The U.S. military launched an air assault on dozens of sites in Iraq and Syria used by Iranian-backed militias and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Friday, in the opening salvo of retaliation for the drone strike that killed three U.S. troops in Jordan last weekend, according the the U.S. military and officials.
President Joe Biden and other top U.S. leaders had been warning for days that America would strike back at the militias, and they made it clear it wouldn’t be just one hit but a “tiered response” over time.
“This afternoon, at my direction, U.S. military forces struck targets at facilities in Iraq and Syria that the IRGC and affiliated militia use to attack U.S. forces,” Biden said in a statement. “Our response began today. It will continue at times and places of our choosing.”
The massive barrage of strikes by manned and unmanned aircraft hit more than 85 targets at seven locations, including command and control headquarters, intelligence centers, rockets and missiles, drone and ammunition storage sites and other facilities that were connected to the militias or the IRGC’s Quds Force, the Guard’s expeditionary unit that handles Tehran’s relationship and arming of regional militias.
U.S. Central Command said the strikes used more than 125 precision munitions, and they were delivered by numerous aircraft, including long-range bombers flown from the United States. One official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details of the operation, said B-1 bombers were used.
Do they have permission from the Iraqi government, which is after all supposed to be a friendly government? Or is this another case of sovereignty not mattering when it’s inconvenient for the US? (Won’t even bother asking about Syria.)
No Iraq officials condemned the attacks and accused the US of violating the countries sovereignty.
"These strikes constitute a violation of Iraqi sovereignty, an undermining of the efforts of the Iraqi government, and a threat that will drag Iraq and the region into undesirable consequences, the consequences of which will be dire for security and stability in Iraq and the region,” Yahya Rasool Iraqi commander in chief
Oh, please. This sounds like sovcit shit.
Mate, hate to break it to you - but sovcits have as legitimate a claim to the term ‘sovereignty’ as the US does to unsanctioned acts of war on foreign soil.
Let me guess, you don’t even know what the word “sovereignty” means.
Just what we need; a third, simultaneous, open war.
This isn’t an open war.
It’s a limited amount of retaliatory and proportional strikes, meant to dissuade further attacks on US forces and international shipping. They’ve also chosen not to attack Iran, exactly because they want to avoid escalation. They also warned Iran ahead of time, so they could move out anyone important.
If the US hadn’t responded, it would only have made things worse. You can’t just ignore groups murdering your soldiers. That’ll only invite more of this crap. Terrorists shooting at civilian container ships is also not good for anyone.
The same thing happened with Iran and Pakistan recently. Iran struck Pakistan. Pakistan struck back. They both came to the conclusion they didn’t want a war, and made a statement to that effect.
Except Iran has already pledged a ‘strong response’, should these strikes occur:
https://globalnews.ca/news/10262185/iran-response-jordan-attack-us-soldiers/
They’ll respond, then the US will respond again, and on and on.
When does it end? An eye for an eye for and eye for an eye… Do we just accept going blind?
/edit; somewhere in there I miss read Iraq as Iran… Thought they had struck Iran. Perhaps this won’t be as much of an issue. Time will tell I guess.
When does it end? An eye for an eye for and eye for an eye… Do we just accept going blind?
This quote always bothered me…There’ll be one guy left with one eye. How’s the last blind guy gonna take out the eye of the last guy left? Gandhi was wrong.
In the land of the blind, the one eyed man is king!
true. you only have to be the first who pokes an eye.
le me and my tired brain processing words very slowly
US begins strikes… good, good, they need those, their workers are treated like shit … on militias in Iraq and Syria… oh, less good, these are not worker strikes.
Bomb Iranian oil fields.
Make gas cost $10 per gallon. Incentivize public transportation and fuel efficient vehicles, simultaneously crippling Iran.
What? The US gets its oil from…the US.
It’s a global market. The US exports oil. The price would go up.
@Biden
Seriously the US is enough land. And Australia. And South Africa. And Israel. How big does the World Reich have to be before you are satisfied?
Go home. Not all Arabs need to die.
Edit: Oh yeah, there are several Germanic countries in Europe. Probably should add those as well.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
President Joe Biden and other top U.S. leaders had been warning for days that America would strike back at the militias, and they made it clear it wouldn’t be just one hit but a “tiered response” over time.
Two Iraqi militia officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to journalists said that three houses used as headquarters were targeted in al-Qaim, Iraq, including a weapons storage area.
The assault came came just hours after Biden and top defense leaders joined grieving families to watch as the remains of the three Army Reserve soldiers were returned to the U.S. at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.
The U.S. strikes appeared to stop short of directly targeting Iran or senior leaders of the Revolutionary Guard Quds Force within its borders, as the U.S. tries to prevent the conflict from escalating even further.
And the Israeli military said its Arrow defense system intercepted a missile that approached the country from the Red Sea, raising suspicion it was launched by Yemen’s Houthi rebels.
That drone attack, which also injured more than 40 service members — largely Army National Guard — was the first to result in U.S. combat deaths from the Iran-backed militias since the war between Israel and Hamas broke out.
The original article contains 1,121 words, the summary contains 215 words. Saved 81%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
