REUTERS
"Biden faces pressure to strike Iran after US troops killed"
By Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali
January 29, 2024
WASHINGTON, Jan 29 (Reuters) - The killing of three U.S. troops and wounding of dozens more on Sunday by Iran-backed militants is piling political pressure on President Joe Biden to deal a blow directly against Iran, a move he's been reluctant to do out of fear of igniting a broader war.
Biden's response options could range anywhere from targeting Iranian forces outside to even inside Iran, or opting for a more cautious retaliatory attack solely against the Iran-backed militants responsible, experts say.
American forces in the Middle East have been attacked more than 150 times by Iran-backed forces in Iraq, Syria, Jordan and off the coast of Yemen since the Israel-Hamas war erupted in October.
But until Sunday's attack on a remote outpost known as Tower 22 near Jordan's northeastern border with Syria, the strikes had not killed U.S. troops nor wounded so many.
That allowed Biden the political space to mete out U.S. retaliation, inflicting costs on Iran-backed forces without risking a direct war with Tehran.
Biden said the United States would respond, without giving any more details.
Republicans accused Biden of letting American forces become sitting ducks, waiting for the day when a drone or missile would evade base defenses.
They say that day came on Sunday, when a single one-way attack drone struck near base barracks early in the morning.
In response, they say Biden must strike Iran.
"He left our troops as sitting ducks," said Republican U.S. Senator Tom Cotton.
"The only answer to these attacks must be devastating military retaliation against Iran's terrorist forces, both in Iran and across the Middle East."
The Republican who leads the U.S. military oversight committee in the House of Representatives, Representative Mike Rogers, also called for action against Tehran.
"It's long past time for President Biden to finally hold the terrorist Iranian regime and their extremist proxies accountable for the attacks they've carried out," Rogers said.
Former President Donald Trump, who hopes to face off against Biden in this year's presidential election, portrayed the attack as a "consequence of Joe Biden's weakness and surrender."
The Biden administration has said that it goes to great lengths to protect U.S. troops around the world.
One Democrat openly voiced concern that Biden's strategy of containing the Israel-Hamas conflict to Gaza was failing.
"As we see now, it is spiraling out of control."
"It's beginning to emerge as a regional war, and unfortunately the United States and our troops are in harms way," Democratic Representative Barbara Lee said, renewing calls for a ceasefire in the Israel-Palestinian war.
NOT SO SIMPLE
Democratic Representative Seth Moulton, who served four tours in Iraq as a Marine, urged against Republican calls for war, saying "deterrence is hard; war is worse.”
"To the chicken hawks calling for war with Iran, you're playing into the enemy's hands — and I’d like to see you send your sons and daughters to fight," Moulton said.
"We must have an effective, strategic response on our terms and our timeline."
Experts caution that any strikes against Iranian forces inside Iran could force Tehran to respond forcefully, escalating the situation in a way that could drag the United States into a major Middle East war.
Jonathan Lord, director of the Middle East security program at the Center for a New American Security, said striking directly inside Iran would raise questions for Tehran about regime survival.
"When you do things overtly you represent a major escalation for the Iranians," Lord said.
Charles Lister of the Washington-based Middle East Institute said a likely response would be to go after a significant target or high-value militant from Iran-backed groups in Iraq or Syria.
"What happened this morning, was on a totally different level than anything these proxies have done in the past two to three months... (but) despite all of the calls to do something in Iran, I don't see this administration taking that bait," Lister said.
A U.S. defense official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said it was unclear what the second and third order effects would be in going after Iran.
"Unless the U.S. prepared for an all out war, what does attacking Iran get us," the official said.
Still, Lord and other experts acknowledge that Israel had hit Iranian targets in Syria for years, without dissuading Iran, including four Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps officials in Damascus on Jan. 20.
The United States has also struck Iranian-linked targets outside of Iran in recent months.
In November, the U.S. military said it struck a facility used not only by Iran-backed group but also by the Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps.
But Lister said the U.S. had gone after Iranians outside of Iran in the past, like the 2020 strike against top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani, and only yielded a response during a limited period of time.
"So to an extent, if you go hard enough and high enough, we have a track record of showing that Iran can blink first," Lister said.
Reporting by Phil Stewart and Idrees; additional reporting by Simon Lewis; editing by Paul Thomasch and Diane Craft
https://www.reuters.com/world/political ... 024-01-29/?
THE MIDDLE EAST
Re: THE MIDDLE EAST
Business Insider
"A Houthi missile got so close to a US destroyer the warship turned to a last-resort gun system to shoot it down: report"
Story by insider@insider.com (Ella Sherman,Jake Epstein)
1 FEBRUARY 2024
* A Houthi missile recently put a US destroyer's close-in weapons system to the test, a report said.
* A warship's CIWS is usually considered its last line of defense and is for close-range intercepts.
* The Tuesday incident marks the latest Houthi missile attack, though not the latest exchange of fire.
A Houthi anti-ship cruise missile fired into the Red Sea came within a mile of a US Navy destroyer on Tuesday, a report said, close enough that the American warship turned to its close-in weapons system — a last line of defense.
Most missiles are shot down farther out.
This was the closest that a Houthi attack had come to an American warship, four US officials told CNN, which reported additional details of the incident on Wednesday.
US Central Command initially said on Tuesday that around 11:30 p.m. local time, the Houthis fired a single anti-ship cruise missile from Yemen toward the Red Sea, and it was shot down by USS Gravely.
There was no reported damage or injuries.
Centcom declined Business Insider's request for additional information on Tuesday's missile downing.
For several months, the Iran-backed rebels have relentlessly fired one-way attack drones and missiles into key waterways off the coast of Yemen.
Many of these threats have been shot down by US warships — and sometimes by British or French forces — though some of the munitions have struck commercial vessels transiting the region.
No warships have been struck.
US Arleigh Burke-class destroyers are equipped with at least one CIWS, which features a close-range, radar-guided automatic 20 mm cannon that can fire up to 4,500 rounds a minute and has an effective range out to about two nautical miles.
Before a ship's CIWS is engaged, capabilities such as the warship's SM-2 or SM-3 interceptors come into play.
These are fired from vertical-launch-system cells before they then intercept and destroy airborne threats.
An SM-3 "hits threats with the force of a 10-ton truck traveling 600 mph," according to Raytheon, the weapon's manufacturer.
Warships can also use a chaff mechanism, which confuses a missile's radar.
The incident involving USS Gravely came just hours before US forces struck and destroyed a Houthi surface-to-air missile that was prepared to launch in Yemen and "presented an imminent threat" to American aircraft in the region, the military said on Wednesday.
The US has carried out several rounds of preemptive strikes this month targeting Houthi missiles — mostly the anti-ship capabilities — as the rebels were preparing to launch, posing a threat to commercial vessels and American warships off the coast of Yemen.
In addition to these preemptive actions, the US and UK have also conducted widespread strikes across Yemen, targeting Houthi sites such as missile launchers, weapons-storage facilities, radars, and air-defense systems.
Western officials have stressed that these strikes are a direct response to the Houthis' ongoing attacks against commercial vessels transiting the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden — a key global trade route — and that they will continue unless the rebels cease the provocations.
"We're certainly taking aggressive action against the Houthis to try to defend shipping in the Red Sea," John Kirby, the White House National Security Council spokesperson, said this week.
He stressed, though, that the US was "not at war" with the Iran-backed rebels.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/a- ... 56d1&ei=71
"A Houthi missile got so close to a US destroyer the warship turned to a last-resort gun system to shoot it down: report"
Story by insider@insider.com (Ella Sherman,Jake Epstein)
1 FEBRUARY 2024
* A Houthi missile recently put a US destroyer's close-in weapons system to the test, a report said.
* A warship's CIWS is usually considered its last line of defense and is for close-range intercepts.
* The Tuesday incident marks the latest Houthi missile attack, though not the latest exchange of fire.
A Houthi anti-ship cruise missile fired into the Red Sea came within a mile of a US Navy destroyer on Tuesday, a report said, close enough that the American warship turned to its close-in weapons system — a last line of defense.
Most missiles are shot down farther out.
This was the closest that a Houthi attack had come to an American warship, four US officials told CNN, which reported additional details of the incident on Wednesday.
US Central Command initially said on Tuesday that around 11:30 p.m. local time, the Houthis fired a single anti-ship cruise missile from Yemen toward the Red Sea, and it was shot down by USS Gravely.
There was no reported damage or injuries.
Centcom declined Business Insider's request for additional information on Tuesday's missile downing.
For several months, the Iran-backed rebels have relentlessly fired one-way attack drones and missiles into key waterways off the coast of Yemen.
Many of these threats have been shot down by US warships — and sometimes by British or French forces — though some of the munitions have struck commercial vessels transiting the region.
No warships have been struck.
US Arleigh Burke-class destroyers are equipped with at least one CIWS, which features a close-range, radar-guided automatic 20 mm cannon that can fire up to 4,500 rounds a minute and has an effective range out to about two nautical miles.
Before a ship's CIWS is engaged, capabilities such as the warship's SM-2 or SM-3 interceptors come into play.
These are fired from vertical-launch-system cells before they then intercept and destroy airborne threats.
An SM-3 "hits threats with the force of a 10-ton truck traveling 600 mph," according to Raytheon, the weapon's manufacturer.
Warships can also use a chaff mechanism, which confuses a missile's radar.
The incident involving USS Gravely came just hours before US forces struck and destroyed a Houthi surface-to-air missile that was prepared to launch in Yemen and "presented an imminent threat" to American aircraft in the region, the military said on Wednesday.
The US has carried out several rounds of preemptive strikes this month targeting Houthi missiles — mostly the anti-ship capabilities — as the rebels were preparing to launch, posing a threat to commercial vessels and American warships off the coast of Yemen.
In addition to these preemptive actions, the US and UK have also conducted widespread strikes across Yemen, targeting Houthi sites such as missile launchers, weapons-storage facilities, radars, and air-defense systems.
Western officials have stressed that these strikes are a direct response to the Houthis' ongoing attacks against commercial vessels transiting the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden — a key global trade route — and that they will continue unless the rebels cease the provocations.
"We're certainly taking aggressive action against the Houthis to try to defend shipping in the Red Sea," John Kirby, the White House National Security Council spokesperson, said this week.
He stressed, though, that the US was "not at war" with the Iran-backed rebels.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/a- ... 56d1&ei=71
Re: THE MIDDLE EAST
AFP
"US strikes 10 Huthi drones, downs unmanned Iranian aircraft"
Story by AFP
1 FEBRUARY 2024
American forces carried out strikes in Yemen against 10 attack drones and a ground control station belonging to the Iran-backed Huthi rebels, the US military said Wednesday.
A US warship also shot down an anti-ship missile fired by the Huthis and later downed three Iranian drones, Central Command (CENTCOM) said.
While the United States has recently launched strikes on the Huthis and other Tehran-supported groups in the region, both it and Iran have sought to avoid a direct confrontation, and the downing of three Iranian drones could heighten tensions.
Early on Thursday local time, US forces targeted a "Huthi UAV ground control station and 10 Huthi one-way UAVs" that "presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and the US Navy ships in the region," CENTCOM said in a statement, using an abbreviation for unmanned aerial vehicle.
CENTCOM earlier announced that the USS Carney had shot down an anti-ship ballistic missile fired by the Huthis, and then downed three Iranian drones less than an hour later.
