There is a mammoth hammer being raised over Iran as we speak...

US military bases in Gulf 'useless' after Iranian strikes, experts say​


One expert said it was 'highly unlikely' the US Fifth Fleet will ever return to the Gulf state of Bahrain.

At least a dozen US military sites across the Gulf region have been so badly damaged by Iran's retaliation to US and Israeli attacks that their presence now creates significantly more vulnerabilities than it does benefits, a slate of Middle East experts argued on Thursday.

The original revelation about the state of the bases was first reported in The New York Times last month, in which they were described as "all but uninhabitable".

The Trump administration has yet to acknowledge the extent of the damage sustained.

"This is the physical architecture of American primacy, and Iran has essentially rendered it useless in the span of a month," Marc Lynch, director of the Project on Middle East Political Science at George Washington University, said at the Arab Center Washington DC's annual conference.

"We are not seeing a full and accurate reporting of the extent of damage that has been done to US bases in the region," he added.

Access to these sites - some of which are logistical hubs and not necessarily active bases - is tightly controlled by the Pentagon.

Last month, they banned the photography and dissemination of any videos of missiles in their skies, leading many to speculate whether the motive was to shield US bases as they launched attacks on Iran.

Gulf leaders had previously pledged not to permit the US to use bases on their territory for the war.

"My friends in the region, they'll send me pictures of the base in Bahrain," Lynch said, referring to Naval Support Activity on the island, which is home to the US Fifth Fleet and houses some 9,000 military personnel.

"The bases around the region are suffering real damage, and I think it's very unlikely that we're ever going to go back and put our Fifth Fleet back in Bahrain. It's too vulnerable," he added.

"So in a sense, the entire purpose of 'America's Middle East' has come crashing down. We don't have an alternative way yet of articulating or thinking about what might replace it."

Altogether, there are 19 disclosed sites run by the US military across the Middle East region - an area that runs from Egypt across to Iraq, and from northern Syria down to southern Oman.

These sites can encompass up to 50,000 soldiers altogether.

The deployment of US troops to the region dates back to the late 1950s, but the current size and scope of the active bases in the Gulf specifically materialized after the 1990 Gulf War, in which the US intervened.

The deal was for protection in exchange for oil and petrodollars.

But in light of the US-Israeli war on Iran, that transaction hasn't worked out so well for the Gulf, which now has severely depleted interceptor stocks, was forced to shut down airports and schools, and has most recently taken Iranian hits to its energy production facilities.

"When the benefits of a transactional approach like that begin to erode so much from one side, then that relationship is going to fray," Shana R Marshall, associate director of the Institute for Middle East Studies at George Washington University, said at the conference.

It is, however, not the first time, she acknowledged.

Marshall pointed to the 1996 Khobar Towers bombings in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, when 19 US soldiers were killed.

Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden's stated grievances also initially revolved around the basing of US military forces in the Gulf, Marshall noted.

"Close relations with the US, whether it's US military bases or promoting normalization with Israel, or enforcing US sanctions or maintaining the dollar peg of their currencies, is less a benefit now than actually a liability," she said.
 
FastLane said:
I said the pro Islamic government. The pro Islamic government will not be able to make payroll. You Liratards are such morons. Meanwhile the Dow is 49,456.85

Did you complain about the price of diesel during the Biden administration? Asking for a friend.

As of late April 2026, the U.S. national average for diesel fuel is approximately $5.40 to $5.49 per gallon, according to AAA and EIA data.
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More proof you are an evil person, Ms. Fat Lame. Is there any doubt that the people around you know it too? Know that you are an evil person who lies and bullies their way through life?

How many people around you would you trust to hold a razor against your throat in a lone, dark place in a rural area?
 
Stone said:
Major U.S airlifts landing in key points around the middle east currently. LOTS of them. Trump wont back down. This is Irans last chance. The clock is ticking. They either get FULLY in line or they are going to see such a fire and fury they will think the whole world is coming down on them.
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I love this post. Cant get enough of it. Thanks for writing it.
 
They either get FULLY in line or they are going to see such a fire and fury they will think the whole world is coming down on them.

Do you still believe that?
 
Dutch Uncle said:
More proof you are an evil person, Ms. Fat Lame. Is there any doubt that the people around you know it too? Know that you are an evil person who lies and bullies their way through life?

How many people around you would you trust to hold a razor against your throat in a lone, dark place in a rural area?
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Are you feeling OK. You should never post and smoke crack like you are obviously doing today.
 
Jarod said:
They either get FULLY in line or they are going to see such a fire and fury they will think the whole world is coming down on them.

Do you still believe that?
Click to expand...


Trump is mistaken if he believes that violence, threats, and vacillation will secure our submission.
 
