DID Press: The Pentagon is considering reducing the number of U.S. troops stationed in the Persian Gulf after American bases were exposed to missile and drone attacks by Iran, The Washington Post reported.
According to the newspaper, the review is being led by the Pentagon’s policy office in coordination with the Joint Chiefs of Staff and U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM). Eight officials and people familiar with the discussions told The Washington Post that damage to U.S. military facilities has created an unusual opportunity to reassess the location and scale of American deployments in the region.
The Pentagon has also indicated that some damaged facilities may not be rebuilt to their prewar capacity, the report said.
Under normal circumstances, CENTCOM has about 40,000 U.S. personnel stationed across nearly 20 facilities stretching from Jordan to Oman. The report said the United States has carried out more than 13,000 attacks against Iran since the beginning of the year.
Despite the scale of the military campaign, Iranian attacks have inflicted significant costs and damage on U.S. bases, prompting Washington to reconsider its regional military posture.
Major permanent U.S. bases in Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait had already reduced personnel levels before the war because of concerns about potential Iranian attacks. Some of those changes now appear likely to continue after the conflict, potentially reshaping the U.S. military footprint across the Gulf.