>40k #US active-duty #troops & #civilians are working for the #Pentagon in the #MiddleEast, & billions of dollars in #weapons & #military equipment are stored there. Over decades, both during & after #war, the #USmilitary has fortified its defenses in the region, said Dana Stroul, the Pentagon’s top ofcl for Middle East policy during the #Biden admin.
US further strengthened those defenses, she said, after #Hamas’s attacks on #Israel in Oct 2023, which set off a broader conflict….