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Serious article on the limits of current force planning, which imagines only having the wherewithal to wage a war in one theater, instead of in two as for most of last 50 years https://tnsr.org/2020/03/one-war-is-not-enough-strategy-and-force-planning-for-great-power-competition/#_ftn47
This is a very big, indeed historic change. Article includes a lot of potential strategic consequences of this force plan. Disappointed that central issue is only relegated to final paragraph
namely, if the US finds itself unable to commit resources to match all diplomatic/geopolitical commitments, then the time has arrive to reduce commitments.
Iran, Russia, China. We can only fight one. Or maybe 1.5, as the authors suggest. (They consider Iran and NK a .5 conflict in comparison with the great powers).
Solution is to make that 1 China, the .5 Russia, and get out of the anti-Iran business altogether.
The Europeans have the wealth to cover the other part of the .5 vis a vis the Russians. We should move into a support function and let them take charge of the ground game. In the Pacific the roles should be reversed.
And in the Middle East... we just need to *get out.* It is the only choice. There is no other way to balance commitments and resources. Let the Iranians run wild. We have bigger fish to fry.
