U.S. military scrambles to confront a new reality across the Middle East

In the weeks since an American drone strike killed Iranian Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, U.S. military leaders have been sprinting to confront a dangerous new reality in the Middle East.

From Saudi Arabia, where troops are setting up the first U.S. presence in more than a decade; to Syria, where small teams of Americans operate near Iranian-linked forces; to Afghanistan, where officials have detected an increase in Iranian aid to the Taliban, the military is bracing for a potentially catastrophic escalation.

In visits to seven countries over the past six weeks, the top U.S. commander for the region, Gen. Kenneth "Frank" McKenzie Jr., cautioned American troops that the ballistic missile strike Iran launched days after Soleimani's death in Baghdad on Jan. 3 was unlikely the final salvo following Iran's loss of a peerless military figure.

Read the full article and more in The Washington Post.