The Middle East is boiling
Did you think at all about the dead Americans killed in action at a remote base on the Jordanian-Syrian border, and the dozens wounded by an Iranian drone yesterday?
Did you even know that there were Americans there?
Did you know that two Navy SEALs were lost at sea while boarding a hostile vessel in the Red Sea last week?
Do you know how many American warships are there, and how many times they have shot down missiles fired by Iranian proxies at Israel, and dozens of merchant vessels over the last months?
Can you hear the war drums beating?
Do you remember when Mitch McConnell was disoriented at a news conference a few months back, or his confusion last week about the Senate Republican position he leads? Yesterday, he was crystal clear after the Iranian-backed strike. He wants to see an escalation, and he wants it now:
My deepest sympathies are with the families of the three brave U.S. servicemembers killed in Jordan at the hands of Iran-backed terrorists. And my prayers are with their comrades wounded in the attack and with the U.S. personnel, including many Kentuckians, serving across the region in harm’s way.
Last night, the cost of failure to deter America’s adversaries was again measured in American lives. We cannot afford to keep responding to this violent aggression with hesitation and half-measures.
The Commander-in-Chief has stated his intention to hold those responsible to account at a time and in a manner of America’s choosing. But we have known for years that Iran is behind a deadly wave of terror aimed at expelling America from the Middle East and wiping Israel from the map. The time to start taking this aggression seriously was long before more brave Americans lost their lives.
The entire world now watches for signs that the President is finally prepared to exercise American strength to compel Iran to change its behavior. Our enemies are emboldened. And they will remain so until the United States imposes serious, crippling costs – not only on front-line terrorist proxies, but on their Iranian sponsors who wear American blood as a badge of honor.
Predictably, Tom Cotton was first in line with this gem:
Joe Biden emboldened Iran for years by tolerating attacks on our troops, bribing the ayatollahs with billions of dollars, and appeasing them to no end. He left our troops as sitting ducks and now three are dead and dozens wounded, sadly as I’ve predicted would happen for months. The only answer to these attacks must be devastating military retaliation against Iran’s terrorist forces, both in Iran and across the Middle East. Anything less will confirm Joe Biden as a coward unworthy of being commander-in-chief.
On behalf of Arkansans, I extend my deepest condolence to the families of our brave fallen warriors. May God comfort them as He welcomes their loved ones into His embrace. And may God quickly and completely heal their wounded comrades.
Shouldn’t there be a basic recognition across America at this point that it is much easier for this nation to start wars than figuring out how to win or end them?
One thing is perfectly clear: Iran is at war with the United States. They have drawn the United States into a tit for tat engagement that evidences no strategic plan, mission or goals whatsoever. With each American strike the Houthis seem emboldened and launch more attacks. Proportionality is being interpreted as a cross between appeasement and incompetence. By the way, our British partners lack the capacity to fire a land-based missile from any of their deployed naval vessels. There is a simple truth that is not spoken about enough in our very dangerous global era. America’s allies — for the most part — are not ready to fight, anywhere. None of them. The United States carries the burden disproportionately alone.
The MAGA line of attack on President Biden will be brutal and it is underway. He will be assailed as incompetent, corrupt, senile and weak. MAGA extremists have settled on chaos as their magic elixir. They will stoke it domestically at the Mexican border, and across the globe. Our enemies see weakness, and they are ready to probe. America’s political extremists see opportunity, and they are ready to undermine American security to advance their campaigns and to take power.
The Middle East is boiling. Americans are being killed by Iranian weapons fired by Iranian-backed militants, advised by Iranian Revolutionary Guard officers. This will become a major issue in the weeks ahead.
The president has an immense opportunity with his forthcoming State of the Union address. The greatest speeches in American history all share something in common. None of them were 75 minutes long. If ever there were an occasion to be brief, direct and presidential, this is it.
There are moments ahead that will give President Biden opportunities to shape the campaign. He must use them wisely. He cannot run the campaign under siege. MAGA/GOPers have dreams of the 1980 campaign dancing in their heads.
2024 will be a most challenging year.
Republican’s failure to support American ally Ukraine is a signal to foes like Iran that it is an open season to attack the US military. It sends a message that Donal Trump lead Republican coalition is weakening the US ability to respond to challenges abroad. Anyone with less years of experience than Joe Biden would have blinked and made terrible decisions. But Biden will never lose his composure. Look at all his enemies. Look at Putin, who is now begging at the doors of North Korea and Iran. No doubt all of the consequences in the Middle East are because Vladimir Putin could not win in Ukraine. Look at China. It no longer dictates trade decisions, the control on trades is slowing moving back into the hands of the US and its allies. The republicans and Mr Putin will now bury the almost a thousand Russian daily death in Ukraine with this news about American loss in the Middle East. We can all rest assured and sleep well knowing that it is Biden not Trump at the helm and that he is beating Putin and that he will end this tumultuous world being rocked by Putin and Iran even while Trump is trying to sabotage American aid to Ukraine and openly promoting Putin. Biden was in the room that decided to end Osama Bin Laden. His age and demeanor has made his enemies to underestimate him like Putin did from day one when Biden answered a reporter that he thinks Putin is a killer. Putin was going to show who was the boss by going into Ukraine the second time and getting away with it. But it is the Russian empire that is crumbling not Joe Biden because the US is now much stronger, richer and more powerful than when Biden said Putin is a killer on the first days of his presidency. We all know what Iran is doing, but no one knows what Joe Biden can and will do because he likes it that way. But rest assured he also will triumph over that at Iran’s expense even if Trump wishes the other way around.
It used to be that at times of conflict that we rallied around our President. We spoke with one voice. What we are witnessing is a continuation of party over country. We’ve known that McConnell is all about power. He is as much responsible for the downfall of our federal judiciary as trump. Cotton is an insurrectionist. If there is a list of unindicted congressional co-conspirators, he would be on the list, no doubt. What legislative accomplishments does he have to his name? The President has to walk the fine line of response and not escalating the Middle East conflict.