Sequestration Cash Crunch Delays Carrier Deployment

The failure to deploy the Truman will greatly strengthen the argument that the U.S. is not only in retreat, but also entering a terminal decline in power and influence. Perhaps it’s because of budget constraints, but the Iranians are much more likely to see proof of their thesis that America’s power is permanently waning.  That belief is likely to strengthen their recalcitrance on the nuclear program and increase their willingness to support their violent proxies throughout (and, perhaps, beyond) the region.  It is likely to encourage Iranian military adventurism.

Christopher Harmer, a senior naval analyst at the Institute for the Study of War, served for twenty years as a career officer in the U.S. Navy. Among his various postings, he served as the deputy director of future pperations at the U.S. Navy Fifth Fleet in Manama, Bahrain from February 2008 to May 2009.