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Biden Calibrates His Response as a Slow-Motion Middle East Crisis Arrives

(Washington Post) David Ignatius - After the past weekend's drone strike on a U.S. base in northeastern Jordan, President Biden is thinking carefully about how to respond to the attack by an Iranian proxy that killed three U.S. soldiers and wounded some 40 others - without, in the process, getting the U.S. into an open-ended war. According to current and former officials, Biden is likely to take decisive action. For months, this crisis has been coming in slow motion. Iranian-linked groups declared open season on U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria (and now, Jordan) after the start of the Israel-Gaza war. U.S. officials count more than 160 attacks since then, more than one a day. The Pentagon has retaliated after some attacks, but not forcefully enough. These Shiite militias apparently think the U.S. is a low-risk target. So do the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen who have been firing missiles at ships traveling toward the Red Sea, disrupting international shipping. These calculations must change. Whether or not Iran is ordering these strikes, it is supplying the weapons, training and political support for these groups. It's fighting a classic covert campaign, acting against the U.S. through proxies to drive America from the region without taking direct responsibility.
2024-01-30 00:00:00
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