It did not specify if the drones shot down by the naval destroyer were designed for attack or surveillance.
American forces also destroyed a Huthi surface-to-air missile on Wednesday that CENTCOM said posed an imminent threat to "US aircraft" -- a deviation from past air raids that focused on reducing the rebels' ability to threaten international shipping.
It did not identify the type of aircraft that were threatened or the exact location of the strike, only saying that it took place in "Huthi-controlled areas of Yemen."
- Persistent attacks -
The Huthis began targeting Red Sea shipping in November, saying they were hitting Israeli-linked vessels in support of Palestinians in Gaza, which has been ravaged by the Israel-Hamas war.
US and UK forces have responded with strikes on the Huthis, who have since declared American and British interests to be legitimate targets as well.
Some of the US strikes have been carried out against missiles that CENTCOM has said posed an imminent threat to ships, indicating a robust surveillance effort focused on Huthi-controlled territory that likely involves military aircraft.
The United States also set up a multinational naval task force to help protect Red Sea shipping from the Huthis' repeated attacks on the transit route, which carries up to 12 percent of global trade.
In addition to military action, Washington has sought to put diplomatic and financial pressure on the Huthis, redesignating them as a terrorist organization earlier in January after previously having dropped that label soon after President Joe Biden took office.
But the Huthis' attacks have persisted, with the rebels saying Wednesday that they targeted an American merchant ship bound for Israel with "several appropriate naval missiles that directly hit the vessel."
Maritime security firm Ambrey said a commercial vessel was reportedly targeted with a missile southwest of Aden, and that the ship reported an explosion on its starboard side, but did not mention its nationality.
Earlier, the Huthis said they fired multiple missiles at American destroyer the USS Gravely -- a claim that came after CENTCOM said the warship downed an anti-ship cruise missile launched "from Huthi-controlled areas of Yemen toward the Red Sea."
Anger over Israel's devastating campaign in Gaza -- which it launched after an unprecedented attack by Hamas in October -- has grown across the Middle East, stoking violence involving Iran-backed groups in Lebanon, Iraq and Syria, as well as Yemen.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/us ... bdbe&ei=18
"US strikes 10 Huthi drones, downs unmanned Iranian aircraft"
Story by AFP
1 FEBRUARY 2024
American forces carried out strikes in Yemen against 10 attack drones and a ground control station belonging to the Iran-backed Huthi rebels, the US military said Wednesday.
A US warship also shot down an anti-ship missile fired by the Huthis and later downed three Iranian drones, Central Command (CENTCOM) said.
While the United States has recently launched strikes on the Huthis and other Tehran-supported groups in the region, both it and Iran have sought to avoid a direct confrontation, and the downing of three Iranian drones could heighten tensions.
Early on Thursday local time, US forces targeted a "Huthi UAV ground control station and 10 Huthi one-way UAVs" that "presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and the US Navy ships in the region," CENTCOM said in a statement, using an abbreviation for unmanned aerial vehicle.
CENTCOM earlier announced that the USS Carney had shot down an anti-ship ballistic missile fired by the Huthis, and then downed three Iranian drones less than an hour later.
It did not specify if the drones shot down by the naval destroyer were designed for attack or surveillance.
American forces also destroyed a Huthi surface-to-air missile on Wednesday that CENTCOM said posed an imminent threat to "US aircraft" -- a deviation from past air raids that focused on reducing the rebels' ability to threaten international shipping.
It did not identify the type of aircraft that were threatened or the exact location of the strike, only saying that it took place in "Huthi-controlled areas of Yemen."
- Persistent attacks -
The Huthis began targeting Red Sea shipping in November, saying they were hitting Israeli-linked vessels in support of Palestinians in Gaza, which has been ravaged by the Israel-Hamas war.
US and UK forces have responded with strikes on the Huthis, who have since declared American and British interests to be legitimate targets as well.
Some of the US strikes have been carried out against missiles that CENTCOM has said posed an imminent threat to ships, indicating a robust surveillance effort focused on Huthi-controlled territory that likely involves military aircraft.
The United States also set up a multinational naval task force to help protect Red Sea shipping from the Huthis' repeated attacks on the transit route, which carries up to 12 percent of global trade.
In addition to military action, Washington has sought to put diplomatic and financial pressure on the Huthis, redesignating them as a terrorist organization earlier in January after previously having dropped that label soon after President Joe Biden took office.
But the Huthis' attacks have persisted, with the rebels saying Wednesday that they targeted an American merchant ship bound for Israel with "several appropriate naval missiles that directly hit the vessel."
Maritime security firm Ambrey said a commercial vessel was reportedly targeted with a missile southwest of Aden, and that the ship reported an explosion on its starboard side, but did not mention its nationality.
Earlier, the Huthis said they fired multiple missiles at American destroyer the USS Gravely -- a claim that came after CENTCOM said the warship downed an anti-ship cruise missile launched "from Huthi-controlled areas of Yemen toward the Red Sea."
Anger over Israel's devastating campaign in Gaza -- which it launched after an unprecedented attack by Hamas in October -- has grown across the Middle East, stoking violence involving Iran-backed groups in Lebanon, Iraq and Syria, as well as Yemen.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/us ... bdbe&ei=18
Re: THE MIDDLE EAST
REUTERS
"US starts retaliatory strikes in Iraq and Syria against Iran-linked targets"
By Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart
February 3, 2024
WASHINGTON, Feb 3 (Reuters) - The U.S. military launched airstrikes on Friday in Iraq and Syria against more than 85 targets linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) and the militias it backs, in retaliation for last weekend's attack in Jordan that killed three U.S. troops.
The strikes, which included the use of long-range B-1 bombers flown from the United States, were the first in a multi-tiered response by President Joe Biden's administration to the attack by Iran-backed militants, and more U.S. military operations were expected in the coming days.
While the strikes did not target sites inside Iran, they signaled a further escalation of conflict in the Middle East from Israel's nearly four-month-old war with Palestinian Hamas militants in Gaza.
The strikes hit targets including command and control centers, rockets, missiles and drone storage facilities, as well as logistics and munition supply chain facilities, the U.S. military said in a statement.
U.S forces hit more than 85 targets spanning seven locations, four in Syria and three in Iraq, said the military.
The strikes targeted the Quds Force - the foreign espionage and paramilitary arm of the IRGC that heavily influences its allied militia across the Middle East, from Lebanon to Iraq and Yemen to Syria.
U.S. Lieutenant General Douglas Sims, the director of the Joint Staff, said the attacks appeared to be successful, triggering large secondary explosions as the bombs hit militant weaponry, though it was not clear if any militants were killed.
The Syrian Defense Ministry said that U.S. forces' "blatant air aggression" led to a number of civilians and soldiers being killed and others being wounded and some significant damage to public and private property.
"Occupying parts of Syrian lands by American forces cannot continue ... the Syrian army affirms continuing its war against terrorism until it is eliminated and is determined to liberate the entire Syrian territories from terrorism and occupation," the ministry said in a statement on Saturday.
The Pentagon's Sims said the strikes were undertaken knowing that there would likely be casualties among those in the facilities.
He added that the weather was a key factor in the timing of the operation.
The Iraqi military said the strikes were in the Iraqi border area and warned they could ignite instability in the region.
"These airstrikes constitute a violation of Iraqi sovereignty, undermine the efforts of the Iraqi government, and pose a threat that could lead Iraq and the region into dire consequences," Iraqi military spokesman Yahya Rasool said in a statement.
There was no public response yet from Iran.
Iranian state television, in its report on the strikes, described the Americans as terrorist forces.
MORE TO COME
Last weekend's Jordan attack was the first deadly strike against U.S. troops since the Israel-Hamas war erupted in October.
The United States has assessed that the drone that killed the three soldiers and wounded more than 40 other people was made by Iran, U.S. officials have told Reuters.
"Our response began today. It will continue at times and places of our choosing," Biden said in a statement.
Earlier on Friday, Biden and Pentagon leaders attended the Dover Air Force Base in Delaware as the remains of the three soldiers were returned.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Biden had directed additional action against the IRGC and those linked to it.
"This is the start of our response," Austin said.
But the Pentagon has said it does not want war with Iran and does not believe Tehran wants war either, even as Republican pressure has increased on Biden to deal a blow directly.
"We do not seek conflict in the Middle East or anywhere else, but the president and I will not tolerate attacks on American forces," Austin said.
The top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, Roger Wicker, criticized Biden for failing to impose a high enough cost on Iran, and taking too long to respond.
Before the retaliatory strikes on Friday, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said that Iran would not start a war but would "respond strongly" to anyone who tried to bully it.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby said the Biden administration had not communicated with Iran since the Jordan attack.
Iranian advisers assist armed groups in both Iraq, where the United States has around 2,500 troops, and Syria, where it has 900.
U.S. troops have been attacked over 160 times in Iraq, Syria and Jordan since the deadly Hamas rampage in Israel that sparked the conflict on Oct. 7.
In response to the Hamas attack, Israel has bombarded the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, leaving Palestinians in the enclave with few places to escape to.
Houthi fighters in Yemen have been firing drones and missiles at ships in the Red Sea, which they say is intended to support Palestinians against Israel.
Baghdad and Washington, meanwhile, have agreed to set up a committee to start talks on the future of the U.S.-led military coalition in Iraq, with the aim of setting a timetable for a phased withdrawal of troops and the end of the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State.
Kirby said the Iraqi government was notified about Friday's strikes ahead of time.
Iraq's shadowy Kataib Hezbollah, which is blamed by the U.S. for the Jordan attack, said on Tuesday it would pause attacks on U.S. forces.
But another Iran-backed Iraqi group, Nujaba, said it would continue launching attacks on U.S. forces in the region until the Gaza war ends and U.S. forces exit Iraq.
Reporting by Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart; Additional reporting by Jeff Mason and Timour Azhari Editing by Rosalba O'Brien, Don Durfee and Frances Kerry
https://www.reuters.com/world/us-starts ... 1e2c1e3a35
"US starts retaliatory strikes in Iraq and Syria against Iran-linked targets"
By Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart
February 3, 2024
WASHINGTON, Feb 3 (Reuters) - The U.S. military launched airstrikes on Friday in Iraq and Syria against more than 85 targets linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) and the militias it backs, in retaliation for last weekend's attack in Jordan that killed three U.S. troops.
The strikes, which included the use of long-range B-1 bombers flown from the United States, were the first in a multi-tiered response by President Joe Biden's administration to the attack by Iran-backed militants, and more U.S. military operations were expected in the coming days.
While the strikes did not target sites inside Iran, they signaled a further escalation of conflict in the Middle East from Israel's nearly four-month-old war with Palestinian Hamas militants in Gaza.
The strikes hit targets including command and control centers, rockets, missiles and drone storage facilities, as well as logistics and munition supply chain facilities, the U.S. military said in a statement.
U.S forces hit more than 85 targets spanning seven locations, four in Syria and three in Iraq, said the military.
The strikes targeted the Quds Force - the foreign espionage and paramilitary arm of the IRGC that heavily influences its allied militia across the Middle East, from Lebanon to Iraq and Yemen to Syria.
U.S. Lieutenant General Douglas Sims, the director of the Joint Staff, said the attacks appeared to be successful, triggering large secondary explosions as the bombs hit militant weaponry, though it was not clear if any militants were killed.
