“The USS George Washington’s deployment from Japan to the Middle East to relieve the USS Abraham Lincoln will leave the U.S. without an aircraft carrier in the western Pacific — just as adversaries in the area are flexing their military power,” Axios reports.“Why it matters: Temporary carrier gaps are not uncommon, but the absence of a striker ship in the Pacific highlights how the Middle East is once again dictating American military policy. It also has raised questions about how the U.S. can sustain a formidable presence in both regions.”