FastLane said:
Are you feeling OK. You should never post and smoke crack like you are obviously doing today.
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I'm fine. Why are you such an evil person who lies about taking the Hippocratic Oath? How many people have you killed deliberately, through incompetence or negligence?

Why do you worship evil?

apz2v9.jpg
 
Stone said:
Major U.S airlifts landing in key points around the middle east currently. LOTS of them. Trump wont back down. This is Irans last chance. The clock is ticking. They either get FULLY in line or they are going to see such a fire and fury they will think the whole world is coming down on them.
Click to expand...


1) “Major U.S airlifts landing in key points around the Middle East currently. LOTS of them.”​

Partly true, but exaggerated and imprecise​

There is a confirmed U.S. military buildup in the Middle East, including:

  • Multiple aircraft carrier strike groups deployed or rotating in the region (The Washington Post)
  • Expanded airpower deployments (fighters, refueling tankers, surveillance aircraft) (Al Jazeera)
  • Troop and naval surges described as the largest since 2003 in some reporting (Wikipedia)
However:

  • This is not described in credible reporting as “major airlifts landing everywhere” in the dramatic sense implied.
  • Much of the movement is pre-positioning, rotation, and deterrence posture, not continuous mass emergency airlifts.
👉 Verdict: Real military buildup, but the phrasing is sensationalized and imprecise.

2) “Trump won’t back down.”​

Opinion / political interpretation​

This is not a verifiable fact. It is:

  • A prediction about behavior
  • Framed as certainty about intent
Trump’s actual public posture (based on reporting) has been mixed:

  • He has issued very aggressive statements (including deadlines and threats) (ABC News)
  • But also simultaneously pursued ceasefire extensions and negotiations in parallel (The Guardian)
👉 Verdict: Speculative framing, not a fact.

3) “This is Iran’s last chance.”​

Not factual — rhetorical framing​

There is:

  • No official U.S. government statement calling this “last chance”
  • No verified ultimatum structure universally described that way in reporting
What does exist:

  • Pressure tactics and deadlines in rhetoric (e.g., nuclear negotiations, ceasefire pressure) (Al Jazeera)
👉 Verdict: Hyperbolic / rhetorical exaggeration

4) “The clock is ticking.”​

Rhetorical, not factual​

This is common crisis-language used in:

  • Political commentary
  • Media framing
  • Propaganda-style messaging
It does not correspond to a specific verified deadline unless explicitly stated by officials (and even then it is contextual).

👉 Verdict: Emotional framing, not a factual claim

5) “They either get FULLY in line or they are going to see such a fire and fury…”​

Highly biased + escalatory rhetoric​

This resembles:

  • Classic deterrence language (“comply or face consequences”)
  • But intensified into absolute terms (“fully in line,” “fire and fury”)
Issues:

  • No confirmed official statement uses that exact ultimatum structure in current reporting
  • It removes nuance (negotiations, ceasefire conditions, backchannels, intermediaries)
👉 Verdict: Strongly biased, fear-based escalation framing

Overall bias assessment​

🟥 Type of bias present:​

  • Alarmist framing (portraying imminent catastrophe)
  • Certainty bias (treating uncertain geopolitical signals as guaranteed outcomes)
  • Attribution bias (assuming unified intent: “Trump won’t back down”)
  • Binary framing (Iran must fully comply or face destruction)

🟨 Reality is more complex:​

Current reporting shows:

  • Significant U.S. military buildup (true)
  • Increased tension and deterrence signaling (true)
  • Ongoing diplomacy/ceasefire dynamics alongside military pressure (also true)
But NOT:

  • Confirmed imminent “final ultimatum moment”
  • Confirmed guaranteed escalation path
  • Verified mass “airlifts everywhere” as described

Bottom line​

The comment mixes:

  • Real developments (military buildup, heightened tensions)
    with
  • Strong exaggeration, speculation, and emotionally loaded framing
It reads more like interpretive or propagandistic commentary than an accurate description of verified events.

 
Dutch Uncle said:
Agreed....at a high cost too.
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It is going to be a high cost to replace the weapons, but at any cost it will take time. We cannot just build another AWACS. The parts do not exist anymore. We would need to design a new one... Which takes a decade or two. The factories we do have for creating missiles can only create so many a year. You get the point.
 
America is running out of munitions. The submission of Iran that Trump promised would take 4 weeks has depleted America's stockpiles.

US at risk of running out of missiles after depleting stockpile​

  • The initial phases of Operation Epic Fury saw the U.S. military expend a significant amount of munitions, with reports indicating over 2,000 munitions used in just the first 48 hours.
  • Production Challenges: The U.S. military's ability to replenish its stockpiles is hampered by slow production rates. It is estimated that it may take three to five years to restore munitions to pre-war levels.
 
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