Jordan attack response decided – Biden
WASHINGTON, D.C.: United States President Joe Biden indicated on Tuesday that he had decided how to respond to the killing of three American servicemen in Sunday’s drone attack in Jordan that his administration has pinned on Iran-backed militia groups, saying he does not want to expand the war in the Middle East but demurring on specifics.
US officials said they were still determining which of several Iran-backed groups was responsible for the first killing of American troops in a wave of attacks against US forces in the region since Hamas’ deadly attacks on southern Israel on October 7.
Biden plans to attend the dignified transfer to mark the fallen troops’ return to American soil on Friday and answered in the affirmative when asked by reporters if he’d decided on a response, as he indicated he was aiming to prevent further escalation.
“I don’t think we need a wider war in the Middle East,” Biden said at the White House before departing for a fundraising trip to Florida. “That’s not what I’m looking for.”
It was not immediately clear whether Biden meant he had decided on a specific retaliatory plan. A US official told The Associated Press (AP) that the Pentagon was still assessing options to respond to the attack in Jordan.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters traveling with Biden aboard Air Force One that he would not preview the US response, but indicated it would come in phases.
“It’s very possible that what you’ll see is a tiered approach here, not just a single action, but potentially multiple actions over a period of time,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Iranian-backed Iraqi militia Kataib Hezbollah, one of several groups eyed by US officials, announced in a statement on Tuesday “the suspension of military and security operations against the occupation forces in order to prevent embarrassment to the Iraqi government.”
The attacks on US forces by Iraqi militias over the past four months have placed the government of Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani in an awkward position. He was brought to power by Iranian-allied factions but has also attempted to stay in Washington’s good graces and has condemned the attacks on US forces serving in Iraq as part of an international commission to fight the Islamic State. Iraqi and US officials last Saturday opened talks aimed at winding down the commission’s presence.
Kirby said Biden spoke with the soldiers’ families on Tuesday morning and extended his condolences, pledging full assistance to the families as they grieve.
In separate calls with the families, Biden also gauged their feelings about his attendance at Friday’s transfer of the fallen service members’ remains at Dover Air Force Base in his home state of Delaware on Friday, and “all of them supported his presence there,” Kirby said.
“He was grateful for their time. He expressed to them how proud we all are of their service,” Kirby said of Biden’s calls. “How we mourn and feel sorrow over their loss.”
The solemn ceremony marks the return of fallen service members to American soil as they journey to their final resting place, with silent honor guards carrying flag-draped transfer cases holding the remains from transport aircraft to military vehicles.
The Pentagon identified those killed in the attack as Sgt. William Jerome Rivers, 46, of Carrollton, Georgia; Spc. Kennedy Ladon Sanders, 24, of Waycross, Georgia; and Spc. Breonna Alexsondria Moffett, 23, of Savannah, Georgia. The Army Reserve announced on Tuesday that it had posthumously promoted Sanders and Moffett to the rank of sergeant.
There have been 166 attacks on US military installations since October 18, including 67 in Iraq, 98 in Syria and now one in Jordan, a US military official said.
The three soldiers killed in the Jordan strike were the first US military fatalities in the Middle East since the war between Israel and Hamas broke out.