The Syrian Defense Ministry said that U.S. forces' "blatant air aggression" led to a number of civilians and soldiers being killed and others being wounded and some significant damage to public and private property.
"Occupying parts of Syrian lands by American forces cannot continue ... the Syrian army affirms continuing its war against terrorism until it is eliminated and is determined to liberate the entire Syrian territories from terrorism and occupation," the ministry said in a statement on Saturday.
The Pentagon's Sims said the strikes were undertaken knowing that there would likely be casualties among those in the facilities.
He added that the weather was a key factor in the timing of the operation.
The Iraqi military said the strikes were in the Iraqi border area and warned they could ignite instability in the region.
"These airstrikes constitute a violation of Iraqi sovereignty, undermine the efforts of the Iraqi government, and pose a threat that could lead Iraq and the region into dire consequences," Iraqi military spokesman Yahya Rasool said in a statement.
There was no public response yet from Iran.
Iranian state television, in its report on the strikes, described the Americans as terrorist forces.
MORE TO COME
Last weekend's Jordan attack was the first deadly strike against U.S. troops since the Israel-Hamas war erupted in October.
The United States has assessed that the drone that killed the three soldiers and wounded more than 40 other people was made by Iran, U.S. officials have told Reuters.
"Our response began today. It will continue at times and places of our choosing," Biden said in a statement.
Earlier on Friday, Biden and Pentagon leaders attended the Dover Air Force Base in Delaware as the remains of the three soldiers were returned.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Biden had directed additional action against the IRGC and those linked to it.
"This is the start of our response," Austin said.
But the Pentagon has said it does not want war with Iran and does not believe Tehran wants war either, even as Republican pressure has increased on Biden to deal a blow directly.
"We do not seek conflict in the Middle East or anywhere else, but the president and I will not tolerate attacks on American forces," Austin said.
The top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, Roger Wicker, criticized Biden for failing to impose a high enough cost on Iran, and taking too long to respond.
Before the retaliatory strikes on Friday, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said that Iran would not start a war but would "respond strongly" to anyone who tried to bully it.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby said the Biden administration had not communicated with Iran since the Jordan attack.
Iranian advisers assist armed groups in both Iraq, where the United States has around 2,500 troops, and Syria, where it has 900.
U.S. troops have been attacked over 160 times in Iraq, Syria and Jordan since the deadly Hamas rampage in Israel that sparked the conflict on Oct. 7.
In response to the Hamas attack, Israel has bombarded the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, leaving Palestinians in the enclave with few places to escape to.
Houthi fighters in Yemen have been firing drones and missiles at ships in the Red Sea, which they say is intended to support Palestinians against Israel.
Baghdad and Washington, meanwhile, have agreed to set up a committee to start talks on the future of the U.S.-led military coalition in Iraq, with the aim of setting a timetable for a phased withdrawal of troops and the end of the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State.
Kirby said the Iraqi government was notified about Friday's strikes ahead of time.
Iraq's shadowy Kataib Hezbollah, which is blamed by the U.S. for the Jordan attack, said on Tuesday it would pause attacks on U.S. forces.
But another Iran-backed Iraqi group, Nujaba, said it would continue launching attacks on U.S. forces in the region until the Gaza war ends and U.S. forces exit Iraq.
Reporting by Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart; Additional reporting by Jeff Mason and Timour Azhari Editing by Rosalba O'Brien, Don Durfee and Frances Kerry
https://www.reuters.com/world/us-starts ... 1e2c1e3a35
Re: THE MIDDLE EAST
Bloomberg
"Iraq Says 16 Killed in US Strikes, Calls Security Risk Grave - US strikes overnight came in retaliation for troop deaths - Iran says Washington is stoking regional instability"
By Khalid Al Ansary and Jennifer Jacobs
February 3, 2024 at 5:27 AM EST
Iraq’s government said civilians were among at least 16 people killed in a wave of US airstrikes that the Middle Eastern country called a grave risk to security in the region.
Dozens of US strikes late Friday targeted Iranian forces and militias in Iraq and Syria and were taken in retaliation for a drone attack a week ago in northeast Jordan by an Iran-linked militant group in which three American soldiers were killed.
The strikes also injured at least 25 and damaged residential building, Iraq said.
“This aggressive strike will put security in Iraq and the region on the brink of an abyss,” Basim Al-Awadi, a spokesman for Iraq’s government, said in a statement issued on Saturday.
“Iraq reiterates its refusal to let its lands be an arena for settling scores.”
Separately, an Iranian foreign ministry spokesman called the US airstrikes a “strategic mistake,” without specifying whether the country’s assets were targeted, and Russia’s foreign ministry said it would ask the UN Security Council to discuss the strikes as soon as possible.
The “adventurous move” by Washington “will have no outcome but escalating tension and instability in the region,” ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said in a statement, adding that the strikes were “violations of the sovereignty and territorial integrity” of both Iraq and Syria.
A number of civilians and soldiers were killed or wounded in eastern Syria, near the Iraqi border, the state-run SANA news service reported, citing a statement from the nation’s military.
Significant damage was inflicted on public and private property, it added.
Meeting in Brussels, European foreign affairs officials called for an urgent de-escalation, describing the Middle East as a boiler set to explode.
The region has edged closer to an all-out conflict since Hamas militants struck Israel on Oct. 7, killing some 1,200 people and taking hundreds of hostages, and Israel’s government declared war on the group, deemed a terrorist organization by the US and the European Union, in the Gaza Strip.
Following a day-long meeting of foreign ministers in Brussels, Josep Borrell, the European Union’s foreign affairs chief, once again urged de-escalation.
“We don’t have a military presence on the ground, the only thing we can do is use our diplomatic capacity to avoid this increasing reaction,” Borrell told reporters.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force and affiliated militia groups continue to represent a direct threat to the stability of Iraq, the region, and the safety of Americans. We will continue to take action, do whatever is necessary to protect our people, and… pic.twitter.com/Y53nvRfjjx
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) February 3, 2024
In Friday’s incursion, aircraft including long-range B-1 bombers flown from the US struck 85 targets at seven locations linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps’ Quds Force and militant groups that Iran funds, according to US officials.
The US attacks came days before Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to embark on a fifth trip to the region since the Hamas attacks on Israel.
He’s expected to touch down in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, Israel, and the West Bank over five days.
Blinken’s visit is a bid to help secure a cease-fire and hostage deal in Gaza that officials believe could serve as a tentative step toward ending the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
While backing Israel’s right to defend itself after the October attack, US officials believe a cease-fire could deny Iranian proxies a reason to keep attacking American forces.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement on Friday that President Joe Biden has directed more action against the IRGC and militias backed by the group, though he didn’t say when that would happen.
US military bases scattered across Iraq and Syria had come under attack more than 160 times since Hamas’s October attack on Israel, but the Jan. 28 fatalities were the first deaths.
The US strikes targeted “logistics and munition supply chain facilities of militia groups and their IRGC sponsors who facilitated attacks against US and Coalition forces,” Central Command said.
Briefing reporters afterward, US officials said the Iraqi government was informed beforehand.
The US blamed the deadly attack in Jordan on an Iranian-backed umbrella group known as the Islamic Resistance in Iraq.
That group is part of what’s known as the Axis of Resistance, a web of anti-Israel and anti-US militants in the region that encompasses groups in Syria, Lebanon and Yemen, as well as Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
It also includes the Kata’ib Hezbollah militant group, which said earlier in the week that it was halting military operations in Iraq after pressure from the Iraqi government.
The US “is purposefully trying to plunge the largest countries in the region into conflict,” Russian foreign ministry’s spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement.
“It’s obvious the airstrikes are specifically designed to further inflame.”
Like the US, Iranian officials have sought to balance promises of retaliation against assurances that they don’t seek a wider conflict.
Earlier in the week, an IRGC commander said the country wasn’t seeking a confrontation with the US but has “no fear of war.”
Separately on Saturday, US Central Command described a series of skirmishes in a Red Sea operational update posted on X, saying it shot down drones in three separate incidents on Friday.
“These actions will protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for US Navy vessels and merchant vessels,” the US said.
— With assistance from Arsalan Shahla, Natalia Drozdiak, and Katharina Rosskopf
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... ify%20wall
"Iraq Says 16 Killed in US Strikes, Calls Security Risk Grave - US strikes overnight came in retaliation for troop deaths - Iran says Washington is stoking regional instability"
By Khalid Al Ansary and Jennifer Jacobs
February 3, 2024 at 5:27 AM EST
Iraq’s government said civilians were among at least 16 people killed in a wave of US airstrikes that the Middle Eastern country called a grave risk to security in the region.
Dozens of US strikes late Friday targeted Iranian forces and militias in Iraq and Syria and were taken in retaliation for a drone attack a week ago in northeast Jordan by an Iran-linked militant group in which three American soldiers were killed.
The strikes also injured at least 25 and damaged residential building, Iraq said.
“This aggressive strike will put security in Iraq and the region on the brink of an abyss,” Basim Al-Awadi, a spokesman for Iraq’s government, said in a statement issued on Saturday.
“Iraq reiterates its refusal to let its lands be an arena for settling scores.”
Separately, an Iranian foreign ministry spokesman called the US airstrikes a “strategic mistake,” without specifying whether the country’s assets were targeted, and Russia’s foreign ministry said it would ask the UN Security Council to discuss the strikes as soon as possible.
The “adventurous move” by Washington “will have no outcome but escalating tension and instability in the region,” ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said in a statement, adding that the strikes were “violations of the sovereignty and territorial integrity” of both Iraq and Syria.
A number of civilians and soldiers were killed or wounded in eastern Syria, near the Iraqi border, the state-run SANA news service reported, citing a statement from the nation’s military.
Significant damage was inflicted on public and private property, it added.
Meeting in Brussels, European foreign affairs officials called for an urgent de-escalation, describing the Middle East as a boiler set to explode.
The region has edged closer to an all-out conflict since Hamas militants struck Israel on Oct. 7, killing some 1,200 people and taking hundreds of hostages, and Israel’s government declared war on the group, deemed a terrorist organization by the US and the European Union, in the Gaza Strip.
Following a day-long meeting of foreign ministers in Brussels, Josep Borrell, the European Union’s foreign affairs chief, once again urged de-escalation.
“We don’t have a military presence on the ground, the only thing we can do is use our diplomatic capacity to avoid this increasing reaction,” Borrell told reporters.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force and affiliated militia groups continue to represent a direct threat to the stability of Iraq, the region, and the safety of Americans. We will continue to take action, do whatever is necessary to protect our people, and… pic.twitter.com/Y53nvRfjjx
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) February 3, 2024
In Friday’s incursion, aircraft including long-range B-1 bombers flown from the US struck 85 targets at seven locations linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps’ Quds Force and militant groups that Iran funds, according to US officials.
The US attacks came days before Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to embark on a fifth trip to the region since the Hamas attacks on Israel.
He’s expected to touch down in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, Israel, and the West Bank over five days.
Blinken’s visit is a bid to help secure a cease-fire and hostage deal in Gaza that officials believe could serve as a tentative step toward ending the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
While backing Israel’s right to defend itself after the October attack, US officials believe a cease-fire could deny Iranian proxies a reason to keep attacking American forces.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement on Friday that President Joe Biden has directed more action against the IRGC and militias backed by the group, though he didn’t say when that would happen.
