Anonymous wrote:How can a country like Iran run circles around the mighty USA? I was always told all that money we spend on defense was to maintain the strongest and best military in the world, yet look at the disaster we are watching now. Iran can hold off the US with some dinky rockets and a large number of cheap drones. We can't evem send in our mighty navy into the straight of Hormuz without risking losing very expensive ships to cheap drone attacks.

So is the US military weak and overrated? Yes, I'm sure we could pound Iran into glass if we really wanted to, but strategically it isn’t always possible to do that. The US military seems to be built for outdated styles of combat, and a style of combat that is ridiculously too expensive. How have they not replaced expensive aircraft carriers with cheap drone fleets, or responded to Iran's cheap drones with our own cheap drone swarms rather than blowing $5b a week on missiles they can't keep enough of? Has the US military become obsolete and massively overpriced now that Iran and Ukraine show how you can battle way larger and more expenive opponents for a fraction of the price? For how much money we pay, the results currently seem very underwhelming.

Anonymous wrote:Sort of funny that the Arab gulf states thought they would be fine, because they paid off Trump and his sons/son-in-law.

Oops, perhaps they should have backed a candidate with half a brain.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This thread is strange. As far as I can tell, the US military has done about as well as could be expected/hoped based on air power alone. The Iranian air defenses are basically destroyed, and their conventional military is flattened. But without a massive ground invasion, the US and Israel aren't going to be able to completely secure underground missile and nuclear sites. So that's probably as far as the military campaign can go.

It must be true if Pete says it.

Anonymous wrote:This thread is strange. As far as I can tell, the US military has done about as well as could be expected/hoped based on air power alone. The Iranian air defenses are basically destroyed, and their conventional military is flattened. But without a massive ground invasion, the US and Israel aren't going to be able to completely secure underground missile and nuclear sites. So that's probably as far as the military campaign can go.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This thread is strange. As far as I can tell, the US military has done about as well as could be expected/hoped based on air power alone. The Iranian air defenses are basically destroyed, and their conventional military is flattened. But without a massive ground invasion, the US and Israel aren't going to be able to completely secure underground missile and nuclear sites. So that's probably as far as the military campaign can go.

This is not true at all

After 2+ weeks and 8000 targets bombed, the US has had one hit on an F-35, and a couple of friendly fire losses. I'd say that Iranian air defense is fairly ineffective.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This thread is strange. As far as I can tell, the US military has done about as well as could be expected/hoped based on air power alone. The Iranian air defenses are basically destroyed, and their conventional military is flattened. But without a massive ground invasion, the US and Israel aren't going to be able to completely secure underground missile and nuclear sites. So that's probably as far as the military campaign can go.

This is not true at all

Anonymous wrote:A big part of the US's military power involved the alliance it headed and the broad coalition it could recruit to any cause. The world has told Trump to go f*ck himself. We have never had a CiC this weak.

Anonymous wrote:The U.S. military leaders should refuse to follow illegal orders. They must stop fighting this totally illegal attack on a sovereign country. We are not fighting to defend our country, and the POTUS has no authority to attack a sovereign country that has not attacked us. The military must stop following these illegal orders. Now. Stop.

Anonymous wrote:They are weak for not refusing illegal orders. Killing children and global energy sources is illegal, stupid, and the military is weak for obeying the orders of a demented clown.

Anonymous wrote:This thread is strange. As far as I can tell, the US military has done about as well as could be expected/hoped based on air power alone. The Iranian air defenses are basically destroyed, and their conventional military is flattened. But without a massive ground invasion, the US and Israel aren't going to be able to completely secure underground missile and nuclear sites. So that's probably as far as the military campaign can go.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The military is only as good as the President and DOD leadership.

The President and the Pentagon fired a lot of their most qualified war fighters, and have surrounded themselves with "yes" men. And then angered most of our former allies with tariffs.

How did they think this was going to go?

They have also redirected billions defense money from actual deliverables to stock buyouts. Literally just throwing money and giant defense companies with no return.

https://aviationweek.com/defense/supply-chain/pentagon-unveils-1-billion-equity-investment-rocket-motor-company