that will happen… exactly never. The empire of the United States will collapse before that happens (which will happen as all empires fall and we are not different)
The bases, radar installations, supply depots, airfields, and so on, that took decades and untold trillions to build are all gone now, and US forces have been pushed back all the way to Jordan already. The satellite data shows the scale of the destruction pretty clearly.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-07-25/us-military-damage-to...
There's no coming back from this. The US is basically blind now without all the early detection systems, and missile inventories are largely empty too. On top of that, the US can't even produce rare earths or magnets on its own.
https://theoregongroup.com/commodities/rare-earths/us-suppli...
Without that, you can't even build a lot of these advanced weapons. Meanwhile, AP reports that nearly 700 U.S. service members have been wounded by drone and missile attacks on bases in the Middle East and other fighting. Given that the Pentagon is covering real numbers up, the reality is likely far worse.
https://apnews.com/article/iran-war-traumatic-brain-injuries...
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2026/jul/...
This is a total military defeat for the US, and on top of that there are Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb closures which are disrupting global energy markets. The US has been trying to stabilize oil prices by releasing the reserves, but those are starting to run dry.
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/10/oil-in-strategic-petroleum-r...
An economic crash is a very likely scenario once it's no longer possible to release reserve to push oil prices down. At that point, it's simply not gonna be possible to keep a presence in the Gulf.