FAT Targets: The Hidden Cost of Iran War — US Bases in the Middle East

The Afterburn Podcast

Watch this episode on Youtube: https://youtu.be/2KKwJTeSEA8

Newsletter: https://bit.ly/LowdownNews

Website: https://bit.ly/Afterburn_Website

Merch: https://bit.ly/AfterburnMerch

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/theafterburnpodcast

 

 

The United States operates roughly 19 military sites across the Middle East — 8 of them permanent. For decades that presence was the strategy. Deterrence through presence. If you can see us, you won't mess with us.That calculus may be changing.In this video I break down the US basing problem in the Middle East — what it looked like going into the Iran war, what's happened since Operation Epic Fury began, and the uncomfortable question nobody wants to answer: are these bases now a liability?Five US Air Force refueling aircraft were damaged at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia. Al Udeid — the crown jewel of US air operations in the region and home to the Combined Air Operations Center — has been a consistent Iranian target. Iran sent a direct message to Jordan warning its population to pressure their government to remove US forces. And Gulf states hosting US bases have absorbed billions in economic damage specifically because they allowed the US to operate from their soi

Have a story? Program and partnership inquiries: https://theafterburnpodcast.com/contact/

🛫 Become a Fighter/Bomber/Cargo/Tanker/RPA Pilot 🎯 : http://bogidope.com/?bd=tappodcast 🛫

Air Force Officer Qualifying Test (AFOQT) Prep with AFOQT Wingman https://afoqtwingman.com/Code: AFTERBURN for 10% off

🔺 Aviation & Defense Newsletter - https://bit.ly/AfterburnNewsletter 🔺

Become a Patron, Support the Show, & Gain Exclusive Benefits: https://www.patreon.com/c/theafterburnpodcast


Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

More description

Watch this episode on Youtube: https://youtu.be/2KKwJTeSEA8

Newsletter: https://bit.ly/LowdownNews

Website: https://bit.ly/Afterburn_Website

Merch: https://bit.ly/AfterburnMerch

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/theafterburnpodcast

 

 

The United States operates roughly 19 military sites across the Middle East — 8 of them permanent. For decades that presence was the strategy. Deterrence through presence. If you can see us, you won't mess with us.That calculus may be changing.In this video I break down the US basing problem in the Middle East — what it looked like going into the Iran war, what's happened since Operation Epic Fury began, and the uncomfortable question nobody wants to answer: are these bases now a liability?Five US Air Force refueling aircraft were damaged at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia. Al Udeid — the crown jewel of US air operations in the region and home to the Combined Air Operations Center — has been a consistent Iranian target. Iran sent a direct message to Jordan warning its population to pressure their government to remove US forces. And Gulf states hosting US bases have absorbed billions in economic damage specifically because they allowed the US to operate from their soi

Have a story? Program and partnership inquiries: https://theafterburnpodcast.com/contact/

🛫 Become a Fighter/Bomber/Cargo/Tanker/RPA Pilot 🎯 : http://bogidope.com/?bd=tappodcast 🛫

Air Force Officer Qualifying Test (AFOQT) Prep with AFOQT Wingman https://afoqtwingman.com/Code: AFTERBURN for 10% off

🔺 Aviation & Defense Newsletter - https://bit.ly/AfterburnNewsletter 🔺

Become a Patron, Support the Show, & Gain Exclusive Benefits: https://www.patreon.com/c/theafterburnpodcast


Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

2026-03-23 9 min
Listen elsewhere

Available Results

Generated results are saved to your library for reuse and search.

No generated results are available for this episode yet.

Transcript

No transcript is available for this episode yet.
Sign in to generate a transcript for review.
Sign in

Chapters

No chapters available.