Flooding the zone is definitely part of it, but the general goal seems to be to systematically destroy every strength the US has (had, in many cases.)

Not only did the Iran War rapidly accelerate Chinese EV and solar panel sales - we're literally running out of bombs and missiles because so many were wasted on the first round of attacks in the middle east, then the "let's blow up fishing boats with million dollar missiles" campaign, then the Iran war. It will be years if not decades before those stockpiles are replenished.

Meanwhile the navy is being run ragged, with ships almost literally falling apart because they're being kept at sea for so long. Sailors are having tours longer than any other time in history which is almost certainly causing abysmal morale and likely will cause plunging re-enlistment.

Gosh, who ever would have thought that putting a man who never successfully ran small charities, in charge of one of the world's largest and most complex organizations, would go wrong? But hey, at least whoever is left will be clean-shaven.