President Donald Trump during the National Anthem at the start of the Freedom 250 Grand Prix Race on the streets of Washington, DC, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2026. Doug Mills/Pool via REUTERS
As the consequences of President Donald Trump’s war with Iran and other foreign policy blunders spin out, defense officials are expressing “deep anxiety” over the United States’ growing vulnerability under its current commander-in-chief. This is according to new reporting by Politico, which warned on Friday, “The Pentagon’s inability to subdue Tehran, dwindling weapons stockpiles and distancing from allies have led U.S. military officials to question whether America maintains its clout.”
As Politico reports, “The Iran war is undermining the Pentagon’s ability to project power in other regions of the world — and leaving allies and former defense officials questioning whether Washington can effectively deter its adversaries. To focus resources in the Middle East, the Pentagon has pulled key air defenses and its last remaining aircraft carrier out of the Pacific. It has largely stopped maritime missions in the South China Sea aimed at curbing China’s territorial ambitions. And it has limited fighter jet rotations around Europe that defend NATO’s borders with Russia. The notably reduced U.S. military presence in the Pacific and in Europe — and President Donald Trump’s conciliatory approach to traditional foes such as Russia and North Korea — has threatened the Pentagon’s influence around the world.” Amidst all of this, former defense officials — who were granted anonymity so they could speak freely — spoke with Politico to sound the alarm.
“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 official. “Given where the resources are at, there’s a pretty big gap.”
“There’s just a real hollowing out of confidence,” said another. “The president’s apparent interest in accommodation with China is creating a perfect storm that increases [allies’] vulnerability.”
While Trump has distanced the U.S. from its allies like Canada and South Korea, he has embraced adversaries like Chinese leader Xi Jinping and North Korean ruler Kim Jong Un, making a number of moves that have handed them tactical advantages. According to Politico, “The Iran war has led to a musical chairs of sorts with weapon supplies. Gen. Xavier Brunson, who leads U.S. forces in Korea, told the Senate Armed Services Committee in April that the Pentagon had removed munitions from the peninsula for the military conflict with Iran.”
Because of this, “Allies from Australia to Taiwan are voicing concerns they won’t have the U.S. munitions they need if a conflict occurs in the region. Beijing has kept up a steady drumbeat of incursions into Taiwan’s airspace in recent months. According to one official in the Pacific, “There’s deep anxiety. I personally find the lack of urgency shocking.” And according to Bryan Clark, a former Navy officer and now an expert on naval operations with the conservative Hudson Institute think tank. “Not being there with a carrier while China is [there], is not going to help our case.”
Politico notes there is evidence of U.S. withdrawal in Europe as well, explaining, “Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in June announced a six-month review of troops in Europe. And he has removed several top officers who played key roles in assisting with Ukraine’s war against Russia. U.S. Army Europe and Africa commander Gen. Christopher Donahue, who Hegseth relieved in July, helped equip tech companies that work with the Army on drone programs. Gen. Christopher LaNeve, the Army’s new acting chief of staff, also recently stopped a joint training program between U.S. and Ukrainian troops on drone warfare.” Because of this, warned one official, “We’re about to lose an enormous amount of knowledge about how major wars are being fought from people doing the fighting.”
U.S. forces are even feeling the strain in the Middle East. According to Politico, “Navy warships have had to resupply far beyond the range of Iranian weapons. ‘They can’t operate out of any of the ports that are close to Iran that they’re used to operating out of, and so they’re doing all the resupply from Diego Garcia, which is like two or 3,000 miles back,’ said a person close to the Pentagon. The problem would be magnified, the person said, in a war against China since it has large enough arsenals to hammer U.S. bases repeatedly with ballistic missiles.”
As Politico concludes, “All of these dynamics have dealt reputational damage to U.S. credibility. ‘What’s more important is the message that’s being sent quietly by diplomats behind closed doors, which is that the United States is unreliable, the United States is unfocused, and China is focused,’ said the second former defense official. ‘It’s here, and it’s not going away.’”
