Tuesday briefing: US weighs response to drone strike
The risk of an escalation between the US and Iran
President Biden must decide how far he is willing to go after a drone strike killed three US soldiers at a base in Jordan on Sunday. He vowed to respond to the attack, which he attributed to militant groups backed by Iran, but retaliation could risk a wider war.
The enemy drone slipped through because an American drone returned at the same time. That caused confusion over whether the enemy drone was friendly and delayed the activation of air defenses, U.S. officials said.
So far, Biden had carefully calibrated his responses to the more than 150 attacks by Iran-backed militias on US forces in the region since October 7. But this is the first attack that has killed U.S. troops, and U.S. officials say a different story. level of response is warranted.
His options are unsatisfactory or very risky.
Biden could order attacks on the proxy forces, a major escalation from the attacks it has already carried out in Syria, Iraq and Yemen. But those attacks have not deterred Iranian-backed militias. He could also go after Iranian suppliers of drones and missiles, perhaps even within the country's territory. But that could open a new front in the war.
Yesterday, Iran tried to distance itself from the attack when a State Department spokesperson said the militias “do not take orders” from Iran.
Israel-Gaza: More than a dozen countries have suspended some funding to UNRWA, the UN aid agency for the Palestinians, after Israel accused its employees of taking part in the October 7 attacks. Details are known about the employees. One is said to have kidnapped a woman; another is said to have taken part in a kibbutz massacre.
A final blow for Evergrande
A Hong Kong court yesterday ordered the liquidation of Evergrande, once China's largest real estate company. The court's ruling is likely to resonate across China's beleaguered real estate sector and also shake up financial markets, which are already wary of the Chinese economy.
The company declared bankruptcy in 2021 and has a debt load of more than $300 billion, an amount far greater than most people think its assets are worth. And the dismantling will be long and drawn out. Creditors are likely to struggle to get their money back and foreign investors will also be closely watching whether their long-held belief that China will treat them fairly is true.
Shares: Officials are looking for policy measures to boost confidence in financial markets in China and Hong Kong after the Evergrande news dealt a blow. On Sunday, they moved to halt short selling, which allows investors to bet against stocks.
Biden's battle plan for 2024
As Donald Trump races toward the Republican nomination — while facing 91 criminal charges — President Biden is moving quickly to pump energy into his re-election bid. He organizes rallies in battleground states and tries to create a sharp contrast with his slightly younger rival. (Biden is 81; Trump is 77.)
The Biden campaign plans to portray Trump as a deadly threat to the country's government and civil society. They are counting on the fear of a new turbulent Trump administration outweighing concerns about Biden's age. And they're looking for messages of support from elected officials, influencers and even — they hope — Taylor Swift.
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Gas stations in the southern United States – especially those owned by immigrants – often sell much more than fuel. Customers can purchase samosas and shotgun shells, or a garlic butter shrimp banh mi, along with a raffle ticket and a full tank of gas. A photojournalist who grew up in the South documented them in a new book.
“These places hold a great mystery,” she said. “You're rolling down the road and they catch your visual attention. Then you wonder what's behind that glass door when you hear that bell ringing.”
Looking beyond the monster in Japanese films
“Godzilla Minus One” was billed as an action spectacle, but the Japanese film is largely a meditation on grief and survival in the aftermath of World War II. Esther Zuckerman notes that the film starts a conversation with Hayao Miyazaki's 'The Boy and the Heron' and Christopher Nolan's 'Oppenheimer'.
Like Godzilla, “The Boy and the Heron” relies on the fantastic to convey messy human truths about trauma and memory. Both films, in their own way, touch on the Japanese perspective on surviving brutal destruction, a perspective missing from “Oppenheimer,” which documents the invention of the atomic bomb.
“Just as 'Oppenheimer' is an example of the West still grappling with its responsibility for the destruction of World War II,” Esther writes, “Japan does the same, but in its versions the monsters are not all of the human species. ”