There is a bad atmosphere in the hallways Pentagon. According to sources The Washington Post spoke with, the wave of attacks on American forces between Syria and Iraq was not properly managed. Some officials believe the American retaliation was authorized by the president Joe Biden but they didn’t stop the violence. “What strategy are we pursuing?” one of these officials asked, “because it clearly does not deter Iran.”
American bases in the Middle East have been under attack for almost a month Shiite militias controlled by Iran. Firm support for Israel in the campaign against it Hamas In the Gaza Strip, it activated all these groups that were targeting the Star Striped complexes with rockets and drones. Biden and the leaders of Pentagon They have repeatedly warned Iran to keep the militias in check and that Washington has the right to respond. But the attacks didn’t stop.
Attacks on US bases
As the Post points out, American soldiers suffered about sixty attacks last month, in which dozens of soldiers were injured. The American newspaper found that the number of attacks was concentrated in around ten installations, five per country. In recent weeks, the White House has approved three retaliatory missions, the most recent on November 12, all carried out in Eastern Syria.
Locations used by the Iranian Pasdarn and affiliated groups came into the crosshairs, particularly command centers, Training camp and weapons depots that supply militia supply lines throughout the region, including reaching the border with Lebanon and its affiliates Hezbollah. The death toll from these attacks would reach seven, but the outcome is still being studied by analysts.
The figure that most surprised the Pentagon is the number of raids in such a short period of time: 61 compared to the 80 recorded between January 2021 and March this year. It has emerged in recent days that the Pentagon knew the whereabouts of many of the Shiite galaxy’s leaders, but that officials were weighing the potential impact of targeted raids up the chain of command. At this point it appears that the Ministry of Defense has provided the White House with new military options to deal with the threat, but it is currently unclear what they are.
The slow-motion “war” with Iran
The clash between the US and Shiite militias is part of a fast-moving picture. Tehran and Washington have been embroiled in clashes between Iraq and Syria for some time. There Islamic Republic wants to withdraw around 3,500 US soldiers from the two countries, while the US considers a garrison to be essential to prevent the US from waking up Islamic State. However, the arc of the crisis goes beyond Syria and Iraq. In Lebanon Hezbollah They said they were ready to open a front with Israel, while further south, i.e Houthi rebels endanger the stability of the Gulf. The militia, which controls part of Yemen, first fired rockets at Israel (but were intercepted by a US ship’s missile system) and then shot down one American drone 30 million dollars on the Red Sea.
The Pentagon’s Fears
Shortly before Israel’s offensive against Gaza began, the United States rushed to deploy anti-aircraft missile batteries to reinforce the Gaza Strip Missile shield in the area. The Defense Ministry publicly preaches calm, downplays the raids and emphasizes that almost all of the wounded soldiers are back on duty. However, there is unofficial concern in the Pentagon corridors. The increasing attacks, despite the US response, raise fears that sooner or later there may be a casualty among American soldiers. A death that would accelerate an escalation throughout the region.
A narrow street
In reality, the path remains very narrow for America. Although there is some dissatisfaction in Congress, the Pentagon doesn’t have many options. For now, it was decided to attack only in Syria and avoid air strikes in Iraq, as the situation there is more unstable. The American soldiers are in the country at the invitation of the government BaghdadBut anti-American sentiment is growing across the country, fueled by numerous militias close to the Iranian ayatollahs. Attacks that potentially result in deaths risk exacerbating the situation. The US is therefore left with few options, many of which are pure deterrence such as the military shield and the stationing of aircraft carriers and strike groups in the region. According to several analysts, only time will tell whether the White House and Pentagon’s strategy works, but time is precisely the limited way out for Biden, who is increasingly beleaguered by trouble spots around the world.