Trump’s imperial ego finally outgrows the massive US military
(Originally published Jan. 15 in “What in the World“) Trump is learning the lesson all U.S presidents learn when they give in to the urge to impose their will on the rest of the world: no military is big enough.
Emboldened by the successful military raid to abduct Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro, Trump has been threatening a military attack against Iran to punish the government for killing civilian protesters. The day he was reportedly being briefed on military options against Iran, Trump told protesters there that help is on the way.
“Iranian Patriots, KEEP PROTESTING – TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS!!!… HELP IS ON ITS WAY,” Trump posted. A crackdown against the roughly two weeks of protests has killed at least 2,000 people. The U.S. State Dept. on Tuesday warned any Americans in Iran to leave immediately. And on Wednesday, nonessential personnel were being evacuated from the U.S. Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
But Trump is also running up against the limits of American force. During his fit of pique against Venezuela, Trump ordered the USS Ford carrier and its group of ships to steam from the Mediterranean to the Caribbean. That has left the U.S. without a carrier group within striking distance of Iran. So on Wednesday, Trump proclaimed that Iran had stopped killing protesters, which an anonymous U.S. military source told The New York Times was “an off-ramp.”
Not having a carrier in the area doesn’t preclude a U.S. strike against Iran. American bombers can fly from the U.S. to Tehran in about 17 hours, as they did in Trump’s first strikes back in June. Likewise, the USS Roosevelt is still in the Red Sea and could fire Tomahawks against Iran from there. U.S. fighter jets could also reach Iran from American bases in Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, or even Germany, Italy, or the U.K. But without a carrier group, the U.S. might not be able to deploy aircraft to jam Iranian air defenses and provide defensive cover for those striking fighter and bombers.
But wait a second, you’re thinking: the U.S. doesn’t have just one aircraft carrier. It has 11. Where are the other 10?
The USS Nimitz and the USS Ronald Reagan are moored in Washington, with Reagan out of commission until later this year and the Nimitz on its way to being mothballed. The USS Eisenhower, the USS John Stennis, and the USS Harry Truman are undergoing repairs in Virginia. The USS Carl Vinson is docked in San Diego after returning from fighting Houthi rebels in the Red Sea.
That leaves only five carriers out at sea. The Ford, as mentioned, is leading Trump’s efforts to buccaneer Venezuelan crude. The USS Iwo Jima, which is a group led by an amphibious assault ship as opposed to a flat-top carrier, is off the coast of Florida. The USS Abraham Lincoln is busy contesting China’s claims to the entire South China Sea. And the USS Tripoli, another amphibious assault vessel, and the USS George Washington are both docked in Japan.
That’s why Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle has called for an increase in the already record level of U.S. military spending, to 4% of U.S. GDP from its current 3.3%-3.4%. Caudle call isn’t controversial, though: just last week, Trump himself called for boosting the U.S. military budget by 50%.
As a start, the U.S. Marines have just ordered up 30 new amphibious combat vehicles. Provided they come equipped with snow tires, the new ACVs could come in handy if Trump sends the leathernecks in to realize his dream of annexing Greenland. America’s newest enemy, Denmark, just announced it was beefing up its troop presence on the rapidly warming island. Denmark’s neighbor and NATO ally Germany is also sending 13 troops to Greenland, and even NATO’s newest member, Finland, is considering deploying forces to the island. All to face down the latest threat from NATO’s largest and most powerful member, the United States, to unilaterally secure Greenland’s security by annexing it.