The former top security chief of the US Central Command (CENTCOM) warned on Thursday that American bases in the Middle East could be dangerous. Troubled by Iranian missile attack,
Retired Gen. Kenneth “Frank” McKenzie, now Hertog’s senior fellow at the US Jewish National Security Institute, is sounding the alarm bells. a report this week It argues that US bases in the Arabian Gulf have become vulnerable to Iranian attack because of Tehran’s expanded weapons capabilities.
“Our basing strategy is outdated and ill-prepared to deal with the central threat in the region, Iran,” McKenzie said. “By developing a resilient western basing network for U.S. air assets, we will complicate Iran’s ability to target our forces and raise the cost of aggression.”
Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, commander, US Central Command, testifies during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on US Central Command and US Africa Command at the Dirksen Building on Tuesday, March 15, 2022. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)
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In a conversation with reporters this week, McKenzie pointed out that some of the top US bases in countries like Qatar, the UAE and Bahrain — which are located near Iran and once served as a deterrent against malign actors — are now in a dangerous situation. Weak Points in the US Military Position in the area.
He argued that as technology and missile development modernized, base placement needed to be reconsidered, saying Iran had too many weapons. Short-range missile capabilitiesWhile its medium to long range capabilities are lacking.
“They have spent enormous amounts of money and resources building up very capable ballistic missile capabilities — theater range ballistic missiles, land-attack cruise missiles, and drones,” McKenzie said. “All three of these capabilities are relatively new capabilities in the region, and they pose new threats.
Replicas of Iranian ballistic missiles are displayed at the Sacred Defense Museum (dedicated to the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq War) in Tehran, Iran on February 7, 2024. (Photo: Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images)
“They can throw more weapons at us than we can protect ourselves against in a fight, even with highly capable systems like Patriot and others that exist,” he said.
The retired general, who sat as Centcom commander for three years between March 2019 and April 2022 before retiring from the Marine Corps after 42 years of service, argued that the US should begin seriously working with regional allies such as Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Oman and Egypt to move bases away from Iran.
A military truck carrying missiles passes by a portrait of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during an annual military parade. (Atta Kenare/AFP/Getty Images)
He said bases should also be identified “as far west as possible where (the US) could deploy aircraft, maintenance capabilities, refuelling capabilities and weapons”, but which would be out of reach of Iran.
When asked by Fox News Digital about the willingness of these Middle Eastern countries to allow them to relocate their bases, McKenzie said their offer has already been accepted. Discussions with partner countries in the area.
Iran will present its first hypersonic ballistic missile “Fattah” (Conqueror) at an event in Tehran, Iran on June 6, 2023, attended by President Ebrahim Raisi (second from left) and other government officials. (Photo: Sepah News/Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
“When I was a mid-to-late level Centcom commander, we talked about this, there is interest in this,” he said. “The thing to remember here is that if we just pick one country as an example, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – Saudi Arabia benefits more than anyone else from improving these bases in the west of the country.
“These will be dual-use bases,” McKenzie said. “We’re building a base there to assist in the defense of Saudi Arabia under certain conditions, and it will actually enhance their own self-defense capabilities.”
Protesters and members of the Iranian paramilitary Basij forces march next to the fourth-generation Khorramshahr ballistic missile Khayber displayed during an anti-Israel rally to show their solidarity with Palestinians in Tehran, Iran, November 24, 2023. (Photo: Hossein Baris/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)
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The former Centcom commander also pointed out that the direct security threat posed by Iran comes not only from Tehran itself, but also from its use of terrorist groups for its proxy wars in the Middle East.
“Deterrence can only be achieved by a credible demonstration of the will and the ability to fight and win when necessary,” McKenzie argued in his report. “Deterrence must be continuous; in the Middle East, its half-life may be very short unless it is systematically refreshed.”
