We were warned that something like this was probably on the way and now it’s happened. A drone strike launched by Iran-backed militants in Syria has struck a small American outpost in Jordan killing three U.S. soldiers and injuring at least twenty more. The rebels struck in the middle of the night and the drone hit the area of the living quarters. This marks the first time that American soldiers have been killed in an attack since the beginning of the war in Gaza. Thus far we’re not hearing much from President Biden except that we will “hold all those responsible to account at a time and in a manner our choosing.” (CNN)
Three US Army soldiers were killed and more than 30 service members were injured in a drone attack overnight on a small US outpost in Jordan, US officials told CNN, marking the first time US troops have been killed by enemy fire in the Middle East since the beginning of the Gaza war.
The killing of three Americans at Tower 22 in Jordan near the border with Syria is a significant escalation of an already-precarious situation in the Middle East. Officials said the drone was fired by Iran-backed militants and appeared to come from Syria.
US Central Command confirmed in a statement on Sunday that three service members were killed and 25 injured in a one-way drone attack that “impacted at a base in northeast Jordan.” Two US officials told CNN the drone hit in the vicinity of living quarters on base, and that three the injured service members were medically evacuated from the area.
The attack took place in northeastern Jordan at Tower 22. Thus far, Biden’s people have stressed a strategy designed to avoid a broader escalation of the war or having it expand into new areas. That’s an admirable goal, but it may not be feasible. It’s clear that what Joe Biden has been doing thus far with these various Iran-backed militant groups is not working. Iran does not fear us. But now they’ve killed three of our soldiers. That’s supposed to be the bright red line in the sand. You kill three of our people, we kill three hundred of yours. But will Biden have the stomach to give the order?
It’s going to be hard to “hold those responsible to account” if we’re only dealing with the Syrian militants. They aren’t really “responsible.” Iran is. Our intelligence offices must have a good idea of where the Iranian Revolutionary Guard hangs out in that area. Surely we could mow down a few hundred of them without too much trouble. Perhaps that would get their attention. The same tactics we’ve been using with the Houthis clearly aren’t going to work here. When the Houthis launch an attack, we strike back at one of their launch sites. We could probably locate the spot where these militants launched the drones in Syria and hit that.
But it’s not the Houthis or the Syrian militants that we’re fighting. It’s Iran. They’re funding these terrorists and supplying them with advanced weapons. And Iran isn’t going to lose any sleep if a bunch of them get killed in the conflict. They’re cannon fodder for the Mullahs. Lindsey Graham came out almost immediately and called on Biden to “strike targets of significance inside Iran, not only as reprisal for the killing of our forces but as deterrence against future aggression.” But that might be going a bit overboard in the other direction. That’s why I’m wondering if a strike on the Revolutionary Guard outside the borders of Iran might be more effective. They’re responsible for managing most of the militants anyway. Hit them further up the food chain and we might give Tehran pause and force them to go back to taking us seriously.
We clearly don’t want to kick off World War Three if we can avoid it, nor do we want a nuclear exchange. But there has to be a middle ground available here. This attack can’t go unanswered or Iran will simply continue to grow bolder and bolder. Let’s hope that Joe Biden surprises us all and takes some decisive action to set our enemies back on their heels without allowing the entire region to melt down.