The US military deployment in the Middle East has been supported in large fixed installations capable of housing thousands of soldiers and operating continuously, a structure inherited from conflicts where air dominance reduced direct threats to those positions to a minimum. However, the advance of drones and precision missiles that logic has changedby allowing even highly protected infrastructures to be reached from long distances with relative ease.
Iran empties US bases. The Iranian attacks have modified completely the balance on the ground, to the point of leaving many of the main US bases in the region practically unusable. We are talking about key facilities in Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain or Saudi Arabia that have suffered damage on radars, runways, command centers or logistical infrastructures, forcing them to evacuate or drastically reduce their activity.
What was a solid network for years military projection It has become a set of vulnerable positions, exposed to missiles and drones that can hit accurately and sustainably.
To the hotels. counted the new york times that the most striking consequence of this situation is that part of the US troops have had to abandon their bases and relocate in hotels, offices and spaces improvised ones spread throughout the region. In practice, this has led to a “remote” war, in which many troops operate outside traditional military installations, far from the environments designed to sustain complex operations.
It is a certainly unusual image, one where the soldiers of a superpower, perhaps the greatest of all, are working dispersed in civilian environments to be able to continue participating in the conflict.
Dispersal to survive. This fragmented deployment is not accidental, but a direct response to Iran’s ability to locate and attack concentrated targets. Keeping troops on large bases has become too riskyso the Pentagon has chosen to disperse them to reduce the impact of possible attacks.
There is no doubt that the strategy has an obvious cost, since it makes coordination difficult, limits the use of certain teams and reduces operational efficiency compared to a centralized structure.
Satellite image of Al Udeid air base in Qatar in February
Further and better. It we have counted before. Unlike previous conflicts such as Iraq or Afghanistan, where threats were more limited, Iran has ballistic missiles and drones capable of hitting targets throughout the region.
This has forced a complete rethinking of the security concept of US bases, which for decades were built under the premise that the surrounding territory could be controlled. Now, that assumption is no longer valid, and any fixed installation becomes a potential target.
The paradox between civilians. Plus: relocation in hotels and civil spaces introduces an especially delicate dimension, as it blurs the line between military objectives and civilian environments. In fact, Iran has not been slow to take advantage of this circumstance to accuse the United States of use the population as a human shield, while encouraging to identify and report the presence of troops wherever they are.
This creates a scenario of great tension, where the protection of the troops depends in part on their invisibility, but that same invisibility increases the risk for the civilians around them.
Increasingly difficult to get rid of. Because from the sidewalk of Washington, operate from improvised locations means losing key capabilities. Heavy equipment, advanced command systems or even specialized infrastructure cannot be easily moved to a hotel or office, limiting the scope and effectiveness of operations.
Although the US military maintains its ability to act, the quality and speed of response suffers, making warfare more complex and less efficient.
The real change. What happened also reflects a deeper change in the nature of modern conflict. The great bases, the same ones that once were the pillar of presence American military abroad, are no longer safe spaces against adversaries with advanced capabilities.
The combination of long-range missiles and drones has turned any fixed point into a vulnerable target, and that forces us to completely rethink not only the way we fight, but also where and how a war can be sustained.
Image | Plant Labs
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