The Pentagon is reconsidering the future of its military bases across West Asia after Iranian strikes inflicted significant damage on several key US installations during the war, raising questions over Washington’s ability to maintain and protect its longstanding military presence in the region.
A senior US defense official said the Pentagon is currently working with US Central Command (CENTCOM) to assess damaged installations and determine which facilities remain necessary under Washington’s future military posture.
“We’re meeting with CENTCOM and doing the assessments right now from an installation perspective,” the official told reporters during a Defense Writers Group breakfast in Washington.
“Part of this is what will the global posture be in the future, and what does that require us to have?”
The review comes after Iranian strikes targeted several US military sites across the region following the US-Israeli attack on Iran in February.
Among the facilities hit was Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, one of Washington’s most important military hubs in the region, where strikes reportedly rendered the Pentagon’s Combined Air Operations Center inoperable.
US installations in Saudi Arabia and Jordan were also targeted, while military infrastructure in Bahrain sustained major damage.
Acting US Navy Secretary Hung Cao acknowledged the scale of the destruction in Bahrain, saying “they blew the hell out of Bahrain.”
Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Daryl Caudle separately said the US Navy would not be returning to Naval Support Activity Bahrain “anytime soon.”
Source:Websites
