Pentagon Gets A Grim Warning On Defending Israel. US Cannot Simply Ignore It.

The Pentagon has received a grim warning from a top US general about battle preparedness in the Middle East.

As the Middle East conflict enters its sixth month, the stark warning has come from Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, the head of US European Command, The Washington Post reported.

Limited stocks of Navy destroyers, used to defend against ballistic missile attacks unleashed by Tehran, means the European Command of the US may have to prioritize the homeland instead of seeking to protect Israel, according to the report.

Grynkewich’s private warning to the Pentagon pointing out the lack of sufficient naval forces to block Israeli targets from incoming ballistic missiles came earlier this week.

The latest report comes after an earlier indication lobbed concerns about another potential battlefield worry for the Trump administration, in the form of a reported depletion of its ammunition.

Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine had reportedly raised the issue with US President Donald Trump last month. Caine told Trump that while available options could succeed, they carried risks worth weighing, according to a source familiar with the matter and a US official.

These concerns are a pointer to the constraints on the military inflicted by the protracted Middle East conflict.

Grynkewich sent written notification to senior Pentagon aides bluntly saying that without another Navy destroyer, the defense of the United States “homeland” over Israel would have to be prioritized.

The report quoted a US defense official as saying the communication is in sync with past intimations to the Pentagon from top generals. These communications are initiated when top military planners identify potential risks that should be brought to the notice of the US administration.

The Pentagon chose not to comment on the report and the US European Command did not respond. The Israeli Embassy in Washington could not be reached for comment, according to the report.

The development assumes significance as the US and Israel are reportedly planning another major offensive that may last up to two weeks.

The reported offensive plan would target electricity across Iran’s capital, Tehran, and aim to carry out disruptions across the country.

The June ceasefire ended after US strikes and Iran’s retaliatory fire last month. After a pause, the strikes have resumed again. Mediatory efforts are muted.

The key tussle now is about the control of the Strait of Homruz, a chokepoint now closed by Iran through which a fifth of the world’s energy cargoes were routed before the conflict began late in February. The closure of Hormuz has spurred a rally in oil price, and stoked inflationary concerns across the world.

The Middle East operation has reportedly drained supplies of key defensive weapons with the Navy cited as the most affected wing. Its resources have been facing tremendous pressure as the US is enforcing a naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz as a retaliatory measure to Iran’s forced closure of the choke point.

US naval destroyers in the eastern Mediterranean Sea have been carrying out Israel’s defense for many years. The vessels are also managing Iran’s barrage of missiles targeting Israel as well as those fired by Tehran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen.

European Command is central to this mission, as it coordinates military operations in the Mediterranean.

It is also on standby to any probable Russian incursion into territory under the protection of the NATO.

The Navy reportedly has five destroyers in the region and a sixth is slated to arrive later this year, according to Pentagon.

But maintenance issues are mounting as the Middle East conflict has dragged on for a bigger span than earlier expected.

Pentagon assessments have shown that US forces have done the bulk of defending Israel from Iranian missiles than Israeli air defense weapons.