Pentagon Weighing Smaller US Military Presence in Persian Gulf After Iran War, Washington Post Reports
The Facts
- The Washington Post reported Tuesday that the Pentagon is evaluating its military footprint in the Middle East.
- A central question in the analysis is whether to pull US troops back from the Persian Gulf.
- The Post based its report on eight people, including officials and others familiar with the matter.
- The Pentagon's policy office is leading the analysis, with the Joint Staff and US Central Command also involved.
- Officials are weighing whether bases damaged by Iranian strikes should be rebuilt in their previous form.
- Sources described the analysis as not yet a formal review, requiring senior approval to become policy.
- CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper has been involved in the discussions and supports considering a westward shift of Gulf troops.
- Before the war, US Central Command oversaw roughly 40,000 troops at almost 20 sites from Jordan to Oman.
- A drawdown would affect Gulf countries that have long hosted US bases and the security commitments tied to them.
Context
Has the US decided to withdraw troops from the Gulf?
No. Sources described the work as a preliminary analysis that has not reached the stage of a formal review, and said it would need approval from senior officials before becoming policy CNN Türk,Asian News Internat…. The Times of Israel reported that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has not ordered a formal review of the question Times of Israel.
Where might US forces be repositioned?
One option under discussion is moving troops and bases from the Persian Gulf to areas further west in the region, which includes Jordan and Israel MoneyControl,Times of Israel,Türkiye. CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper has said he supports discussing such a westward shift Jerusalem Post,BloombergHT.
What prompted the reassessment?
Months of Iranian missile and drone strikes since the war began in late February damaged US facilities across the region and exposed the vulnerability of large, concentrated bases MoneyControl,Haberler,Times of Israel. The Post described the resulting damage as creating a rare opportunity to reconsider US posture, and quoted former US ambassador to Saudi Arabia Michael Ratney saying the war "really did highlight the vulnerability...of U.S. forces in the region" Raw Story,Anadolu Ajansı.
Where Left and Right agree, and where they split
Left and right largely agree on this one.
- Where Left and Right agree
- Both read the damaged bases as a chance to shrink: restoring roughly 40,000 troops across almost 20 sites must be justified, not assumed by default.
- Where Left and Right differ in emphasis
- Left and right both want a smaller Gulf footprint — they part on whether the problem is the presence or the price.
How left and right read it
What matters here isn't where 40,000 troops get repositioned, but whether that standing presence across almost 20 sites from Jordan to Oman should be rebuilt at all. Because Iranian strikes damaged bases that officials are now weighing whether to restore in their previous form, and the CENTCOM commander backs considering a westward shift, the burden sits with those who want the old posture back. Shrink the footprint, don't relocate it.
Rebuilding what Iranian strikes damaged is a spending decision before it is a strategic one, and the presumption should run against it. Because officials are weighing whether those bases should be restored in their previous form — with the CENTCOM commander open to shifting Gulf troops westward — the case for putting roughly 40,000 troops back across almost 20 sites has to be made, not assumed. Restraint is the cheaper default.
This isn't a story about repositioning troops in the Gulf — it's about two sides reaching the same drawdown, one because it distrusts the standing presence, the other because it distrusts the bill.
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