The notably reduced U.S. military presence in the Pacific and in Europe — and Trump’s conciliatory approach to traditional foes such as Russia and North Korea — has threatened the Pentagon’s influence around the world, according to five former defence officials and a person familiar with Defence Department planning, reports Politico.
“The obvious question that nobody seems to want to overly press the administration on right now is: Do we still have a credible deterrent?” said one of the officials. “Given where the resources are at, there’s a pretty big gap.”
The Pentagon’s inability to subdue Tehran, coupled with drastically reduced stockpiles of missile interceptors and other key munitions, has fuelled an increasing consensus that the U.S. military is losing the clout it once held with allies.
“There’s just a real hollowing out of confidence,” said a second former defence official, who, like others, was granted anonymity to discuss sensitive military issues.