Israel-Hamas war reveals challenges to US pullback in Middle EastNavy Times By Geoff Ziezulewicz 10/9/2023
Last fall, the White House’s National Security Strategy made clear that a reduced role for the U.S. military in the Middle East was in store.
De-escalation, partnerships and an avoidance of “grand designs” would guide military and diplomatic policy as the Pentagon continued its years-long pivot toward countering China and continuing the West’s proxy war against Russia in Ukraine, moves that inevitably require pulling military resources from elsewhere.
But defense analysts say the U.S. may face challenges in extracting American forces from the region in the wake of Saturday’s unprecedented attack inside Israel by the Palestinian militant group Hamas. Following the attack, Israel has vowed to invade and seize the restive Gaza Strip from the Iranian-backed militants.
Meanwhile, Pentagon officials say U.S. Navy and Air Force assets are being buttressed in the region to dissuade Iran or other regional actors from further aiding Hamas, which has been designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. and European Union.
So, while U.S. officials may want to put conflict in the Middle East behind them, as laid out in last year’s national security strategy, analysts say the realities there render such an aspiration easier said than done.
“In terms of the Middle East, it’s hard as we try to make the famous pivot to the Pacific, events have a way of pulling us back in,” retired Adm. James Stavridis, a former NATO supreme allied commander in Europe, told Military Times.
Stavridis added that while Israel has far more firepower than Hamas, the conflict is at risk of turning into a broader regional war if the organization’s backers in Iran seek to enter the fray.
A senior Hamas official denied reports that Iranian security officials planned the attack or gave the go-ahead during a meeting in Beirut last week, The Associated Press reported Monday.
“The Biden administration had hoped to cut back on global commitments in order to focus on the Pacific,” said Mark Cancian, a retired Marine Corps colonel and current senior advisor with the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ international security program.
“However, Russia, Hamas, and Iran have different ideas,” he added. “The enemy gets a vote.”
Just a day after Saturday’s attack by Hamas, which killed hundreds of Israelis and at least nine U.S. citizens, leading to retaliatory attacks that have killed hundreds of Palestinians, U.S. military posture in the region is already evolving to deter a broader conflict.
More:
https://www.navytimes.com/news/your-military/2023/10/09/israel-hamas-war-reveals-challenges-to-us-pullback-in-middle-east/
