Anthony Scaramucci said the United States should rethink its military footprint in the Middle East after fresh reporting described extensive Iranian damage to U.S. facilities across the Gulf, arguing that permanent land bases have become an expensive vulnerability rather than a durable strategic asset.
Scaramucci Pushes Leaner Naval Defense Posture
In an X post late Wednesday, the former White House communications director turned SkyBridge Capital founder said a “lean, naval, over-the-horizon posture” would better protect U.S. forces than what he called a “forever-basing empire” that poses a $1 trillion liability for the administration.
Iranian Strikes Expose Costly Base Vulnerabilities
Scaramucci, citing New York Times reporting, said at least 17 U.S. sites across the Middle East had been hit, including installations in Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. The report reveals 17 American military, diplomatic and air-defense sites were damaged, including 11 military installations, while later reporting said many troops had been moved into hotels and office spaces and were effectively operating remotely after repeated strikes made some facilities unusable.
His post also pointed to a BBC analysis based on work by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, estimating that Iranian retaliatory strikes caused about $800 million in damage to U.S.-used military bases in the first two weeks of the conflict. With the war now in its fourth week, that figure has likely grown, though updated official estimates have not been publicly released.
Scaramucci used those figures to argue that the current basing model exposes American assets to missile and drone attacks at enormous cost.
Diplomacy Stays Fragile As Threats Escalate
The debate comes as diplomacy remains unsettled. CBS News reported Wednesday that Iran’s state-backed Press TV said Tehran had rejected points sent by the Trump administration through an intermediary, mocked Washington for “negotiating with yourselves,” but had earlier said it was reviewing terms.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said during a briefing on Wednesday that talks were still underway and warned President Donald Trump would “unleash hell” if no deal were reached.
Photo Courtesy: Al Teich On Shutterstock
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