The Pentagon announced on Tuesday that Iran’s proxy militias attacked American bases in the Middle East last week at least 10 times with drones and rockets, causing two dozen American casualties.
That the American public wasn’t told about the casualties until Tuesday tells us that Biden is trying to keep a lid on the war. The president is trying not to inflame public sentiment against Iran, although it may come in useful at a later date.
U.S. forces apparently intercepted most of the drones, but causing damage to two air bases and wounding 24 American servicepeople needs a strong response.
“What we are seeing is the prospect for more significant escalation against U.S. forces and personnel across the region in the very near term coming from Iranian proxy forces, and ultimately from Iran,” Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, said.
“We always reserve the right to defend ourselves and we will never hesitate to take action when needed to protect our forces and our interests overseas,” he added.
With the U.S. moving another carrier battle group to the Persian Gulf, Iran may not realize how the game has changed because of the Israel-Hamas War. The U.S. is moving to a war-fighting posture, and Iran is directly in the cross-hairs.
“We know that these groups are groups that are backed by Iran,” Ryder said. “We don’t necessarily see that Iran has explicitly ordered them to take these kinds of attacks. That said, by virtue of the fact that they are supported by Iran, we will ultimately hold Iran responsible.”
If Biden is looking to send a powerful message to other players in the region, hitting Iran would do nicely. It would keep Iran out of the war and send an unmistakable warning to Iranian-backed militias to back off. And it would reassure U.S. allies in the region as well who are looking for strong leadership from Biden.
Ryder said no one wants a widening or escalation of hostilities in the region, and recent moves of US personnel and equipment are intended to deter or, if necessary, help respond to one.
The US is moving an aircraft carrier strike group and additional air defense systems into the Middle East, as Israel prepares to launch its ground offensive in Gaza. In a statement announcing the moves Saturday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin attributed them to “recent escalations by Iran and its proxy forces across the Middle East Region.”
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that “Iran is closely monitoring these events, and in some cases actively facilitating these attacks, and spurring on others who may want to exploit the conflict.”
Iran does not have plausible deniability for the drone strikes in this instance, no matter what Gen. Ryder says. In the inflamed situation in the region, Iran is almost certainly ordering those attacks on U.S. troops, or if not, it’s aware of them ahead of time and could stop them if it chooses. For all their fanaticism, Iran and its proxies aren’t loose canons. The moves they make are cold and calculated.
Let’s hope they’re calculated enough to avoid war.
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