Biden's Options Range From Unsatisfying to Risky After American Deaths
Source: New York Times
Biden’s Options Range From Unsatisfying to Risky After American Deaths
David E. Sanger
Mon, January 29, 2024 at 1:24 PM EST·7 min read
Even before the drone strike that killed three U.S. service members in Jordan on Sunday, the Biden administration was planning for a moment just like this, debating how it might strike back in ways that would deter Iran’s proxy forces and send a message that Iran would not miss.
But the options range from the unsatisfying to the highly risky.
President Joe Biden could order strikes on the proxy forces, a major escalation of the whack-a-mole attacks it has conducted in recent weeks in Syria, Iraq and Yemen. So far, those attacks have put a dent into the abilities of the Iranian-backed groups that have mounted more than 160 attacks. But they have failed, as Biden himself noted 10 days ago, to deter those groups.
Biden could decide to go after the Iranian suppliers of drones and missiles, perhaps including inside Iranian territory, which poses a much higher risk. His first targets could well be members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, many of whom are based in Syria and Iraq. Depending on how these strikes are conducted, it could open another front in the war, with a far more powerful adversary, and trigger Iran to accelerate its nuclear program.
In short, it would force Biden to do everything he has been trying so far to avoid.
-snip-
Read more: https://news.yahoo.com/biden-options-range-unsatisfying-risky-182446875.html