The geostrategic sky isn’t falling because the US won’t have an aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf region for a period this fall. Land-based aircraft will do an excellent job of striking ISIL, analysts say, while smaller ships are better suited to combat Iran in the tight confines of the Gulf.
“This is not an example of American weakness,” said Tony Cordesman, the legendary military analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “You had a large carrier presence at one point because you were flying sorties into Afghanistan, [and] after a while people assume you have to do it because you’ve done it before.”
But the “carrier gap” is both a symbol and a symptom of deeper problems in Washington. “The Navy and Department of Defense need to work together to solve the tactical problem [in the Gulf], but Congress and the American people must solve the bigger strategic problem by providing our Navy with the resources it needs,” House seapower subcommittee chairman Randy Forbes said in a statement.