PNN – An American publication wrote that the war with Iran has exposed fundamental problems in the US military.
According to the report of Pakistan News Network, an analysis published by the Atlantic warns that the recent conflict with Iran has exposed fundamental problems in the US military that go beyond short-term political issues.
The report emphasizes that the US armed forces, despite tactical successes in attacks against Iran, suffer from shortcomings that could turn into a major disaster in the future.
According to the Atlantic, these problems are rooted in three mistaken assumptions and historical approaches left over from the post-Cold War era:
- Priority of quality over quantity; a legacy of World War II
The author points out in this analysis that the US military has suffered from a deep-rooted bias in prioritizing quality and advanced equipment over quantity and numbers.
This approach is reminiscent of the Navy’s mistake at the beginning of World War II, which insisted on building large destroyers instead of small, cheap destroyers to counter German submarines.
At that time, the solution was found only when production shifted to smaller, faster-built destroyers (today’s frigates).
This weakness is still evident today; the US Navy has so few expensive vessels that losing even one would be a national disaster.
- Ignoring defensive warfare and new threats (drones)
The Atlantic analysis shows that American military thinking in recent decades has been based on “offense” and has ignored defense.
For example, the Air Force has been slow to build bomb-proof concrete shelters for aircraft worth tens of millions of dollars. Drones, and especially defenses against them, have been a low priority until recently. A prime example of this neglect is the layout of aircraft at Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar, which are still lined up wing-to-wing, just as they were at Clark Air Base in the Philippines in December 1941, making them easy targets for potential attacks.
- The illusion of short, low-casualty wars
The stunning success of the first Gulf War (1991) has led to a prevailing belief in the Pentagon that future wars will be short and low-casualty. This illusion has left the US military unprepared for scenarios such as massive ammunition consumption, rapid replacement of destroyed equipment on the battlefield, and training replacement forces during war.
Responsibility of leaders and a warning for the future
The publication emphasizes that while senior military commanders over the past three decades have been responsible for these shortcomings, the ultimate accountability lies with civilian leaders (governments). Meanwhile, the Trump administration has also failed to demonstrate a proper understanding of the depth of this crisis and present a concrete plan to rebuild the defense industry and create the capacity to mass-produce munitions and equipment on a large scale.