US military bases scattered across Iraq and Syria had come under attack more than 160 times since Hamas’s October attack on Israel, but the Jan. 28 fatalities were the first deaths.
The US strikes targeted “logistics and munition supply chain facilities of militia groups and their IRGC sponsors who facilitated attacks against US and Coalition forces,” Central Command said.
Briefing reporters afterward, US officials said the Iraqi government was informed beforehand.
The US blamed the deadly attack in Jordan on an Iranian-backed umbrella group known as the Islamic Resistance in Iraq.
That group is part of what’s known as the Axis of Resistance, a web of anti-Israel and anti-US militants in the region that encompasses groups in Syria, Lebanon and Yemen, as well as Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
It also includes the Kata’ib Hezbollah militant group, which said earlier in the week that it was halting military operations in Iraq after pressure from the Iraqi government.
The US “is purposefully trying to plunge the largest countries in the region into conflict,” Russian foreign ministry’s spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement.
“It’s obvious the airstrikes are specifically designed to further inflame.”
Like the US, Iranian officials have sought to balance promises of retaliation against assurances that they don’t seek a wider conflict.
Earlier in the week, an IRGC commander said the country wasn’t seeking a confrontation with the US but has “no fear of war.”
Separately on Saturday, US Central Command described a series of skirmishes in a Red Sea operational update posted on X, saying it shot down drones in three separate incidents on Friday.
“These actions will protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for US Navy vessels and merchant vessels,” the US said.
— With assistance from Arsalan Shahla, Natalia Drozdiak, and Katharina Rosskopf
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... ify%20wall
Re: THE MIDDLE EAST
REUTERS
"US intends further strikes against Iran-backed groups, White House says"
By Phil Stewart, Idrees Ali, Mohammed Ghobari and Timour Azhari
February 4, 2024
Summary
* After two days of strikes, U.S. indicates more to come
* U.S. hit militias in Iraq, Syria in response to Jordan attack
* Iran not interested in direct conflict - analyst
WASHINGTON/ADEN/BAGHDAD, Feb 4 (Reuters) - The United States intends to launch further strikes at Iran-backed groups in the Middle East, the White House national security adviser said on Sunday, after hitting Tehran-aligned factions in Iraq, Syria and Yemen over the last two days.
The United States and Britain unleashed attacks against 36 Houthi targets in Yemen, a day after the U.S. military hit Tehran-backed groups in Iraq and Syria in retaliation for a deadly attack on U.S. troops in Jordan.
"We intend to take additional strikes, and additional action, to continue to send a clear message that the United States will respond when our forces are attacked, when our people are killed," White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told NBC’s "Meet the Press" program on Sunday.
The strikes are the latest blows in a conflict that has spread into the Middle East since Oct. 7, when the Iran-backed Palestinian militant group Hamas stormed Israel from the Gaza Strip, igniting war.
The Biden administration's diplomatic efforts to stem the fallout from the war also continued with top diplomat Antony Blinken departing for the region on Sunday afternoon.
Tehran-backed groups declaring support for the Palestinians have entered the fray across the region: Hezbollah has fired at Israeli targets at the Lebanese-Israeli border, Iraqi militias have fired on U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria, and the Houthis have fired on shipping in the Red Sea and at Israel itself.
Iran has so far avoided any direct role in the conflict, even as it backs those groups.
The Pentagon has said it does not want war with Iran and does not believe Tehran wants war either.
Sullivan declined to be drawn on whether the United States might attack sites inside Iran, something the U.S. military has been very careful to avoid.
Speaking to CBS' "Face the Nation" program moments earlier, he said Friday's strikes were "the beginning, not the end, of our response, and there will be more steps - some seen, some perhaps unseen".
"I would not describe it as some open-ended military campaign," he said.
Saturday's strikes in Yemen hit buried weapons storage facilities, missile systems, launchers and other capabilities the Houthis have used to attack Red Sea shipping, the Pentagon said, adding it targeted 13 locations.
The Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said the strikes "will not pass without a response and consequences".
Another Houthi spokesperson, Mohammed Abdulsalam, indicated the group would not be deterred, saying Yemen's decision to support Gaza would not be affected by any attack.
Residents described being shaken by powerful blasts.
"The building I live in shook," said Fatimah, a resident of Houthi-controlled Sanaa, adding that it had been years since she had felt such blasts in a country that has suffered years of war.
The Houthis did not announce any casualties.
Secretary of State Blinken will visit Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar and Israel in the coming days on his fifth trip to the region since October, which will focus on advancing talks on the return of hostages taken from Israel by Hamas in exchange for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza.
He will also make a push on a U.S.-brokered mega deal between Saudi Arabia and Israel to normalize ties, which hinges on bringing an end to other Gaza conflict and steps toward a future Palestinian state.
IRAN SEEN AVOIDING DIRECT CONFRONTATION
The Yemen strikes are running parallel to the unfolding U.S. campaign of retaliation over the killing of three American soldiers in a drone strike by Iran-backed militants on an outpost in Jordan.
On Friday, the U.S. carried out the first wave of that retaliation, striking in Iraq and Syria more than 85 targets linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and militias it backs, reportedly killing nearly 40.
Mahjoob Zweiri, Director of the Gulf Studies Center at Qatar University, did not expect a change in Iran's approach even after the latest U.S. strikes.
"They keep the enemy behind the borders, far away."
"They are not interested in any direct military confrontation which might lead to attacks on their cities or their homeland."
"They will maintain that status quo," he told Reuters.
Iran's foreign ministry said the latest attacks on Yemen were "a flagrant violation of international law by the United States and Britain", warning the continuation of such attacks was a "worrying threat to international peace and security".
While the Houthis say their attacks are in solidarity with Palestinians, the U.S. and its allies characterize them as indiscriminate and a menace to global trade.
Major shipping lines have largely abandoned Red Sea shipping lanes for longer routes around Africa.
This has increased costs, feeding worries about global inflation while denying Egypt crucial foreign revenue from use of the Suez Canal.
Hundreds of people attended a Baghdad funeral procession for 17 members of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) killed in the U.S. strikes.
The PMF is a state security force containing several Iran-backed armed groups.
Hadi al-Ameri, a senior Iraqi politician close to Iran, said it was time to oust U.S. forces, 2,500 of whom are in Iraq in a mission to help prevent a resurgence of Islamic State.
"Their presence is pure evil for the Iraqi people," he said.
Iraq and the United States last month initiated talks about ending the U.S.-led coalition's presence in the country.
Additional reporting by Andrew Mills in Doha and Tala Ramadan in Dubai, Doina Chiacu, Arshad Mohammed and Humeyra Pamuk in Washington, Tom Perry in Beirut; Writing by Tom Perry and Simon Lewis; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Diane Craft
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-ea ... 1e2c1e3a35
"US intends further strikes against Iran-backed groups, White House says"
By Phil Stewart, Idrees Ali, Mohammed Ghobari and Timour Azhari
February 4, 2024
Summary
* After two days of strikes, U.S. indicates more to come
* U.S. hit militias in Iraq, Syria in response to Jordan attack
* Iran not interested in direct conflict - analyst
WASHINGTON/ADEN/BAGHDAD, Feb 4 (Reuters) - The United States intends to launch further strikes at Iran-backed groups in the Middle East, the White House national security adviser said on Sunday, after hitting Tehran-aligned factions in Iraq, Syria and Yemen over the last two days.
The United States and Britain unleashed attacks against 36 Houthi targets in Yemen, a day after the U.S. military hit Tehran-backed groups in Iraq and Syria in retaliation for a deadly attack on U.S. troops in Jordan.
"We intend to take additional strikes, and additional action, to continue to send a clear message that the United States will respond when our forces are attacked, when our people are killed," White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told NBC’s "Meet the Press" program on Sunday.
The strikes are the latest blows in a conflict that has spread into the Middle East since Oct. 7, when the Iran-backed Palestinian militant group Hamas stormed Israel from the Gaza Strip, igniting war.
The Biden administration's diplomatic efforts to stem the fallout from the war also continued with top diplomat Antony Blinken departing for the region on Sunday afternoon.
Tehran-backed groups declaring support for the Palestinians have entered the fray across the region: Hezbollah has fired at Israeli targets at the Lebanese-Israeli border, Iraqi militias have fired on U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria, and the Houthis have fired on shipping in the Red Sea and at Israel itself.
Iran has so far avoided any direct role in the conflict, even as it backs those groups.
The Pentagon has said it does not want war with Iran and does not believe Tehran wants war either.
Sullivan declined to be drawn on whether the United States might attack sites inside Iran, something the U.S. military has been very careful to avoid.
Speaking to CBS' "Face the Nation" program moments earlier, he said Friday's strikes were "the beginning, not the end, of our response, and there will be more steps - some seen, some perhaps unseen".
"I would not describe it as some open-ended military campaign," he said.
Saturday's strikes in Yemen hit buried weapons storage facilities, missile systems, launchers and other capabilities the Houthis have used to attack Red Sea shipping, the Pentagon said, adding it targeted 13 locations.
The Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said the strikes "will not pass without a response and consequences".
Another Houthi spokesperson, Mohammed Abdulsalam, indicated the group would not be deterred, saying Yemen's decision to support Gaza would not be affected by any attack.
Residents described being shaken by powerful blasts.
"The building I live in shook," said Fatimah, a resident of Houthi-controlled Sanaa, adding that it had been years since she had felt such blasts in a country that has suffered years of war.
The Houthis did not announce any casualties.
Secretary of State Blinken will visit Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar and Israel in the coming days on his fifth trip to the region since October, which will focus on advancing talks on the return of hostages taken from Israel by Hamas in exchange for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza.
He will also make a push on a U.S.-brokered mega deal between Saudi Arabia and Israel to normalize ties, which hinges on bringing an end to other Gaza conflict and steps toward a future Palestinian state.
IRAN SEEN AVOIDING DIRECT CONFRONTATION
The Yemen strikes are running parallel to the unfolding U.S. campaign of retaliation over the killing of three American soldiers in a drone strike by Iran-backed militants on an outpost in Jordan.
On Friday, the U.S. carried out the first wave of that retaliation, striking in Iraq and Syria more than 85 targets linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and militias it backs, reportedly killing nearly 40.
Mahjoob Zweiri, Director of the Gulf Studies Center at Qatar University, did not expect a change in Iran's approach even after the latest U.S. strikes.
"They keep the enemy behind the borders, far away."
"They are not interested in any direct military confrontation which might lead to attacks on their cities or their homeland."
"They will maintain that status quo," he told Reuters.
Iran's foreign ministry said the latest attacks on Yemen were "a flagrant violation of international law by the United States and Britain", warning the continuation of such attacks was a "worrying threat to international peace and security".
While the Houthis say their attacks are in solidarity with Palestinians, the U.S. and its allies characterize them as indiscriminate and a menace to global trade.
Major shipping lines have largely abandoned Red Sea shipping lanes for longer routes around Africa.
This has increased costs, feeding worries about global inflation while denying Egypt crucial foreign revenue from use of the Suez Canal.
Hundreds of people attended a Baghdad funeral procession for 17 members of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) killed in the U.S. strikes.
The PMF is a state security force containing several Iran-backed armed groups.
Hadi al-Ameri, a senior Iraqi politician close to Iran, said it was time to oust U.S. forces, 2,500 of whom are in Iraq in a mission to help prevent a resurgence of Islamic State.
