The toll of stretching US aircraft carriers thin for the Iran war

The US military footprint across the Middle East has expanded to sustain the war with Iran, with roughly 50,000 troops now stationed in the region and two of America's three available aircraft carriers pulled from the Pacific. The US operates 11 aircraft carriers, far more than any other country, but most sit at home at any given time. Three are currently deployed: the USS George Washington, redeployed from the Indo-Pacific, has joined the USS George H.W. Bush in the Arabian Sea, leaving no US carrier presence near China and its Pacific allies. The USS Abraham Lincoln has been deployed for more than 280 days and is finally heading home, with reports of food shortages and broken toilets and showers on board. Each Nimitz-class carrier measures 332.9 metres and carries around 5,000 crew and roughly 70 aircraft, more than half of them fighter jets, putting significant firepower close to Iran. But the cost is real: right now, no US aircraft carrier is deployed anywhere else in the world. Al Jazeera's Alex Baird reports. Subscribe to our channel: http://bit.ly/AJSubscribe Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AJEnglish Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera Check our website: http://www.aljazeera.com/ Check out our Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/aljazeeraenglish/ Download AJE Mobile App: https://aje.io/AJEMobile #Iran #USMilitary #AlJazeera #USNavy #MiddleEast #USSAbrahamLincoin #USSGeorgeWashington #AlJazeeraEnglish