Biden promises to take revenge after attack in Jordan that killed American soldiers
This was the day that President Biden and his team had feared for more than three months, the day when relatively low-level attacks by Iranian proxy groups on US forces in the Middle East turned deadly and pressure on the president to respond in kind response increased. .
With three US service members killed and another 20 injured by a drone in Jordan, Biden must decide how far he is willing to go in terms of retaliation, at the risk of a broader war that he has tried to avoid since October. Hamas's seven terrorist attacks sparked the current crisis in the Middle East.
Until now, the president had carefully calibrated his responses to the more than 150 attacks by Iranian-backed militias on U.S. forces in the region since Oct. 7. He essentially ignored the majority that were successfully intercepted or caused little to no damage while authorizing limited attacks. The US strikes mainly targeted buildings and infrastructure after more brutal attacks, particularly against the Houthis in Yemen who targeted shipping in the Red Sea.
However, the first deaths of U.S. troops under fire will require a different level of response, U.S. officials said, and the president's advisers agreed as they consulted with him via secure videoconference on Sunday. What remained unclear was whether Biden would attack Iran itself, as his Republican critics had urged him to do, despite his own determination to avoid a full-fledged war.
“The three American service members we lost were patriots in the highest sense of the word,” Biden said in a written statement issued Sunday morning. He added: “We will strive to be worthy of their honor and courage. We will continue their commitment to the fight against terrorism. And have no doubt: we will hold all those responsible accountable at a time and in a manner of our choosing.”
Government officials and intelligence agencies tried Sunday to determine whether the attack in Jordan was a deliberate attempt by Iran to escalate the conflict or was intended as the same kind of limited attack mounted by its allies, but in this case it was more successful. by coincidence.
U.S. officials have said for months that they did not believe Iran wanted a direct war with the United States and had not publicly changed that assessment on Sunday. But at the same time, officials said, Iran has used its proxy forces to keep up pressure on the United States and Israel as Israel continues to attack Hamas in Gaza.
A senior US official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive information, said on Sunday that the United States did not believe Iran was planning to start a wider war with the attack in Jordan. But he cautioned that analysts are still gathering and evaluating available information to determine whether Iran ordered a more aggressive attack or whether a militia group decided to do so on its own.
While a broader conflict could serve Iranian purposes, U.S. officials have long believed that Tehran understood that direct war with the United States would be deeply damaging. The attack in Jordan came as some U.S. officials had been exploring the idea that Iran could be on the verge of reining in some of its proxy forces, a theory that Sunday's attack could undermine .
Republicans wasted little time on Sunday in blaming Biden for the deaths of troops in Jordan, with one senator even calling the president a “coward” if he did not respond more aggressively.
“The whole world is now watching for signs that the president is finally ready to use American force to force Iran to change its behavior,” said Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader. Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, said bluntly: “Hit Iran now. Hit them hard.”
Republicans argued that Mr. Biden had emboldened Iran by appeasing Tehran's mullahs. They cited his efforts to negotiate a new agreement with Iran to curb its nuclear weapons program and a deal that secured the release of five captured Americans in exchange for helping Iran access $6 billion of its own oil money had already been promised to Tehran for humanitarian purposes under a policy adopted under former President Donald J. Trump. That money was frozen days after the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, which is backed by Iran.
Republican critics also argued that Mr. Biden's failure to take more devastating action in the past three months gave Iran and its allies confidence they could act with impunity.
“He left our troops behind like a bunch of soldiers, and now there are three dead and dozens injured, as I unfortunately predicted for months,” said Senator Tom Cotton, Republican of Arkansas. “The only response to these attacks must be devastating military retaliation against Iran's terrorist forces, both in Iran and across the Middle East. Anything less will confirm Joe Biden as a coward unworthy of being commander in chief.”
As for Mr. Trump, now the front-runner for the Republican nomination to challenge Mr. Biden for his old job, he claimed on social media on Sunday that “this attack would NEVER have happened if I were president, not even a chance.” ” In fact, Iran and its allies have attacked American and allied interests during Mr. Trump's presidency, and at one point Mr. Trump called off a retaliatory strike that he deemed excessive. He later ordered a strike that killed a top Iranian general, but when Iran responded with missile strikes that wounded but did not kill American troops, Mr. Trump ordered no further action.
Mr. Biden has repeatedly ordered military strikes in recent months, including on Christmas Day. Just hours after a drone strike by Iran-backed militants injured three American service members, one seriously, Mr. Biden ordered airstrikes in Iraq in response. He also ordered the U.S. military to target a militia commander blamed for the attack; US forces carried out the order on January 4 with a drone strike in Baghdad that killed the commander, Mushtaq Jawad Kazim al-Jawari.
Until Sunday, the only US military deaths in the region since October 7 did not come under fire, but during an operation in the Arabian Sea to ban Iranian weapons from the Houthis. Two Navy SEALs were declared dead last week after one fell overboard and the other dove in to save him.
Mr. Biden was briefed on Sunday morning in South Carolina about the attack in Jordan, where he spent the weekend campaigning for the Democratic primaries. Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III spoke with the president, along with Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser, and his deputy Jon Finer.
Later in the day, Mr. Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris participated in a secure virtual call with Mr. Austin, Mr. Sullivan, Mr. Finer and other advisers, including Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken; Gen. Charles Q. Brown, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and Avril D. Haines, the director of national intelligence.
The president later discussed the issue during a stop at the Brookland Baptist Banquet Center in West Columbia, SC
“We had a tough day in the Middle East last night,” he told the crowd. “We lost three brave souls in an attack on one of our bases.” After a moment of silence, he added: “and we will respond.”
Julian Barnes And Helene Kuiper reporting contributed.