"Their presence is pure evil for the Iraqi people," he said.
Iraq and the United States last month initiated talks about ending the U.S.-led coalition's presence in the country.
Additional reporting by Andrew Mills in Doha and Tala Ramadan in Dubai, Doina Chiacu, Arshad Mohammed and Humeyra Pamuk in Washington, Tom Perry in Beirut; Writing by Tom Perry and Simon Lewis; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Diane Craft
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-ea ... 1e2c1e3a35
Re: THE MIDDLE EAST
Newsweek
"Iraq Militia Vows to Strike Back at US 'at the Right Place'"
Story by Tom O'Connor
10 FEBRUARY 2024
An Iraqi militia participating in the coalition of groups targeted by U.S. strikes over their ongoing campaign to expel U.S. troops from the country by force shared with Newsweek a new warning to the United States amid a worsening cycle of violence.
Days after the latest operation in which U.S. President Joe Biden ordered a drone strike that killed at least one senior official of the Kataib Hezbollah militia, a representative of fellow Islamic Resistance in Iraq coalition member group Ashab al-Kahf told Newsweek that "the military response will be at the right place and at the right time."
The Ashab al-Kahf representative referenced two powerful figures who command influence in Iraqi politics and preside over their own armed factions, Asaib Ahl al-Haq and the Badr Organization, respectively.
"Sheikh Qais al-Khazali and Haj Hadi al-Amiri promised us to demand pressure for the occupier to leave as soon as possible," the Ashab al-Kahf representative said.
As for Ashab al-Kahf, the representative of the group said that "it is always prepared for all possibilities and does not base its movements according to immediate circumstances only, but rather according to every possible future development, including the possibility of a major escalation by the American occupation."
When that happens, the Ashab al-Kahf representative warned that "the response is completely ready" and "we will inevitably face fire with fire."
Ashab al-Kahf is part of a broad network of Iraqi Shiite Muslim militias opposed to rival Sunni Muslim insurgents as well as U.S. military forces.
Its name, which translates to "Companions of the Cave," is a reference to a centuries-old story found in Christian writing and the Quran about a group of monotheistic youths who hid in a cave to escape religious persecution.
The group's origins are murkier than those of some of the more well-known outfits such as Kataib Hezbollah, Asaib Ahl-Haq, the Badr Organization and the Nujaba Movement.
These militias were established in the wake of the U.S.-led invasion that overthrew Iraqi President Saddam Hussein in 2003, and they went on to join the Popular Mobilization Forces, an Iraqi state-sponsored umbrella of paramilitary forces that rallied to fight the Islamic State militant group (ISIS) a decade ago.
Ashab al-Kahf first appeared sometime in 2019, however, with no clear references to its leadership or structure.
It began claiming attacks on U.S. military-linked convoys the following year, after the U.S. killing of Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force commander Major General Qassem Soleimani and Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces deputy chief Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in Baghdad.
While its ties to other militias such as Kataib Hezbollah and Asaib Ahl al-Haq have been a matter of debate, Ashab al-Kahf has openly declared its participation in the Islamic Resistance in Iraq coalition that launched a new offensive against U.S. forces in mid-October, shortly after the outbreak of the war between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement in Gaza on October 7, 2023.
Since then, U.S. troops have been targeted by near-daily rocket and drone attacks in Iraq and neighboring Syria.
"The Islamic Resistance in Iraq is the title of the tent that surrounds all the factions that believe in two goals," the Ashab al-Kahf representative told Newsweek.
"The first is to support Gaza."
"The second is to move towards removing the American occupation forces from Iraq."
The U.S. has launched several rounds of airstrikes against these groups, tying them directly to Iran's IRGC.
But a comprehensive set of dozens of strikes conducted across seven facilities last Sunday and the targeted assassination of Kataib Hezbollah commander Abu Baqir al-Saadi on Wednesday in response to the deaths of three U.S. troops in a drone attack at the Jordan-Syria border late last month marked an escalation in the U.S. campaign.
"If we continue to see threats and attacks from these militia groups, we will respond," U.S. State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters on Thursday.
"We'll take appropriate steps to hold them accountable."
He also used language similar to the Ashab al-Kahf representative in signaling how and where such a response would take place, warning "we are not going to hesitate to defend our people and hold responsible all who harm U.S. personnel at the time and place of our choosing."
The worsening violence between U.S. troops and Iraqi militias has sparked a new crisis for Baghdad, which has condemned both sides for taking action without the government's permission.
With calls for a U.S. withdrawal mounting, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani has openly appealed to Washington for a timeline that would see the end of U.S. military presence in Iraq.
The two countries have since convened their High Military Commission to discuss a "transition" of their bilateral security partnership, but the Pentagon has maintained that it had no plans to pull U.S. troops out entirely.
Iran, for its part, has always denied having command and control over various militias aligned with the broader "Axis of Resistance" that also includes Lebanon's Hezbollah, Yemen's Ansar Allah — also known as the Houthi movement — and other organizations across the region that have expressed opposition to Israel and the U.S. military presence in the Middle East.
But the Islamic Republic has celebrated their actions and amplified calls for a U.S. withdrawal from Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East, where U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) has been designated a terrorist organization by Tehran and the IRGC labeled a terrorist group by Washington.
Responding to the U.S. drone strike against Kataib Hezbollah on Wednesday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani condemned what he called "a clear example of state terrorism by America," according to a readout published by the ministry.
Kanaani emphasized, according to the readout, "that the aggressive act by the terrorist forces of CENTCOM in Baghdad was carried out in line with the continuation of the full support of the American government for the crimes perpetrated by the Zionist regime against the oppressed people of Palestine."
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/ir ... 2821&ei=45
"Iraq Militia Vows to Strike Back at US 'at the Right Place'"
Story by Tom O'Connor
10 FEBRUARY 2024
An Iraqi militia participating in the coalition of groups targeted by U.S. strikes over their ongoing campaign to expel U.S. troops from the country by force shared with Newsweek a new warning to the United States amid a worsening cycle of violence.
Days after the latest operation in which U.S. President Joe Biden ordered a drone strike that killed at least one senior official of the Kataib Hezbollah militia, a representative of fellow Islamic Resistance in Iraq coalition member group Ashab al-Kahf told Newsweek that "the military response will be at the right place and at the right time."
The Ashab al-Kahf representative referenced two powerful figures who command influence in Iraqi politics and preside over their own armed factions, Asaib Ahl al-Haq and the Badr Organization, respectively.
"Sheikh Qais al-Khazali and Haj Hadi al-Amiri promised us to demand pressure for the occupier to leave as soon as possible," the Ashab al-Kahf representative said.
As for Ashab al-Kahf, the representative of the group said that "it is always prepared for all possibilities and does not base its movements according to immediate circumstances only, but rather according to every possible future development, including the possibility of a major escalation by the American occupation."
When that happens, the Ashab al-Kahf representative warned that "the response is completely ready" and "we will inevitably face fire with fire."
Ashab al-Kahf is part of a broad network of Iraqi Shiite Muslim militias opposed to rival Sunni Muslim insurgents as well as U.S. military forces.
Its name, which translates to "Companions of the Cave," is a reference to a centuries-old story found in Christian writing and the Quran about a group of monotheistic youths who hid in a cave to escape religious persecution.
The group's origins are murkier than those of some of the more well-known outfits such as Kataib Hezbollah, Asaib Ahl-Haq, the Badr Organization and the Nujaba Movement.
These militias were established in the wake of the U.S.-led invasion that overthrew Iraqi President Saddam Hussein in 2003, and they went on to join the Popular Mobilization Forces, an Iraqi state-sponsored umbrella of paramilitary forces that rallied to fight the Islamic State militant group (ISIS) a decade ago.
Ashab al-Kahf first appeared sometime in 2019, however, with no clear references to its leadership or structure.
It began claiming attacks on U.S. military-linked convoys the following year, after the U.S. killing of Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force commander Major General Qassem Soleimani and Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces deputy chief Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in Baghdad.
While its ties to other militias such as Kataib Hezbollah and Asaib Ahl al-Haq have been a matter of debate, Ashab al-Kahf has openly declared its participation in the Islamic Resistance in Iraq coalition that launched a new offensive against U.S. forces in mid-October, shortly after the outbreak of the war between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement in Gaza on October 7, 2023.
Since then, U.S. troops have been targeted by near-daily rocket and drone attacks in Iraq and neighboring Syria.
"The Islamic Resistance in Iraq is the title of the tent that surrounds all the factions that believe in two goals," the Ashab al-Kahf representative told Newsweek.
"The first is to support Gaza."
"The second is to move towards removing the American occupation forces from Iraq."
The U.S. has launched several rounds of airstrikes against these groups, tying them directly to Iran's IRGC.
But a comprehensive set of dozens of strikes conducted across seven facilities last Sunday and the targeted assassination of Kataib Hezbollah commander Abu Baqir al-Saadi on Wednesday in response to the deaths of three U.S. troops in a drone attack at the Jordan-Syria border late last month marked an escalation in the U.S. campaign.
"If we continue to see threats and attacks from these militia groups, we will respond," U.S. State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters on Thursday.
"We'll take appropriate steps to hold them accountable."
He also used language similar to the Ashab al-Kahf representative in signaling how and where such a response would take place, warning "we are not going to hesitate to defend our people and hold responsible all who harm U.S. personnel at the time and place of our choosing."
The worsening violence between U.S. troops and Iraqi militias has sparked a new crisis for Baghdad, which has condemned both sides for taking action without the government's permission.
With calls for a U.S. withdrawal mounting, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani has openly appealed to Washington for a timeline that would see the end of U.S. military presence in Iraq.
The two countries have since convened their High Military Commission to discuss a "transition" of their bilateral security partnership, but the Pentagon has maintained that it had no plans to pull U.S. troops out entirely.
Iran, for its part, has always denied having command and control over various militias aligned with the broader "Axis of Resistance" that also includes Lebanon's Hezbollah, Yemen's Ansar Allah — also known as the Houthi movement — and other organizations across the region that have expressed opposition to Israel and the U.S. military presence in the Middle East.
But the Islamic Republic has celebrated their actions and amplified calls for a U.S. withdrawal from Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East, where U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) has been designated a terrorist organization by Tehran and the IRGC labeled a terrorist group by Washington.
Responding to the U.S. drone strike against Kataib Hezbollah on Wednesday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani condemned what he called "a clear example of state terrorism by America," according to a readout published by the ministry.
Kanaani emphasized, according to the readout, "that the aggressive act by the terrorist forces of CENTCOM in Baghdad was carried out in line with the continuation of the full support of the American government for the crimes perpetrated by the Zionist regime against the oppressed people of Palestine."
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/ir ... 2821&ei=45
Re: THE MIDDLE EAST
THE CAPE CHARLES MIRROR FEBRUARY 13, 2024 AT 10:15 PM
Paul Plante says:
And as American DICTATOR Joseph Robinette Biden, Junior, who just posted a photo of himself on X, formerly TWITTER, with laser beams shooting out of his head, which picture ( https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1756888470599967000 ) alone should serve to scare the living crap right out of the Iranians and the Huthis and all those militias in Iraqinam and Syria who are among Joe’s many enemies and have them trembling in fear while groveling at Joe’s feet and begging for mercy, it is indeed that scary looking, takes us closer and closer to war in the Middle East in a bid to make Joe a WAR PRESIDENT so it would be imperative that Joe should be re-elected, since we should not change WAR LEADERS in the middle of a war they created, as was the case with small Bush during the second Iraqinam war, Time had an interesting and insightful article on the subject of Joe’s WAR OF CHOICE in the Middle East, where he hopes he has finally found some poorly-armed Tenth Century tribesmen he stands a chance of actually beating, titled “The U.S. Navy Is Sinking in Middle East Sand” by Gil Barndollar on 13 February 2024, where we have as follows on that serious subject, given how short-sighted and shallow-thinking the senile Joe Biden, who lashes out right and left like a blind rattlesnake with his so-called “military might, really is, to wit:
The U.S. has a range of options for dealing with Yemen’s Houthis, none of them good.
