But he includes some rather odd comments.
— Ezra A. Cohen (@EzraACohen) August 16, 2026
Last time US reduced its military commitment to South Korea was in 1970s in aftermath of Vietnam
Seoul began Project 890, a covert nuclear weapons program – ended only when US reversed course
The Iran war is touching off a proliferation chain reaction (Saudi). SK may be next pic.twitter.com/1WYX2EQrF3
— Robert A. Pape (@ProfessorPape) August 17, 2026
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s war against Iran is stretching the limits of U.S. aircraft carriers and leaving the western Pacific without one of the key American warships as China shows more signs of aggression.
The USS George Washington is departing the Pacific and expected to replace the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Middle East amid growing concerns about mental health and supply issues aboard the long-deployed carrier. The Lincoln has had its time at sea extended from its original May return date to support operations against Iran.
The lack of a U.S. carrier in the Pacific may be short-lived if the Navy deploys another in the next couple of months. But it shows how the open-ended operations with Iran are running some American sailors ragged, analysts say, while the Trump administration further retreats from the Asia-Pacific region and focuses on the Western Hemisphere.
President Donald Trump said Sunday that he has directed the Defense Department to scale down joint military exercises with South Korea, citing the U.S. ally’s refusal to join the war in Iran and his “very good” relationship with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un.
Trump said the large, annual military drills sent a “signal that is totally inappropriate and hostile” to North Korea, a nuclear-armed state with which the U.S. has no formal diplomatic ties but which Trump says has been “unthreatening and respectful” as long as he has been president.
“Based on the fact that it is too late to cancel, I have instructed Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, to substantially reduce the Joint Military Exercises!” Trump wrote on social media. His announcement came just hours before the drills were set to start.
h/t JustmeTX