F.P. Report
Washington: Successive U.S. presidents have tried to pivot to the Indo-Pacific and reduce forces in the Middle East, but time and again they have been drawn back in by crises that are partially triggered by rapid U.S. withdrawals from the region. To avoid continuing this cycle, a new CNAS report proposes a significant revision of the current U.S. military footprint in the region that meaningfully reduces U.S. presence while still protecting key U.S. interests.
In When Less is More: Rethinking U.S. Military Strategy and Posture in the Middle East, authors Becca Wasser, Ilan Goldenberg, Elisa Catalano Ewers, and Lilly Blumenthal outline a new framework that seeks to identify a narrower set of U.S. interests, and more directly link the military activities and force structure needed to protect those interests.
The authors propose a U.S. policy that moves away from a sprawling base network, with greater emphasis on lighter-footprint operations. Specific recommendations in the report include:
Slim down U.S. ground presence by supporting direct counterterrorism operations, logistics, maintenance, and security cooperation.
Adopt a distributed basing network to reduce risks to U.S. forces and capabilities from adversary missile strikes.
Reallocate excess conventional strike and bomber aircraft from the Middle East to other priority regions, while retaining some strike aircraft, UAVs, ISR, and aerial refueling capabilities.
Narrowly focus U.S. security cooperation efforts to train and professionalize elite partner counterterrorism forces instead of trying to build national militaries.
“The United States still has vital interests in the Middle East that require a level of military investment in the region,” conclude the authors. “However, those interests are more limited, and the United States must be willing to accept more risk in the Middle East while also prioritizing non-military tools. Given challenges and strategic interests elsewhere in the world and at home, it is time to consider how the United States might approach force posture in the region differently than in the past.”
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