Analysts cite pressure on crews and uncertainty for Pacific allies
The USS George Washington is expected to replace the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Middle East, the Associated Press reported. The transfer would leave the western Pacific without a U.S. aircraft carrier.
The Lincoln has remained at sea beyond its original May return date to support operations against Iran. The AP reported growing concerns about mental health and supply issues aboard the long-deployed carrier.
Analysts cited by the AP said the open-ended operations with Iran are running some American sailors ragged. The absence of a U.S. carrier in the Pacific may be short-lived if the Navy deploys another carrier in the next couple of months, the AP reported.
Greg Poling, director of the Southeast Asia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the administration has said the Pacific “is supposed to be the most important behind the Western Hemisphere.” He said the United States is “doing the exact opposite” of its previously expressed goal of pulling out of the Middle East.
Poling said American allies in the Pacific are unsettled by the unpredictability of the Republican administration. He said Beijing “is quite happy with U.S. distraction, with the frustration of U.S. allies and partners.”
The carrier movement shifts U.S. naval attention from the Pacific toward the Middle East as military operations against Iran continue. Analysts cited by the AP also described the administration as focusing on the Western Hemisphere.