U.S. Media: U.S. Military Considers Reducing Military Presence in the Gulf Region After the War

Reference News Network reported on August 21 According to a report on the website of the Washington Post on August 18, the Pentagon is considering reducing the presence of U.S. troops in the Gulf after the end of the Iran war.

The report states that, according to eight sources, including officials and other informed individuals, the Pentagon is assessing its troop presence in the Middle East, which preliminarily indicates that the Iran war could change the U.S. presence in the region.

Two individuals familiar with the situation said a key issue being evaluated by the Department of Defense is whether to withdraw troops from the Persian Gulf. The large overseas military bases there have suffered months of attacks from Iran.

The damage to these facilities has given the Pentagon an opportunity to reconsider its presence in the region for the first time in two to three decades. The Department of Defense has previously stated that it may not rebuild bases to their pre-conflict scale.

This assessment is led by the Pentagon's policy office, but an anonymous senior Pentagon official said that the Joint Chiefs of Staff and U.S. Central Command are also studying the issue.

The official stated that Defense Secretary Hegseth has not yet ordered a formal review of the U.S. military posture in the region. The official described this analysis as "prudent planning," which may ultimately inform the government's decision on whether to rebuild military bases damaged during the war.

U.S. Central Command is responsible for U.S. military operations in the Middle East, typically deploying about 40,000 personnel at nearly 20 locations across a 1,500-mile (approximately 2,410 kilometers) arc from Jordan to Oman.

Since the beginning of this year, the military has significantly increased the deployment of warships, fighter jets, air defense assets, and other military equipment to the region to protect U.S. forces and conduct over 13,000 strikes against Iran.

The largest and most permanent U.S. bases in the Middle East are located in the Persian Gulf region, with Bahrain being the headquarters of the U.S. Fifth Fleet, while other countries like Kuwait host U.S. Army and Air Force units.

For decades, Gulf allies have relied on U.S. forces for defense. Any reduction in regional military presence could leave these countries unable to withstand attacks from Iran.

Informed sources say this issue could exacerbate the debate between two factions within the U.S. government: one faction supports military intervention, while the other believes the Pentagon should reduce some security commitments and focus instead on defending the U.S. homeland or deterring other powerful adversaries.

Before the Iran war broke out in February, U.S. Central Command had evacuated many of its bases, anticipating that they were too vulnerable to maintain a conventional troop presence under Iranian missile and drone attacks.

The Washington Post reported in May that six U.S. service members were killed in March during Iran's attack on military facilities at Kuwait's Shuaiba Port, with over 200 U.S. military facilities damaged or destroyed in the conflict.

Michael Ratney, who previously served as the U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia and deputy chief of mission at the U.S. embassy in Qatar, said, "This war has indeed highlighted the vulnerability of U.S. forces in the region."

He believes that relocating troops and equipment westward to Jordan, Israel, or even along the Saudi Red Sea coast could help alleviate some pressure, while noting that distance is not a "perfect solution to the problem."

Iran has demonstrated its capability to strike distant targets within Jordan and Israel. Last month, an Iranian attack on Jordan resulted in the deaths of four U.S. service members.

Tehran's retaliatory attacks on bases in the Persian Gulf region have plunged the area into crisis and are stirring frustration among America's core allies in the region.

The Pentagon publicly estimates that the cost of this war will reach about $37.5 billion by the end of September, but this figure does not account for the funds needed to rebuild bases in the region.

The think tank "Defense Priorities," which advocates for military restraint, has called for the closure of U.S. bases within the range of Iranian missile and drone strikes—such as those in Kuwait. The organization has also called for relocating forces scattered across the UAE, Jordan, and Bahrain to safer bases, such as the Prince Sultan Air Base near Riyadh.

More hardline voices have suggested relocating U.S. forces to Israel, attempting to influence Pentagon planning. The Jewish Institute for National Security of America called in March for more U.S. military assets to be moved to Israel's Ovda Air Base.

Reports indicate that, given the Pentagon's growing concerns about Israeli espionage activities, expanding the U.S. military presence in Israel would raise worries about counterintelligence risks, and there are differing opinions within the Trump administration regarding this proposal. (Translated by Cao Weiguo and Li Sha)