US assets in Middle East positioned for highly kinetic war, ex-Pentagon official warns
The US is in position for a “highly kinetic” campaign against Iran after launching one of its largest recent military buildups in the Middle East, a former senior Pentagon official has claimed.Dana Stroul, now research director at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, made the assessment Sunday as Washington and Tehran prepare for a second round of indirect nuclear talks in Oman.“The US military is ready for a sustained, highly kinetic campaign should President Trump order it, and also prepared to defend allies and partners in the Middle East from Iran’s missiles,” Stroul told Fox News Digital.“The US military can rapidly reposition assets from all over the world and deploy overwhelmingly lethal force in a short period of time to one theater,” she said before highlighting how there is “no ally or enemy capable of what we have seen from the US in this current buildup.”Describing how the current posture differs from the June 2025 strikes on Iranian-linked nuclear targets, Stroul said the US has expanded its offensive and defensive capabilities.“Two US aircraft carriers and their accompanying vessels and air wings were stationed in the Middle East last summer during the 12-day war and the US operation Midnight Hammer,” she explained.“The addition of the Ford is really important, it expands US offensive capabilities if we go to war with Iran,” she said.While in June 2025, the US carried out limited but highly targeted strikes against Iranian nuclear infrastructure to degrade key facilities without triggering a regional war, now, Stroul said the force posture is broader and more sustained.The US has also “increased the number of guided-missile destroyers, fighter aircraft, refuelers, and air defense systems” in the region, she explained.The deployment of aircraft carriers such as the USS Gerald R.Ford and USS Abraham Lincoln has assumed heightened strategic importance.The USS Gerald R.
Ford was recently tracked transiting the ...