As Middle East Crisis Grinds On, Pentagon Shows Signs of Strain

The open-ended crisis in the Middle East has begun to squeeze the Pentagon, fueling unease over the U.S. military’s ability to balance imminent threats to American interests there with longer-term objectives as Russia and China test Washington elsewhere in the world.

Signs of strain were underscored in recent days by a decision to withdraw the sole U.S. aircraft carrier in the region, the USS Abraham Lincoln, whose imposing presence defense officials credit with helping to contain the ongoing violence between Israel, Iran and its network of well-armed proxies.

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During a recent panel discussion, Becca Wasser, a senior fellow in the defense program at the Center for a New American Security, said it appears the Houthis are waging a “cost-imposition campaign” intended to wear down the United States until it is forced to change its policy or retreat. She cited the Navy’s heavy use of pricey Tomahawk cruise missiles and the Standard Missile-2, a surface-to-air missile that sailors have used to ward off incoming drones and missiles in the Red Sea.

Should the Navy end up in any conflict with China, Wasser noted, it’s probable the United States would need to rely on such rounds — and a lot of them.

“The rate of fire for those is really high,” said Wasser. “If you look at the rate of build, that circle does not square.”

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