Mistaking an enemy drone for one of our own, which was returning to base at the time, appears to have been the factor that enabled the attack on a US position in northeastern Jordan this Sunday, in which three US soldiers and 40 others died . According to the military commanders, they were injured. The incident, the first since the war between Israel and Hamas began on October 7 in which US soldiers died in hostile action, increases pressure on Joe Biden as attacks by pro-Iranian militias intensify in the Middle East are increasing and the risk of regional attacks is increasing. The escalation appears to be greater than ever.
According to American commanders, the return of the American drone to Tower 22, the outpost attacked near the border with Syria, caused confusion among those responsible for the air defense systems, who did not know whether it was the approaching device. The doubt led to delays in activating the defense systems. Two other unmanned aircraft that attacked other American positions were shot down without causing any damage, according to the commanders.
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The militia drone attacked the barracks, which serves as a residential area within the base and where 350 US soldiers are stationed. Many of them were sleeping at this time. In addition to the three deaths, another forty people were injured in the incident.
This Monday, Biden met with his national security team at the White House to discuss the situation following the attack in northeastern Jordan, already close to the border with Syria. According to the President's Office, those in attendance included National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines.
The coalition of pro-Iranian militias in Syria and Iraq known as the Islamic Resistance of Iraq (IRI) said on Sunday it had attacked three US positions in Jordan, including the Tower 22 base. Iran has denied any involvement in the attack. The US Forces have described the incident as part of clashes between the US and “resistance groups in the region”.
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At the White House press conference, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby declined to confirm that the incident was due to an identification error. He assured, like Biden himself a day earlier, that the United States would respond to the attack: “We are not seeking war with Iran. We don't want any escalation. But this weekend's attack was an escalation, there is no doubt about it, and that requires a response.” He emphasized that this response will come: “at the time and place we choose.”
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin made similar comments when he returned to his office at the Pentagon this Monday after recovering from complications from cancer. “Neither the president nor I will tolerate attacks against American forces, and we will take all necessary measures to defend the United States and our troops,” he said at the start of a meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
In retaliation, the White House and Pentagon face a problem that has surrounded them since the beginning of the crisis: How to respond with enough force to prevent a repeat of the attacks, while at the same time with enough moderation to prevent escalation. with unforeseeable consequences.
The numbers speak. Since the war between Israel and Hamas began on October 7, US forces have been the target of more than 150 attacks, which Washington has blamed on pro-Iranian groups in a growing number of parts of the Middle East that have fired Houthi rockets in Yemen the Red Sea region to carry out drone strikes on their positions in Iraq and Syria. In addition, there are another thirty Houthi attacks against merchant ships.
So far, the Biden administration has reacted relatively cautiously to the strikes by these militias. In Yemen, US strikes alone or in coordination with British forces were limited to destroying rebel radar or missile sites. His military retaliation measures in Syria also had similar goals. Washington has repeatedly stressed that it sees no signs that Iran is interested in becoming directly involved in the conflict.
Many analysts believe Washington's response to the latest aggression is inevitable, but warn about the consequences. The United States “will need to respond forcefully to this attack,” says William Wechsler, a former undersecretary of defense at the Atlantic Council think tank. But it must ensure that its response “minimizes the risk of provoking a larger regional war or forcing the Iraqi government to demand the withdrawal of US troops” still stationed in its territory and whose future the two are deciding Governments negotiate. .
Options being considered by the Pentagon include seizing Iranian assets, including ships, experts say; Attacking Iranian forces outside or inside the country or continuing its relatively moderate attacks against pro-Iranian militias.
While Biden has so far resisted a direct strike against Tehran, Republican voices are calling for an attack on Iranian territory given the risk of regional escalation.
On X, the old Twitter, Senator John Cornyn called for “putting the spotlight on Tehran.” He later specified that he was calling for attacks on Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. “Attack Iran now. “Tackle hard,” urged Senator Lindsey Graham; Senator Tom Cotton declared: “The only response to these attacks must be a devastating military retaliation against Iranian terrorist forces, both in Iran and throughout the Middle East.” Anything less will confirm Joe Biden as a coward who does not deserve to be commander in chief . [estadounidense]“, he started.
On his social network Truth Social, former president and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said: “We are on the brink of World War III.” For Trump, Sunday's attack represents a “tragic and terrible consequence of Joe Biden's weakness and capitulation,” even though he did not call for a concrete American response.
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