But a long campaign of naval strikes and interception against them, as is now being floated by the Biden Administration and outside experts, is certainly the worst response of all.
end quotes
Which of course is why we can expect Joe Biden, who has never fought in a war, being a SKULKER during the Viet Nam war, or won a war (think Afghanistnam) in his entire life, to go that route, because it is stupid, which takes us back to the article, to wit:
That’s because it means the U.S. Navy continuing to sink into Middle East sand for an unachievable goal all while losing ground in the far-more important Pacific.
end quotes
Except Joe and his WORTHLESS National Security Council consisting of him, Karmela Harris with her meaningless word salads and Venn diagrams and yellow school buses, Tony Blinken, Lloyd Austin, Janet “TOODLES” Yellen, Jennifer Granholm, Merrick “THE GUTLESS” Garland, Alejandro Mayorkas, John “JACKIE BOY” Kerry, and John Podesta don’t know the goal is unachievable, and so will believe the opposite, which again takes us back for more, to wit:
Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping have summoned Tomahawk cruise missiles and Top Gun pilots from the deck of the USS Eisenhower.
The newly-renamed Operation Poseidon Archer is just two weeks old, and the Biden Administration is already drawing up plans for a longer effort, despite admitting that defeating the Houthis is not viable.
There is a risk of escalation in the Middle East, especially with the death of three U.S. soldiers after a drone strike in Jordan.
But the effects on the U.S. Navy will be predictable, because they have all happened before: overworked ships and sailors, expenditure of precious precision munitions, and a continued punt on the pivot to the Pacific.
The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier is the crown jewel of American military might.
Its 5,000 sailors and 90 jet-strike aircraft can guarantee sustained ship-to-shore pummeling of adversaries and the purported deterrence this provides — in effect modern gunboat diplomacy.
In any geopolitical crisis, it’s said the U.S. President will demand to know where the carriers are.
For the past two decades, throughout the “Global War on Terror” (GWOT), the answer has usually been the Middle East.
From 2001 to 2015, United States Central Command (CENTCOM), which includes North Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia, had at least one carrier assigned at all times.
As late as 2020, the Middle East drew almost as much carrier presence as the entire Pacific.
Because of this relentless demand, carriers often have their deployments extended or are “double-pumped,” conducting back-to-back deployments without a major maintenance period in between.
The last three carriers deployed in the Mediterranean were all extended: the USS Gerald R. Ford was at sea for 239 days, the USS Harry S. Truman for 285, and the USS George H. W. Bush for 257.
This overwork has consequences.
After the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower did two sets of double pumps, its subsequent 14-month maintenance period ballooned to 23 months because of wear and tear.
The utility and survivability of carriers in a major war are also in question.
In 1982, the legendary Admiral Hyman Rickover stunned Congress by testifying that in a war with the Soviet Union, U.S. aircraft carriers would survive for “48 hours.”
In the four decades since, the carrier’s vulnerability has dramatically increased.
Anti-ship missiles have become far more accurate and long-ranged since Rickover’s testimony, as the unrefueled range of an aircraft carrier’s air wing has shrunk from well over 1,000 nautical miles to barely 600 now.
This leaves carrier commanders with two unpalatable options: stay out of enemy range but become operationally irrelevant or sail close enough but put a $13 billion vessel and its 5,000 sailors at risk.
The narrow waters of the Persian Gulf and chokepoints like the Strait of Hormuz and Yemen’s Bab-el Mandeb only magnify this dilemma.
Yet the overworked carrier fleet and questions about its utility in a major war are only part of the larger problem of U.S. naval overstretch.
Since the September 11, 2001 attacks, the U.S. Navy has become addicted to global “presence” as a demonstration of its value to the nation.
Over the past two decades, the Army and Marine Corps could point to their efforts, successful or not, on the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan.
To maintain its status and budget, the Navy also needed to contribute, at sea and ashore.
With the all-volunteer military stretched to the breaking point, the Pentagon started looking to the Navy to step in.
Some 120,000 sailors would go on to serve on land during the GWOT.
Many of these sailors, especially the reservists who are critical in any major war, have become “sailors in name only,” their naval proficiencies and mindset atrophying due to prolonged service ashore.
All of this significantly strained U.S. naval manpower, causing ships to deploy undermanned and for longer durations.
The Navy’s overstretch may have also contributed to a pair of tragic accidents.
In 2017, a pair of Navy destroyers, the USS McCain and the USS Fitzgerald, collided with civilian ships in the Pacific in separate incidents, killing 17 sailors.
A report on the collisions found that rest and training were sacrificed for naval presence.
One of the Navy’s most senior retired enlisted sailors, Fleet Master Chief Petty Officer Paul Kingsbury, explicitly blamed the Navy’s GWOT augmentation program for the degraded safety culture that led to the McCain and Fitzgerald disasters.
The future looks grim for the overworked fleet.
Like the rest of the U.S. military, the Navy is facing an unprecedented recruiting crisis, fueled in part by fatigue from time away from home during extended deployments.
In an all-volunteer force, sailors will vote with their feet.
A shrinking fleet is the likely outcome, regardless of how many warships America has.
The most immediate danger of overstretch, though, is munitions not manpower.
The opening Jan. 12 strike on the Houthis expended 80 Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles, more than half the missile’s annual production.
In the near term, expending hundreds of these missiles in a tertiary operation like Prosperity Guardian could have major impacts in a far more important theater in the Pacific.
Precision strike missiles like the Tomahawk are vital to the U.S. military’s ability to deter, and if necessary, defeat a Chinese attack in the Pacific — a contingency where the Navy will be carrying most of the fight, unlike in America’s Middle East wars.
The U.S. may already lack sufficient precision munitions for a shooting war with China.
The Navy’s newest Middle East operation adds further risk to the service’s most essential mission.
On September 10, 2001, the U.S. was the unchallenged global superpower, with naval preeminence as the bedrock of American military dominance.
The U.S. Navy outgunned China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) by more than 100 warships.
China had no aircraft carriers and just 21 diesel submarines.
Some 20 years later, America’s sailors look out at a different world.
PLAN is now the world’s largest navy (though the U.S. Navy still boasts more tonnage).
China’s third aircraft carrier, Fujian, is nearing its sea trials.
In the time since the U.S. invaded Afghanistan, PLAN has commissioned 313 ships.
Recent wargames suggest the U.S. Navy would struggle mightily to defeat a Chinese fleet that was an afterthought just two decades ago.
The future trajectory is even worse: Chinese shipbuilding capacity now exceeds that of the U.S. by a factor of 200, according to unclassified data from the Office of Naval Intelligence.
Rebuilding the U.S. Navy is a long-term project that has barely begun, despite lip service from both political parties for years.
Ships, to say nothing of shipyards, are not built overnight.
Lost time and lost opportunities cannot be recovered.
But the U.S. can stop digging its navy into a deeper hole through Middle East-driven overwork of ships and sailors.
Fixing the fleet requires snapping the CENTCOM noose as quickly as possible.
end quotes
And that, people, is not going to happen!
ANOTHER BIDEN QUAGMIRE WILL BE THE RESULT INSTEAD!
http://www.capecharlesmirror.com/paul-p ... ent-899597
Paul Plante says:
And as American DICTATOR Joseph Robinette Biden, Junior, who just posted a photo of himself on X, formerly TWITTER, with laser beams shooting out of his head, which picture ( https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1756888470599967000 ) alone should serve to scare the living crap right out of the Iranians and the Huthis and all those militias in Iraqinam and Syria who are among Joe’s many enemies and have them trembling in fear while groveling at Joe’s feet and begging for mercy, it is indeed that scary looking, takes us closer and closer to war in the Middle East in a bid to make Joe a WAR PRESIDENT so it would be imperative that Joe should be re-elected, since we should not change WAR LEADERS in the middle of a war they created, as was the case with small Bush during the second Iraqinam war, Time had an interesting and insightful article on the subject of Joe’s WAR OF CHOICE in the Middle East, where he hopes he has finally found some poorly-armed Tenth Century tribesmen he stands a chance of actually beating, titled “The U.S. Navy Is Sinking in Middle East Sand” by Gil Barndollar on 13 February 2024, where we have as follows on that serious subject, given how short-sighted and shallow-thinking the senile Joe Biden, who lashes out right and left like a blind rattlesnake with his so-called “military might, really is, to wit:
The U.S. has a range of options for dealing with Yemen’s Houthis, none of them good.
But a long campaign of naval strikes and interception against them, as is now being floated by the Biden Administration and outside experts, is certainly the worst response of all.
end quotes
Which of course is why we can expect Joe Biden, who has never fought in a war, being a SKULKER during the Viet Nam war, or won a war (think Afghanistnam) in his entire life, to go that route, because it is stupid, which takes us back to the article, to wit:
That’s because it means the U.S. Navy continuing to sink into Middle East sand for an unachievable goal all while losing ground in the far-more important Pacific.
end quotes
Except Joe and his WORTHLESS National Security Council consisting of him, Karmela Harris with her meaningless word salads and Venn diagrams and yellow school buses, Tony Blinken, Lloyd Austin, Janet “TOODLES” Yellen, Jennifer Granholm, Merrick “THE GUTLESS” Garland, Alejandro Mayorkas, John “JACKIE BOY” Kerry, and John Podesta don’t know the goal is unachievable, and so will believe the opposite, which again takes us back for more, to wit:
Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping have summoned Tomahawk cruise missiles and Top Gun pilots from the deck of the USS Eisenhower.
The newly-renamed Operation Poseidon Archer is just two weeks old, and the Biden Administration is already drawing up plans for a longer effort, despite admitting that defeating the Houthis is not viable.
There is a risk of escalation in the Middle East, especially with the death of three U.S. soldiers after a drone strike in Jordan.
But the effects on the U.S. Navy will be predictable, because they have all happened before: overworked ships and sailors, expenditure of precious precision munitions, and a continued punt on the pivot to the Pacific.
The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier is the crown jewel of American military might.
Its 5,000 sailors and 90 jet-strike aircraft can guarantee sustained ship-to-shore pummeling of adversaries and the purported deterrence this provides — in effect modern gunboat diplomacy.
In any geopolitical crisis, it’s said the U.S. President will demand to know where the carriers are.
For the past two decades, throughout the “Global War on Terror” (GWOT), the answer has usually been the Middle East.
From 2001 to 2015, United States Central Command (CENTCOM), which includes North Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia, had at least one carrier assigned at all times.
As late as 2020, the Middle East drew almost as much carrier presence as the entire Pacific.
Because of this relentless demand, carriers often have their deployments extended or are “double-pumped,” conducting back-to-back deployments without a major maintenance period in between.
