The Biden administration, amid strong pressure, publicly warned that it was going to retaliate for the attacks last Sunday in Jordan where 3 American soldiers lost their lives. It was also leaked to the press that the attacks would be prolonged and deliberate. Now, after the plans were revealed, the terrorist group has evacuated its positions in Iraq and Syria in the face of imminent retaliation from the United States.
The terrorist group Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an alliance of armed groups linked to Iran, claimed responsibility for the attacks on the U.S. base in Jordan. Late Wednesday, CBS News reported that some of the organization's militias evacuated their bases in Iraq and Syria "fearing U.S. retaliatory strikes after Sunday’s attack."
Last Tuesday, Antony Blinken himself had publicly admitted the possibility of a prolonged retaliation, during a joint press conference with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
“We will respond, and that response could be multileveled, come in stages and be sustained over time,” Blinken said.
However, national media such as ABC News or NBC News were more explicit, publishing leaks by Biden administration officials that gave more details about the retaliation.
For example, NBC News, citing government officials, reported Wednesday that the US response would be a “campaign” that would last “weeks.” ABC News went further, citing an official who acknowledged that “these are going to be very deliberate targets — deliberate strikes on facilities that enabled these attacks.”
The strategic error is already being questioned by security experts, who cannot conceive how the Biden afministration made the mistake of revealing its next move.
“Having let these attacks go on for so long—resulting in the deaths of three service members—the administration must now ‘shock the system’ of the regime to deter further attacks,” Andrea Stricker, deputy director and researcher of the Nonproliferation and Biodefense program of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies (FDD) told the Daily Wire. “The blow must be so devastating that Tehran orders its proxies to stand down.”
“Anything less than that will ensure this cycle continues and brings the regional war Washington hopes to avoid,” Stricker said. “The administration is too deliberately telegraphing its desire for restraint. The adversary needs to believe we are both able and willing to use major force to avenge these deaths and prevent additional ones.”
