The 40,000 US troops in the Middle East are vulnerable to counterattacks from Iran, not to mention other US citizens in the region.
Trump teases possible strikes against Iran, but says he’s not too late to trade
“I might do that. I might not,” Trump teased the possibility of a strike against Iran, but said it’s not too late to negotiate.
WASHINGTON – The Pentagon has at least 40,000 reasons to worry about the aftermath of a potential attack on Iran.
That is a rough number of US troops stationed in the Middle East at bases from Bahrain to Syria, and the point in between. Not to mention US citizens who live and work in the area.
They are vulnerable to counterattacks that could include Iran’s ballistic missiles, drones, or terrorism if the US joins Israel in a continuous attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities.
Iran can hit “everything,” the US Secretary of Defense said.
The threat is not theoretical. Iran launched 13 ballistic missiles at Iraqi US forces in January 2020. The attack wounded around 100 US troops and killed General Kasem Soleimani, the leader of the Iranian elite Quds forces, part of the country’s hard-line paramilitary revolutionary revolutionary squad.
On June 18th, President Donald Trump did not dispel the possibility of entering war.
“I might do that. I might not,” Trump told reporters June 18.
If the US attacks Iran’s nuclear facilities, the weapon is probably a massive weapon intruder, a bomb that can dig a hole deep inside the Earth before unleashing a large explosion.
This week, in order to increase protection for Americans in the Middle East, the Pentagon began to move more firepower into the region, including the USS Nimitz Aircraft airline strike group a few days from its arrival. These ships join other ships that can fire ballistic missiles.
If they attack US troops, additional fighter jets from Nimitz and others in the area and others in the area could lead to a catastrophic response in Iran.
Asked if there was adequate protection to repel Iran’s attacks, a Pentagon spokesman pointed out Secretary of Defense Pete Hegses’ X-Post on June 16. Hegses noted that “deploying additional capabilities” into the region and protecting the US military is “our number one priority.”
On Capitol Hill on Wednesday, Heggs told the Senate Armed Services Committee that “maximum protection” measures are in place.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat on the committee, said he felt Heggs was unconvinced.
“I was really disappointed that in the event of a US strike, we were unable to provide the greater assurance that we had taken proactive steps to protect both military and civilian American personnel,” Blumental said in an interview. “I asked specifically about the possibility of using them against drones and American targets. There was no real comfort in having a proper plan to stop or deflect such attacks.”
Sending the Nimitz Strike Group is a good step, Blumenthal said. However, he questioned the ship’s ability to stop terrorist attacks and drones.
Blumenthal also pointed out that Iran may have the ability to install drone attacks from within the United States. He pointed to Ukraine’s catastrophic drone attacks on Russian fighters deep in the border. Israel also used drones smuggled into Iran as part of the attack.
