Biden considers the level of response… Pressure for hard-line response from U.S. government ↑
U.S. President Joe Biden is meeting for the second day in a row and considering the level of response regarding the death of U.S. troops in an unmanned aerial vehicle (drone) attack in northern Jordan.
According to The Hill, a media outlet specializing in the U.S. Congress, President Biden held a meeting with his national security team, including White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, on the 29th (local time) regarding the death of a U.S. soldier at the Tower 22 base in Jordan.
Previously, on the 27th, three American soldiers were killed in a one-way drone attack at Tower 22, a military base near the Syrian border in northeastern Jordan. This is the first time that a U.S. soldier has died due to an attack by Islamic militants since the start of the war in Gaza last year.
It was reported that President Biden attended an internal meeting regarding the incident the previous day, the 28th. In addition, according to Axios, several high-level meetings appear to have been held without President Biden attending.
In a series of meetings, President Biden and his staff are considering the level of response to this attack. President Biden has already pledged to hold those involved in this incident accountable, but did not reveal a specific response.
The United States had already carried out airstrikes on Houthi buildings and infrastructure in Yemen as attacks on merchant ships by Yemeni Houthi rebels increased in the Red Sea following the outbreak of war in Gaza last year, but this incident has different weight in that there were US military deaths.
There is already growing pressure in American politics to take a hard line against President Biden. Former President Donald Trump characterized this incident as “another terrible and tragic result of Biden’s weakness and surrender.”
In addition, Mike Rogers, the Republican chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, issued a statement saying, “Real leadership wants real action,” and “Until the president shows strong leadership, attacks on our troops, allies, and national interests will continue.”
However, concerns about the escalation of war in the Middle East, which have been consistently raised, must also be taken into consideration. In the Middle East, various parties, including Israel and Hezbollah, Pakistan and Iran, have been involved in conflicts since the Gaza War, which lasted well over 100 days.
In this situation, if the United States raises its response too high, the international community’s concerns about an escalation of war, especially in the Middle East, beyond the proxy war between the United States and Iran, could become a reality.
On the other hand, if the level of response is too weak in a situation where the presidential election phase is in full swing, the impact on the public opinion is also a problem. What is needed is a sophisticated solution that will send a clear message to forces attacking its own citizens without escalating the war.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.