The White House is preparing for the worst amid a possible escalation of the crisis in the Middle East that began with the attacks Hamas from October 7th. Some administrative officials As the website Politico reports, Biden is preparing response plans for increasingly likely scenarios that would involve direct US involvement in the region.
There are numerous reasons for concern. In parallel with the war between Israel and the Islamists in the Gaza Strip, pro-Iranian proxies in Yemen, Syria and Iraq have actually increased attacks on American troops stationed in the region, and trade to and from the Suez Canal has been largely slowed down in part due to diverted from Houthi attacks. The “surgical strike” attributed to the Israelis that neutralized the number two Islamist organization in Beirut and the ISIS-claimed attack in Iran then contributed to tensions rising further in recent days.
One of the most worrying situations concerns the provocations of Houthis in the Red Sea. The United States, along with its allies, issued an ultimatum to Yemeni militiamen, calling on them to stop the drone launches and the 25 attacks on merchant ships since the end of November, otherwise they threatened “serious consequences.” Politico notes that the American military has already prepared a plan to attack Houthis-linked targets in Yemen, including moving the aircraft carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower from the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Aden. The CIA is also reportedly intensifying its operations Intelligence operations to thwart new actions against American troops in Iraq and Syria that have been targeted in recent weeks.
So far, Washington has moderated the military response against Tehran's proxies so as not to provoke an Iranian response and has acted behind the scenes to persuade the Ayatollah regime to keep its regional allies in check. There White House However, he would have come to the conclusion that the efforts made have not had the desired result and that the President's men even expect an increase in hostile activities from the “Axis of Resistance” in the coming days. middle East.
Therefore, the breaking point appears to be approaching, which would lead to the explosion of a conflict that will spread throughout the region and last for a long period of time in a crucial year for the United States, which will have to vote in the presidential elections next November. The scenario that many fear at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is a crippling foreign policy crisis that, as happened to then-President Jimmy Carter in 1980, prevents the Democratic candidate from receiving a second term and so the way paves the way for return Donald Trumpwho is currently the favorite for the Republican nomination in the polls.
“Although the US is trying to prevent the expansion of the war in Gaza, not everything depends on us,” explains Mick Mulroy, a former Pentagon official during the Trump administration, adding that “all the alarms are for the explosion of a regional one Conflict shrill” . Justin Logan, an expert at the Cato Institute, explains that “outgoing presidents are always blamed for negative events, whether they are to blame or not.” The stakes for Joe Biden it has never been this high. The president knows this and from now until November it is up to him to save not only the Middle East but also his presidency.