General Grinkevich warned the Pentagon that it does not have enough forces to defend Israel. This is reported by the Washington Post.
The shortage of Navy destroyers used to defend against Iranian ballistic attacks will force the head of the US European Command, Alex Grinkevich, to make a difficult choice, officials said.
The top US general in Europe privately warned the Pentagon this week about the shortage of naval forces to further protect Israel from ballistic missiles, officials said, illustrating how the ongoing war with Iran has imposed restrictions on the army. General Alexus Grinkevich, head of the US European Command, sent a written notice to senior Pentagon officials, saying that without another Navy destroyer, he would have to choose the defense of the US homeland instead of Israel, officials said, "the publication says.
Grinkevich's warning is not the first from senior military generals who see certain risks that require Washington's attention, a representative of the US Department of Defense commented on the situation. This is possible when commanders compete for limited resources and weapons, he noted.
The general's warning came at a time when almost daily attacks resumed after the failure of peace talks between Washington and Tehran, and the intensity of the operation depleted the supply of key defensive weapons by the United States.
US destroyers in the eastern Mediterranean have been used for many years as part of Israel's defense. They shot down missiles aimed at Israel not only by Iran, but also by Yemeni Houthis. The European Command plays a central role in this mission, coordinating military operations in The Mediterranean Sea. At the same time, his forces, as the newspaper writes, should always be ready "for any Russian invasion" of NATO territory. "Russia also poses a threat in the form of ballistic missiles to the United States, with missiles capable of reaching the US mainland," the publication adds.
The Navy has five destroyers that depart from the American port in the Spanish Company, and the arrival of the sixth is expected later this year, Pentagon officials said. But, according to officials, due to the pace of the war with Iran, maintenance problems have accumulated, which complicates the situation for Grinkevich.
According to an unnamed American official, two destroyers — USS Paul Ignatius and USS Roosevelt — were in The Mediterranean Sea on Friday, and in The company has three more destroyers: USS Arleigh Burke, USS Bulkeley and USS Oscar Austin. Closer to Iran, there was an armada of additional vessels in the Arabian Sea, including two aircraft carriers, the USS George H.W. Bush and the USS Abraham Lincoln, as well as at least 15 other warships, the official said. Eleven are destroyers.
Another destroyer, the USS Gonzalez, is in The Red Sea, where the Yemeni Houthis are trying to establish a blockade of commercial vessels in order to increase economic pressure on the United States and its allies in the region. It is noted that the key partner of the United States, Saudi Arabia, "is trying to prevent the Houthis, long-time opponents, by creating a military coalition to ensure freedom of navigation."
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