Matthew Hoh
@MatthewPHoh
Sending the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) from Okinawa to the Arabian Sea, 2 weeks AFTER beginning the war, says several things to me:-US leaders and planners didn’t think this war would last this long. Lots of other evidence for this, but not having a MEU available when the US traditionally has a MEU in both the Mediterranean Sea and Persian Gulf/Arabian Sea shows astonishing US hubris, incompetence and fantastical thinking.-that out of 10 MEUs the US Marine Corps fields, the only available MEU is the only one that is dedicated to East Asia, shows how over extended the US military is. This should deepen discussion on the doubtfulness of the US military to sustain a campaign of intense magnitude against Iran, i.e. fight a real and total war. The only other MEU at sea, afloat since August, was originally assigned to the Mediterranean but was sent to the Caribbean to take part in the Maduro kidnapping, where it still is. Not that that MEU could have sailed past the Houthis who control the Red Sea anyway… -moving the 31st MEU from Asia, like the air defense systems being moved out of South Korea, demonstrates that the fear mongering over China these last decades is, at best, non-urgent, but more likely exaggerated and insincere. As every subject nation within the American empire should be realizing these last several years, their concerns and interests are far from the interests and concerns of Washington DC. In the hierarchy of US vassal states there is a large gap between Israel and everyone else.-there are 175,000 Marines, 300 ships in the Navy and $1 trillion defense budget, but in the largest military campaign since President Obama escalated the war in Afghanistan 17 years ago the US is unable to have 2000 Marines on 3 ships in the region.-commentators on X, social media and cable news who are talking about this MEU as being able to take and hold ground simply don’t know what they are talking about. It’s possible for the MEU to take oil platforms or seize small and isolated islands and strips of land, but forced entry, a kin to the battle of Tarawa, is simply something the modern MEU cannot do. The MEU is very good for things like reinforcing or evacuating an embassy, reinforcing friendly forces already present someplace, supporting commando missions and raids, or boarding or seizing ships. I think this last mission may be one of its missions as the US tries to block Iranian oil shipments that are leaving the Gulf.-of the 2000 Marines on a MEU, less than half are fighting forces, the rest are logistics personnel or support the helicopter and F-35 detachment. With regards to the F-35s that are aboard, there are normally only 6 planes and they are limited with the amount of ordinance they can carry as well as fuel, because of the nature of taking off from a smaller flight deck. These 6 F-35s stationed on the MEU don’t really add too much to the overall air capability of the US and Israel already present.-I don’t see any way that the MEU can go through the Straits of Hormuz and assault Kharq Island as I’ve heard on cable news today. An air assault with Marines from the MEU would only put a couple hundred marines on Kharq Island and very far from any replenishment, support, reinforcement, medevac, etc. That’s not saying the US military wouldn’t do something so reckless and stupid…