AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): Abdul Bari Atwan, a regional strategic affairs analyst, in his new article in Rai al-Youm, referred to the article in the international journal Foreign Affairs by Michael Fox, a former Biden administration advisor, who had raised the question, "Has the time come for the United States to withdraw from the Middle East?" Fox, pointing out that America's strategy in the region has failed and he considered the war against Iran a "great strategic disaster," answered this question positively.
Atwan in his article adds that many of Iran's rivals in the region, for religious or ethnic reasons, do not want to use the term "defeat" for America and "victory" for Iran; but a strategic affairs expert like Michael Fox confirms this.
This regional analyst adds that the U.S. and Zionist regime aggression against Iran in fact indicates the failure of America's strategy in the Middle East; a strategy whose foundations are the use of power, air superiority, and spending hundreds of billions of dollars to build about 50 U.S. military bases in the region, especially in the Arabian Peninsula and the Persian Gulf.
Atwan added that there is much evidence confirming Michael Fox's theory about the failure of the U.S. military presence in the Middle East, which we summarize in the following axes:
First: The failure of U.S. air and naval weapons against missiles, drones, and the plans of the axis of resistance and field battlefronts. The United States acknowledged that more than 40 of its highly advanced aircraft, including AWACS, F-15, F-35, refueling aircraft, and advanced American drones like the MQ-9, have been lost.
Second: Iran's resilience, which has continued for about 6 months, and Tehran has even become stronger and has filled most of the intelligence gaps.
Third: The attrition of America and its missile arsenal. The U.S. military command admitted that it has lost 80 percent of its interceptor missile stockpiles and other combat munitions. The large share of this attrition is primarily due to Iranian missiles, including hypersonic and bunker-buster warheads (such as Fateh, Khaibar, and Khorramshahr).
Fourth: The U.S. aggression against Iran does not provide security and stability for this country's bases and the Zionist regime. Iranian missiles destroyed large parts of greater Tel Aviv, closed the port of Eilat, and targeted military bases in Haifa.
Fifth: The closure of two important straits in the Middle East to global trade; the Strait of Hormuz has been completely closed, and the Bab al-Mandab strait has been relatively closed in this war. The Iran war has affected the global economy, oil and gas prices, other energy sources, and global inflation.
Sixth: America's wars in the Middle East (Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, and now Iran) have cost the U.S. Treasury approximately $8 trillion.
General Dan Caine, the Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in this regard that a quick way out of the war in Iran must be sought. He acknowledged that air power alone would not achieve any of Trump's objectives.
Atwan said that the U.S. army has fallen into the trap of a widespread regional attrition war on multiple fronts; the shortage of munitions and the return of all Patriot interceptor missiles that had been sold to European countries and the halt of their shipment to Ukraine are conclusive evidence of this.
According to this article, Trump also, to save the Republican Party and improve his popular base and counter internal divisions, is calling for a quick end to the aggression against Iran and completely refrains from the ground military option.
Atwan concluded that the hasty formation of the tripartite alliance of Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan due to America's imminent escape from the region to reduce its losses and failures is not unlikely.
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