Security scholar claims US allies are pulling back as American power wanes

According to Phillips O’Brien, a noted security expert, the United States is losing its longstanding grip on strategic theaters where it once led, including Europe, the Middle East and the Pacific. He attributes this shift to the consequences of the conflict with Iran, which he says exposed serious limits in American force projection. Recent signs, he notes, include dwindling munitions stocks, the withdrawal of troops from vulnerable Gulf bases, and the decision to pull the carrier USS Abraham Lincoln from an extended deployment, substituting it with USS George Washington and leaving the Pacific without a carrier.

O’Brien further argues that President Trump’s decision to scale back joint exercises with South Korea and his commendation of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un signal a willingness to realign with adversarial powers such as China and Russia. The scholar warns that these developments could embolden China’s naval ambitions and reshape global alliances. He concludes that the “American Age” is concluding, with former allies reassessing their reliance on U.S. security guarantees.