagree with the order to extend their forces but will carry it out.
Caudle told Hegseth that barely one fourth of the Navy's destroyer fleet is ready to deploy, a sharp fall from prewar levels, and that the service cannot sustain this level of support with no end date in sight.
Central Command has held more than 50,000 troops on alert for months, the orders book keeps some units in the Middle East through September and others into 2027, and the 82nd Airborne's 2,000 soldiers are expected to stay.
A spokesman for Hegseth said the Pentagon does not discuss internal deliberations or specific non concurrences, and the administration maintains that reports of munitions shortages are inaccurate.
Six months in, one person familiar with the assessment summed up the tenor from military leadership as too much for too long, with ships and interceptors pulled toward Iran leaving Europe, the Pacific and the homeland thinner than planned.
Why It Matters
The arsenal is the binding constraint, not the will to fight. CNN reported the war has consumed nearly four fifths of American THAAD interceptors and roughly half the Patriot stock, and Fox News cites CSIS estimates that Patriot inventories fell from about 2,300 before the war to fewer than 827, with three years or more to rebuild them. Allies hold that risk too. Gulf states that depend on American air defense have asked what is left for them, and the Pacific lost its only dedicated carrier to the Middle East. The orders book holds units in place through September, and some into 2027.
Go Deeper
Read the original reporting at The Washington Post.
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