What the U.S. Military’s ‘Overwhelming Force’ Means for the Middle East

It's a massive deployment for a military that isn't at war - and it may be helping deter a wider conflagration in the Middle East.

The Theodore Roosevelt, a Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, arrives in Busan on June 22, 2024. After participating in trilateral exercises with South Korea and Japan, the carrier transited to the Red Sea. (Photo by SONG KYUNG-SEOK/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

By Tom Nagorski

Tom Nagorski is the Managing Editor for The Cipher Brief.  He previously served as Global Editor for Grid and served as ABC News Managing Editor for International Coverage as well as Senior Broadcast Producer for World News Tonight.

DEEP DIVE — As the war in Gaza rages, ceasefire talks founder, and the world waits for – and worries about – an Iranian retaliation for a pair of Israeli assassinations, one thing is clear: the U.S. has made a show of military force in the region that is almost unprecedented for a nation that is not at war. 

It’s a staggering array of warships, military planes and weaponry that is often lost in the daily news from Gaza. Since Hamas’ terror attack against Israel nearly a year ago, successive deployments have ringed the region with two aircraft carrier groups, nearly 20 warships, and more than 100 fighter aircraft – all aimed squarely at Iran and its various proxies in Lebanon, Gaza, Yemen and other parts of the Middle East.

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