Fixed it for you
There is a learning point or two in this circus.
- Hubris is a term that seems to need to be re-learnt periodically, to avoid karma.
- Beware what you wish for, when you drain the swamp, it can stink more than it used to.
- Deliberately denigrating and insulting your allies might play well to your audience but the consequences might need to be taking into account in your ops plan.
- Lie down with Putin and you might catch fleas.
Operationally, denial of airspace for military operations probably explains why the KC135Rs are drilling holes in the racetracks in an area of the gulf that looks unwise otherwise. Options to transit to the area of interest seems to be getting pretty reliant in Iraq, which should bring back some memories of other recent bad decisions. The nearest friendly turf is Diego which has the potential for some political issues. African bases such as Djibouti are inviting to Yemen... and further south and west US basing comes with the risk of destabilising security of the state. If the plan is to disregard allies, then it may be time to build more
targets carriers or to reactivate the boats that have recently been retired. In the age of drones, carriers look a lot like the battleship with the advent of the dive bomber and quiet submarines.