ANALYSIS – Will these forces deter Iran, or create a more volatile situation? The United States is positioning additional military resources in the Middle East to help defend Israel against a possible attack by Iran or its regional allies.
Officials have been on the lookout for retaliatory strikes by both Iran and Hezbollah for the killings, and the U.S. has been beefing up its presence in the region to a level not seen in recent years, to pressure Iran to de-escalate.
But with Joe Biden still nominally in charge, will all this help or hurt the situation?
Among the U.S. naval forces sent to the region, a nuclear-powered guided missile submarine and several destroyers are now bolstering our offensive and defensive missile capabilities in the region.
The Washington Post reported:
The USS Laboon arrived in the area after making its way from the Red Sea through the Suez Canal, a defense official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
The destroyers USS Roosevelt and USS Bulkeley and a three-ship amphibious task force that includes the USS Wasp, the USS Oak Hill and the USS New York are already in the region. Sailors and Marines in that task force train to handle evacuation operations and could be called upon if U.S. officials determine one is necessary.
The Post added:
On Sunday, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered the guided-missile submarine USS Georgia to the Middle East and told the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group to speed up its voyage to the region.
Not to be excluded, the Air Force deployed its premier F-22 Raptor stealth fighters to the region as well.
Air and Space Forces reported: “Air Force F-22 Raptors are now in the Middle East ‘to address threats posed by Iran and Iranian-backed groups’ against Israel and American troops in the region.”
The moves, announced by the Defense Department on Sunday, come as the U.S. and other allies push for Israel and Hamas to achieve a ceasefire agreement that could help calm soaring tensions in the region following the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and a senior Hezbollah commander in Beirut.
Israeli officials also fear Iran will coordinate its attack with Hezbollah, which has vowed its own retaliation for Israel’s killing last month of Fuad Shukr, a top commander.
The Post continued:
Israel has communicated to Iran and Hezbollah that targeting civilian population centers would be considered a red line for Israel, which is preparing for a spectrum of scenarios, including one in which Hezbollah attacks first and is joined by Iran afterward, said Yoel Guzansky, a former official on Israel’s National Security Council who is now a senior fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv.
Guzansky also said that Israel was considering a preemptive attack against Hezbollah, but that such a decision would be conditioned on approval from the United States.
Meanwhile, the Yeman-based, Iran-backed Houthis could also contribute to an attack on Israel.
But Israel says it is well prepared for any attack, and the U.S. forces nearby, that appears more assured. In addition to the U.S. reinforcements noted above, the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) explains:
As of June, the United States had several thousand service members stationed in the Middle East, and several thousand more on ships at sea in the region, although the numbers fluctuate. In total, the United States has military facilities across at least nineteen sites—eight of them considered to be permanent by many regional analysts —in countries including Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and the United Arab Emirates. The U.S. military also uses large bases in Djibouti and Turkey, which are part of other regional commands but often contribute significantly to U.S. operations in the Middle East.
I am hoping all these American military assets will deter Iran from any major escalatory attack against Israel, but with Biden still nominally president, we can never be sure. He may just be making this worse.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
With Obummer behind the scenes of the fossil’s regime, what makes you sure these forces are there to SUPPORT Israel?
Prep for WW3