Thursday, July 01, 2021

Joe Biden’s limited Iraq and Syria strikes won’t stop Iran by Michael Rubin

Recommendable! The demented 46th President is pretending to carry a big stick before negotiations with Iran!

"On June 27, President Joe Biden ordered airstrikes against three targets used by Iranian-backed militias in Iraq. “The U.S. strikes targeted operational and weapons storage facilities at two locations in Syria and one location in Iraq, both of which lie close to the border between those countries. Several Iran-backed militia groups, including Kata’ib Hezbollah (KH) and Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada (KSS), used these facilities,” a Pentagon statement said. ... The airstrikes are the second ordered by Biden against pro-Iranian militias in just over four months. On February 25, Biden ordered similar strikes against a facility in eastern Syria.
Last night’s strikes will be no more effective. ...
Biden chose an option that, in his mind, posed the least chance of escalation or Iraqi diplomatic opprobrium. In effect, Biden chose to prioritize symbolism over effectiveness. ...
Quite the contrary; the groups have grown powerful enough that even Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi not even fears taking substantive action against them, but even attends their parades. ...
Part of the problem for the ineffectiveness of the military option is Biden and Sullivan’s embrace of proportionality. For the Pentagon to calibrate rather than escalate a response leads Iranian strategists to calculate the price of continued drone and rocket strikes is worth it. ...
No one ... believed that Biden would ever repeat a strike equivalent to President Donald Trump’s January 3, 2020 decision to target Iranian Qods Force chief Qassem Soleimani and his Iraqi ally Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, founder of Kata’ib Hezbollah.
... his unpredictability had its advantages. Biden, however, is as predictable as the sunrise. ..."

Joe Biden’s limited Iraq and Syria strikes won’t stop Iran | American Enterprise Institute - AEI

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