| > The US military executed nearly flawlessly Did they? They - Started the war off by (to all appearances accidentally) bombing a girls elementary school - Had an aircraft carrier spontaneously catch fire via laundry - forcing it to go for repairs mid war - Lost a bunch of very expensive aircraft, and some (though not very many per airframe) soldiers with them - Proved that the F-35s stealth capabilities aren't quite what they were hyped up to be by having one hit by a guided missile And on the strategic objectives front (where, to be fair, they were given impossible tasks) - Killed the person they were hoping to install as the new head of state - Didn't manage to destroy Iran's missile launch capability - Didn't manage to secure the straight of hormuz - Didn't manage to defend their own bases against missile attacks, instead fleeing to hotels |
* USA (or Israel really) started this war on their own terms at a time of their choosing. But they werent prepared at all.
* Incredibly valuable things like THAAD radars (like $1B per unit) were taken out by $1000 drones.. We've all seen the war in Ukraine, we all know Iran makes Shahed drones. US seemed to be completely unprepared for this.
* US was using $1M pac 3 patriot missiles to shoot down $1000 drones, utterly failing the shot exchange problem. Also US has run down its stockpiles of many missiles to 50% or less. It will take 3 or 4 years to return many items to acceptable levels, and wont be able sell any either, leaving customers seeking alternatives.
* Clear miscoordination and lack of clarity between US and allies. Like no-one really knew what was happening or why, leading to stuff like the ghost of Kuwait.
Classic trump regieme action. No-one competent in the room. Just impulsively doing random shit each day with no strategy or understanding.