Enemies everywhere, the US prepares to fight where no soldier has gone before

(Originally published Nov. 15 in “What in the World“) Iran-backed militias in Syria seem curiously undeterred by U.S. retaliatory air strikes.

On the contrary, they launched at least four drone and rocket attacks against American bases there in just 24 hours, according to an unnamed U.S. military official quoted by Reuters. Perhaps the only surprising thing about these attacks is how many bases the U.S. seems to have in Syria as targets for attack.

Russia may be massing bombers for a new wave of attacks against Ukraine. Satellite photos reportedly reveal the appearance of 11 long-range, strategic bombers at Engels air base on the Volga River roughly 500km east of Ukraine.

To better counter such threats, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization has opened an F-16 training hub in Romania. The facility could start training Ukrainian pilots early next year. Kyiv’s pilots are currently training in Arizona after U.S. President Joe Biden agreed in May to let Ukraine have Lockheed Martin’s F-16s. The new Romanian facility is conveniently located just 70km away from the U.S. base at Mihail Kogalniceanu, or “MK,” which is a staging ground for U.S. military support for Ukraine. MK is just one of three U.S. bases in Romania.

As if facing foes on three (let’s not forget China) fronts isn’t enough, the U.S. Air Force (not Space Force for some reason) is building nuclear-powered spaceships.