The last three carriers deployed in the Mediterranean were all extended: the USS Gerald R. Ford was at sea for 239 days, the USS Harry S. Truman for 285, and the USS George H. W. Bush for 257.
This overwork has consequences.
After the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower did two sets of double pumps, its subsequent 14-month maintenance period ballooned to 23 months because of wear and tear.
The utility and survivability of carriers in a major war are also in question.
In 1982, the legendary Admiral Hyman Rickover stunned Congress by testifying that in a war with the Soviet Union, U.S. aircraft carriers would survive for “48 hours.”
In the four decades since, the carrier’s vulnerability has dramatically increased.
Anti-ship missiles have become far more accurate and long-ranged since Rickover’s testimony, as the unrefueled range of an aircraft carrier’s air wing has shrunk from well over 1,000 nautical miles to barely 600 now.
This leaves carrier commanders with two unpalatable options: stay out of enemy range but become operationally irrelevant or sail close enough but put a $13 billion vessel and its 5,000 sailors at risk.
The narrow waters of the Persian Gulf and chokepoints like the Strait of Hormuz and Yemen’s Bab-el Mandeb only magnify this dilemma.
Yet the overworked carrier fleet and questions about its utility in a major war are only part of the larger problem of U.S. naval overstretch.
Since the September 11, 2001 attacks, the U.S. Navy has become addicted to global “presence” as a demonstration of its value to the nation.
Over the past two decades, the Army and Marine Corps could point to their efforts, successful or not, on the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan.
To maintain its status and budget, the Navy also needed to contribute, at sea and ashore.
With the all-volunteer military stretched to the breaking point, the Pentagon started looking to the Navy to step in.
Some 120,000 sailors would go on to serve on land during the GWOT.
Many of these sailors, especially the reservists who are critical in any major war, have become “sailors in name only,” their naval proficiencies and mindset atrophying due to prolonged service ashore.
All of this significantly strained U.S. naval manpower, causing ships to deploy undermanned and for longer durations.
The Navy’s overstretch may have also contributed to a pair of tragic accidents.
In 2017, a pair of Navy destroyers, the USS McCain and the USS Fitzgerald, collided with civilian ships in the Pacific in separate incidents, killing 17 sailors.
A report on the collisions found that rest and training were sacrificed for naval presence.
One of the Navy’s most senior retired enlisted sailors, Fleet Master Chief Petty Officer Paul Kingsbury, explicitly blamed the Navy’s GWOT augmentation program for the degraded safety culture that led to the McCain and Fitzgerald disasters.
The future looks grim for the overworked fleet.
Like the rest of the U.S. military, the Navy is facing an unprecedented recruiting crisis, fueled in part by fatigue from time away from home during extended deployments.
In an all-volunteer force, sailors will vote with their feet.
A shrinking fleet is the likely outcome, regardless of how many warships America has.
The most immediate danger of overstretch, though, is munitions not manpower.
The opening Jan. 12 strike on the Houthis expended 80 Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles, more than half the missile’s annual production.
In the near term, expending hundreds of these missiles in a tertiary operation like Prosperity Guardian could have major impacts in a far more important theater in the Pacific.
Precision strike missiles like the Tomahawk are vital to the U.S. military’s ability to deter, and if necessary, defeat a Chinese attack in the Pacific — a contingency where the Navy will be carrying most of the fight, unlike in America’s Middle East wars.
The U.S. may already lack sufficient precision munitions for a shooting war with China.
The Navy’s newest Middle East operation adds further risk to the service’s most essential mission.
On September 10, 2001, the U.S. was the unchallenged global superpower, with naval preeminence as the bedrock of American military dominance.
The U.S. Navy outgunned China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) by more than 100 warships.
China had no aircraft carriers and just 21 diesel submarines.
Some 20 years later, America’s sailors look out at a different world.
PLAN is now the world’s largest navy (though the U.S. Navy still boasts more tonnage).
China’s third aircraft carrier, Fujian, is nearing its sea trials.
In the time since the U.S. invaded Afghanistan, PLAN has commissioned 313 ships.
Recent wargames suggest the U.S. Navy would struggle mightily to defeat a Chinese fleet that was an afterthought just two decades ago.
The future trajectory is even worse: Chinese shipbuilding capacity now exceeds that of the U.S. by a factor of 200, according to unclassified data from the Office of Naval Intelligence.
Rebuilding the U.S. Navy is a long-term project that has barely begun, despite lip service from both political parties for years.
Ships, to say nothing of shipyards, are not built overnight.
Lost time and lost opportunities cannot be recovered.
But the U.S. can stop digging its navy into a deeper hole through Middle East-driven overwork of ships and sailors.
Fixing the fleet requires snapping the CENTCOM noose as quickly as possible.
end quotes
And that, people, is not going to happen!
ANOTHER BIDEN QUAGMIRE WILL BE THE RESULT INSTEAD!
http://www.capecharlesmirror.com/paul-p ... ent-899597
Re: THE MIDDLE EAST
POLITICO
"UAE restricts US ability to launch retaliatory airstrikes against Iran proxies"
Story by Lara Seligman, Alexander Ward and Nahal Toosi
15 FEBRUARY 2024
Some Arab countries, including the United Arab Emirates, are increasingly restricting the U.S. from using military facilities on their soil to launch retaliatory airstrikes on Iranian proxies, according to four people familiar with the issue.
The U.S. has long deployed thousands of troops at facilities in the UAE, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and elsewhere in the Middle East, and the Arab countries’ role in supporting U.S. military activities has come under intensified scrutiny since the Israel-Hamas war that erupted in October.
The conflict has pitted Arab governments’ interests in assuaging their citizens’ anger toward Israel against their desire to help Washington fend off Iranian-backed attacks.
The restrictions on U.S. activities on their soil reflect Arab calculations on how supportive they can be — without angering Iran.
The news that some countries are restricting access is based on information from a U.S. official, a congressional aide and two Western officials, all of whom were granted anonymity to discuss a sensitive security issue.
Amid a rising civilian death toll in Gaza, several Arab countries, particularly those “attempting a detente with Iran," are “increasingly restricting” the U.S. and partners from conducting self-defense operations from their soil, according to the U.S. official.
This includes limits on retaliatory strikes against attacks in Iraq, Syria, and the Red Sea, the official said.
President Joe Biden has in recent weeks ordered multiple retaliatory air and missile strikes, some in conjunction with U.S. allies, against Iran-backed threats in the Middle East.
Iran-backed militias have attacked U.S. troops in Iraq, Syria and Jordan using a mixture of drones, rockets and missiles 170 times since October, killing three U.S. service members and injuring dozens more.
Meanwhile, Houthi rebels in Yemen have launched 46 attacks against shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since the campaign started Nov. 19.
Certain Arab countries are restricting access to basing and overflight for the assets participating in these retaliatory strikes, the official said.
It’s not clear how many countries are taking this action.
The reason the UAE in particular is doing this, per one of the Western officials, is “they don’t want to appear like they’re against Iran and they don’t want to appear too close to the West and Israel for public opinion reasons.”
The UAE has in recent years also raised concerns about increasing attacks from the Houthis in Yemen.
The rebel group has previously launched missiles into the UAE.
A representative for the UAE embassy declined to comment for this story.
Pentagon spokesperson Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said the U.S. military has “the capability to flow additional assets to the region to support regional deterrence efforts and provide options for a wide range of contingencies” when necessary.
“We also maintain the capability throughout the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility to defend our forces and conduct self-defense strikes at the times and places of our choosing,” Ryder said, when asked for comment.
The UAE is home to Al Dhafra Air Base, which hosts dozens of U.S. aircraft involved in operations across the region, including fighter aircraft and reconnaissance drones such as MQ-9 Reapers.
In October, U.S. F-16 fighter jets carried out retaliatory strikes against two facilities in eastern Syria used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its proxies.
Although the Pentagon at the time did not disclose where the aircraft came from, Al Dhafra is one of the closest facilities in the region that typically hosts F-16s.
One Defense Department official disputed the premise that there is tension between the U.S. and the Emirates over U.S. military basing, pointing out that A-10 attack aircraft and armed MQ-9 drones have recently operated out of Al Dhafra in support of operations to protect shipping in the Arabian Gulf.
But soon after the October strike, the Pentagon stopped publicly disclosing many of the aircraft types used in subsequent retaliatory operations against Iranian proxies.
Meanwhile, strikes on the Houthis since January have been conducted by U.S. Navy F/A-18 fighter jets from the nearby aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, which is in international waters.
And after an Iran-backed proxy attack killed three American soldiers at a small U.S. outpost in Jordan in January, the U.S. flew long-range B-1 bombers from Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota, the Pentagon said.
“This was yet another demonstration that we maintain global strike capability, which means we can move quickly and flexibly to respond globally at the times and places of our choosing and that we’re not limited to just the aircraft that are in Central Command,” Ryder said.
Overflight access in the region has been mired in problems in recent years because of the fighting in Yemen.
The Federal Aviation Administration previously issued a warning about operating aircraft over the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.
The U.S. military, along with several international partners, has stepped up its activities in the Middle East as the Israel-Hamas war’s consequences have reverberated across the region.
The war, which began when the Hamas militant group killed 1,200 people in Israel, is now in its fifth month, and Israel’s retaliation in the Gaza Strip has killed more than 28,000 Palestinians, many of them civilians, according to Hamas-controlled institutions.
The rising Palestinian civilian death toll in Gaza has infuriated the populations of many Arab countries, worrying the autocrats who run them.
But many of the same governments also despise Hamas and its patron, Iran.
At the same time, they are reluctant to get into an all-out fight with Iran and have in recent years sought to mend fences with that country.
Erin Banco contributed to this report .
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/ua ... 84cfb&ei=7
"UAE restricts US ability to launch retaliatory airstrikes against Iran proxies"
Story by Lara Seligman, Alexander Ward and Nahal Toosi
15 FEBRUARY 2024
Some Arab countries, including the United Arab Emirates, are increasingly restricting the U.S. from using military facilities on their soil to launch retaliatory airstrikes on Iranian proxies, according to four people familiar with the issue.
The U.S. has long deployed thousands of troops at facilities in the UAE, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and elsewhere in the Middle East, and the Arab countries’ role in supporting U.S. military activities has come under intensified scrutiny since the Israel-Hamas war that erupted in October.
The conflict has pitted Arab governments’ interests in assuaging their citizens’ anger toward Israel against their desire to help Washington fend off Iranian-backed attacks.
The restrictions on U.S. activities on their soil reflect Arab calculations on how supportive they can be — without angering Iran.
The news that some countries are restricting access is based on information from a U.S. official, a congressional aide and two Western officials, all of whom were granted anonymity to discuss a sensitive security issue.
Amid a rising civilian death toll in Gaza, several Arab countries, particularly those “attempting a detente with Iran," are “increasingly restricting” the U.S. and partners from conducting self-defense operations from their soil, according to the U.S. official.
This includes limits on retaliatory strikes against attacks in Iraq, Syria, and the Red Sea, the official said.
President Joe Biden has in recent weeks ordered multiple retaliatory air and missile strikes, some in conjunction with U.S. allies, against Iran-backed threats in the Middle East.
Iran-backed militias have attacked U.S. troops in Iraq, Syria and Jordan using a mixture of drones, rockets and missiles 170 times since October, killing three U.S. service members and injuring dozens more.
