In his preface to the 2026 National Defense Strategy, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth promised a decisive break from the past: an American approach to the world that set clear priorities. “We recognize that it is neither America’s duty nor in our nation’s interest to act everywhere on our own,” he wrote. “Instead, the Department will prioritize the most important, consequential, and dangerous threats to Americans’ interests.”
The Trump administration has failed to deliver on this promise. In fact, it has delivered the opposite, expanding the U.S. military footprint in Latin America, starting a disastrous war in the Middle East, and remaining deeply involved in the ongoing war in Ukraine, despite rhetoric to the contrary. Now, the bill has come due, as reports surface that four top military commanders have raised concerns about whether they can resource their own expansive missions with military operations in Iran ongoing.
If accurate, this assessment suggests a deep readiness crisis that could present a much more urgent threat to American interests than anything happening in the Middle East. Talk of “conserving resources” to prepare for war with China or Russia misses the point: On its current course, the Trump administration risks leaving the homeland exposed for years to come. This reality leaves Washington with no choice. It must recommit to its prioritization promise, shedding military commitments until means match ends, even as this requires some retreat from the world stage.
That the U.S. military faces widespread exhaustion should surprise no one. The proximate and most obvious cause is the unnecessary war with Iran, which just passed its six-month mark. That war has kept at least 50,000 U.S. service members deployed overseas, many beyond the end of their scheduled tours, along with dozens of naval vessels and aircraft. Losses experienced during Operation Epic Fury and its aftermath have included 25 percent of the U.S. fleet of MQ-9 Reaper drones, numerous aircraft, and significant portions of the air defense network based in the Middle East. Though the intense kinetic phase of this operation seems to have subsided, President Donald Trump has shifted to an economic pressure campaign that relies in part on an open-ended blockade, a manpower- and resource-intensive approach that will grind down the force.
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