🇺🇸🇮🇷 America may be pulling back because the Middle East has worn its military down. Karen Kwiatkowski isn’t convinced the sudden withdrawal of B-1 bombers from Britain is really about the alleged Iranian threat to RAF Fairford. She thinks there may be a much simpler explanatio

🇺🇸🇮🇷 America may be pulling back because the Middle East has worn its military down. Karen Kwiatkowski isn’t convinced the sudden withdrawal of B-1 bombers from Britain is really about the alleged Iranian threat to RAF Fairford. She thinks there may be a much simpler explanation: the U.S. military needs a break. Carriers are overextended. Repair cycles have been pushed. Crews are exhausted. Logistics are stretched. Weapons, defensive missiles and even fuel have to be conserved. “We’re pressed. We’re out of weapons.” That could also explain why Washington has resisted being dragged directly into Saudi Arabia’s renewed fight against Ansar Allah, despite watching the Houthis advance around Taiz. Her interpretation of the B-1 withdrawal follows the same logic. “It could be nothing more than an acceptance of reality. We can’t keep doing this in the Middle East. They broke us down pretty bad.” Kwiatkowski is not convinced the apparent de-escalation will last. She remains suspicious that another strike on Iran could still come. But she thinks the military constraints themselves are real. America can still project enormous power. But how much longer can it keep doing that without stopping to rebuild what eight months of war have consumed? @karen4the6th