Meanwhile, Houthi rebels in Yemen have launched 46 attacks against shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since the campaign started Nov. 19.
Certain Arab countries are restricting access to basing and overflight for the assets participating in these retaliatory strikes, the official said.
It’s not clear how many countries are taking this action.
The reason the UAE in particular is doing this, per one of the Western officials, is “they don’t want to appear like they’re against Iran and they don’t want to appear too close to the West and Israel for public opinion reasons.”
The UAE has in recent years also raised concerns about increasing attacks from the Houthis in Yemen.
The rebel group has previously launched missiles into the UAE.
A representative for the UAE embassy declined to comment for this story.
Pentagon spokesperson Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said the U.S. military has “the capability to flow additional assets to the region to support regional deterrence efforts and provide options for a wide range of contingencies” when necessary.
“We also maintain the capability throughout the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility to defend our forces and conduct self-defense strikes at the times and places of our choosing,” Ryder said, when asked for comment.
The UAE is home to Al Dhafra Air Base, which hosts dozens of U.S. aircraft involved in operations across the region, including fighter aircraft and reconnaissance drones such as MQ-9 Reapers.
In October, U.S. F-16 fighter jets carried out retaliatory strikes against two facilities in eastern Syria used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its proxies.
Although the Pentagon at the time did not disclose where the aircraft came from, Al Dhafra is one of the closest facilities in the region that typically hosts F-16s.
One Defense Department official disputed the premise that there is tension between the U.S. and the Emirates over U.S. military basing, pointing out that A-10 attack aircraft and armed MQ-9 drones have recently operated out of Al Dhafra in support of operations to protect shipping in the Arabian Gulf.
But soon after the October strike, the Pentagon stopped publicly disclosing many of the aircraft types used in subsequent retaliatory operations against Iranian proxies.
Meanwhile, strikes on the Houthis since January have been conducted by U.S. Navy F/A-18 fighter jets from the nearby aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, which is in international waters.
And after an Iran-backed proxy attack killed three American soldiers at a small U.S. outpost in Jordan in January, the U.S. flew long-range B-1 bombers from Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota, the Pentagon said.
“This was yet another demonstration that we maintain global strike capability, which means we can move quickly and flexibly to respond globally at the times and places of our choosing and that we’re not limited to just the aircraft that are in Central Command,” Ryder said.
Overflight access in the region has been mired in problems in recent years because of the fighting in Yemen.
The Federal Aviation Administration previously issued a warning about operating aircraft over the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.
The U.S. military, along with several international partners, has stepped up its activities in the Middle East as the Israel-Hamas war’s consequences have reverberated across the region.
The war, which began when the Hamas militant group killed 1,200 people in Israel, is now in its fifth month, and Israel’s retaliation in the Gaza Strip has killed more than 28,000 Palestinians, many of them civilians, according to Hamas-controlled institutions.
The rising Palestinian civilian death toll in Gaza has infuriated the populations of many Arab countries, worrying the autocrats who run them.
But many of the same governments also despise Hamas and its patron, Iran.
At the same time, they are reluctant to get into an all-out fight with Iran and have in recent years sought to mend fences with that country.
Erin Banco contributed to this report .
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/ua ... 84cfb&ei=7
Re: THE MIDDLE EAST
FOX News
"After months fighting Houthis on the USS Eisenhower, sailors face a new kind of sea threat"
Story by Fox News
15 FEBRUARY 2024
Sailors aboard the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and its accompanying warships have spent four months straight at sea defending against ballistic missiles and flying attack drones fired by Iranian-backed Houthis, and are now more regularly also defending against a new threat — fast unmanned vessels that are fired at them through the water.
While the Houthis have launched unmanned surface vessels, or USVs, in the past against Saudi coalition forces that have intervened in Yemen’s civil war, they were used for the first time against U.S. military and commercial vessels in the Red Sea on Jan. 4.
In the weeks since, the Navy has had to intercept and destroy multiple USVs.
It's "more of an unknown threat that we don’t have a lot of intel on, that could be extremely lethal — an unmanned surface vessel," said Rear Adm. Marc Miguez, commander of Carrier Strike Group Two, of which the Eisenhower is the flagship.
The Houthis "have ways of obviously controlling them just like they do the (unmanned aerial vehicles), and we have very little fidelity as to all the stockpiles of what they have USV-wise," Miguez said.
The Houthis began firing on U.S. military and commercial vessels after a deadly blast at the Al-Ahli hospital in Gaza on Oct. 17, a few days after the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war.
The rebels have said they will continue firing on commercial and military vessels transiting the region until Israel ceases its military operations inside Gaza.
The Eisenhower has been on patrol here since Nov. 4, and some of its accompanying ships have been on location for even longer, since October.
In those months the Eisenhower’s fleet of fighter and surveillance aircraft have worked non-stop to detect and intercept the missiles and drones fired by the Houthis at ships in the Red Sea, Bab-al-Mandeb strait and Gulf of Aden.
The carriers’ F/A-18 fighter jets are also frequently launched to take out missile sites they detect before munitions are fired.
As of Wednesday, the carrier strike group, which includes the cruiser USS Philippine Sea, the destroyers USS Mason and Gravely, and additional U.S. Navy assets in the region including the destroyers USS Laboon and USS Carney have conducted more than 95 intercepts of drones, anti-ship ballistic missiles and anti-ship cruise missiles and made more than 240 self-defense strikes on more than 50 Houthi targets.
On Wednesday, the strike group intercepted and destroyed seven additional anti-ship cruise missiles and another explosive USV prepared to launch against vessels in the Red Sea.
"We are constantly keeping an eye on what the Iranian-backed Houthis are up to, and when we find military targets that threaten the ability of merchant vessels, we act in defense of those ships and strike them precisely and violently," said Capt. Marvin Scott, commander of the carrier air wing's eight squadrons of warplanes.
But the USV threat, which is still evolving, is worrisome, Miguez said.
"That’s one of the most scary scenarios, to have a bomb-laden, unmanned surface vessel that can go in pretty fast speeds."
"And if you’re not immediately on scene, it can get ugly extremely quick," Miguez said.
U.S. Central Command also reported Thursday that the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Clarence Sutphin Jr. boarded a vessel in the Arabian Sea that was bound for Yemen on Jan. 28 and seized ballistic missile parts, USV components and military grade communications equipment.
That pace has meant the ships have spent four months at a constant combat pace with no days off with a port call.
That takes a toll on sailors, the commander of the Eisenhower, Capt. Christopher "Chowdah" Hill said in an interview with The Associated Press aboard the Eisenhower.
The ship keeps up morale by letting sailors know how important their job is and by giving them wi-fi access so they can stay connected with their families back home.
"I was walking through the mess decks the other day and I could hear a baby crying because someone was teleconferencing with their infant that they haven’t even met yet," Hill said.
"It’s just extraordinary, that sort of connection."
The destroyers don't have wi-fi because of bandwidth limitations, which can make it harder for those crews.
Joselyn Martinez, a second class gunner’s mate aboard the destroyer Gravely said not being in touch with home and being in a fighting stance at sea for so long has been hard, "but we have each other's backs here."
When a threat is detected, and an alarm sounds directing the crew to respond, "it is like a rush of adrenaline," Martinez said.
"But at the end of the day, we just do what we come here to do and, you know, defend my crew and my ship."
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/af ... 37ec&ei=58
"After months fighting Houthis on the USS Eisenhower, sailors face a new kind of sea threat"
Story by Fox News
15 FEBRUARY 2024
Sailors aboard the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and its accompanying warships have spent four months straight at sea defending against ballistic missiles and flying attack drones fired by Iranian-backed Houthis, and are now more regularly also defending against a new threat — fast unmanned vessels that are fired at them through the water.
While the Houthis have launched unmanned surface vessels, or USVs, in the past against Saudi coalition forces that have intervened in Yemen’s civil war, they were used for the first time against U.S. military and commercial vessels in the Red Sea on Jan. 4.
In the weeks since, the Navy has had to intercept and destroy multiple USVs.
It's "more of an unknown threat that we don’t have a lot of intel on, that could be extremely lethal — an unmanned surface vessel," said Rear Adm. Marc Miguez, commander of Carrier Strike Group Two, of which the Eisenhower is the flagship.
The Houthis "have ways of obviously controlling them just like they do the (unmanned aerial vehicles), and we have very little fidelity as to all the stockpiles of what they have USV-wise," Miguez said.
The Houthis began firing on U.S. military and commercial vessels after a deadly blast at the Al-Ahli hospital in Gaza on Oct. 17, a few days after the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war.
The rebels have said they will continue firing on commercial and military vessels transiting the region until Israel ceases its military operations inside Gaza.
The Eisenhower has been on patrol here since Nov. 4, and some of its accompanying ships have been on location for even longer, since October.
In those months the Eisenhower’s fleet of fighter and surveillance aircraft have worked non-stop to detect and intercept the missiles and drones fired by the Houthis at ships in the Red Sea, Bab-al-Mandeb strait and Gulf of Aden.
The carriers’ F/A-18 fighter jets are also frequently launched to take out missile sites they detect before munitions are fired.
As of Wednesday, the carrier strike group, which includes the cruiser USS Philippine Sea, the destroyers USS Mason and Gravely, and additional U.S. Navy assets in the region including the destroyers USS Laboon and USS Carney have conducted more than 95 intercepts of drones, anti-ship ballistic missiles and anti-ship cruise missiles and made more than 240 self-defense strikes on more than 50 Houthi targets.
On Wednesday, the strike group intercepted and destroyed seven additional anti-ship cruise missiles and another explosive USV prepared to launch against vessels in the Red Sea.
"We are constantly keeping an eye on what the Iranian-backed Houthis are up to, and when we find military targets that threaten the ability of merchant vessels, we act in defense of those ships and strike them precisely and violently," said Capt. Marvin Scott, commander of the carrier air wing's eight squadrons of warplanes.
But the USV threat, which is still evolving, is worrisome, Miguez said.
"That’s one of the most scary scenarios, to have a bomb-laden, unmanned surface vessel that can go in pretty fast speeds."
"And if you’re not immediately on scene, it can get ugly extremely quick," Miguez said.
U.S. Central Command also reported Thursday that the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Clarence Sutphin Jr. boarded a vessel in the Arabian Sea that was bound for Yemen on Jan. 28 and seized ballistic missile parts, USV components and military grade communications equipment.
That pace has meant the ships have spent four months at a constant combat pace with no days off with a port call.
That takes a toll on sailors, the commander of the Eisenhower, Capt. Christopher "Chowdah" Hill said in an interview with The Associated Press aboard the Eisenhower.
The ship keeps up morale by letting sailors know how important their job is and by giving them wi-fi access so they can stay connected with their families back home.
"I was walking through the mess decks the other day and I could hear a baby crying because someone was teleconferencing with their infant that they haven’t even met yet," Hill said.
"It’s just extraordinary, that sort of connection."
The destroyers don't have wi-fi because of bandwidth limitations, which can make it harder for those crews.
Joselyn Martinez, a second class gunner’s mate aboard the destroyer Gravely said not being in touch with home and being in a fighting stance at sea for so long has been hard, "but we have each other's backs here."
When a threat is detected, and an alarm sounds directing the crew to respond, "it is like a rush of adrenaline," Martinez said.
"But at the end of the day, we just do what we come here to do and, you know, defend my crew and my ship."
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/af ... 37ec&ei=58