Levka"Placing U.S. Troops in Middle East Hotels May Violate Laws of War
U.S. commanders have kept many troops away from bases in the region to protect them from Iran’s ballistic missile attacks.
The U.S. military’s decision to move troops away from bases under Iranian attack to hotels and office spaces in civilian areas may amount to violations of international humanitarian law and the U.S. military’s own laws of war, human rights officials and experts say.
The constellation of American bases in the Persian Gulf region has been essential to the U.S. military’s execution of the air war over Iran. But commanders have relocated many of their troops because the sprawling compounds did not have adequate defenses to protect from Iranian ballistic missiles and drones, U.S. defense officials said.
The move illustrates the U.S. military’s lack of preparedness for a war that the Trump administration started on its own terms, military experts said.
'This is the first war the United States is facing where we see the implications of democratized air power and the long-range persistent strikes from their adversary,' said Kelly Grieco, a senior fellow at the Stimson Center. 'And the lack of preparedness is not limited to this theater.'
This lethal puzzle continues to complicate U.S. war planning after thousands of airstrikes, as Iran still retains the ability to launch ballistic missiles throughout the region. This has kept American forces away from bases and dispersed among the civilian population."
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