As of: January 30, 2024, 12:51 p.m
By: Bedrettin Bölükbasi
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US soldiers in Syria.
(Archive photo) © DELIL SOULEIMAN/afp
After the death of US soldiers in Jordan in an attack by Iranian militias, calls for a direct strike against Iran are growing.
Washington DC - The deaths of three US soldiers in Jordan threaten to plunge the Middle East into further escalation of violence after the war in Israel.
President Joe Biden's administration is preparing for a response against Iran, whose militia groups in Iraq and Syria were behind the attack.
However, it is not yet clear what this answer will look like in concrete terms.
Biden faces several options.
Attack on US troops in Jordan: Ex-admiral with a concrete strategy
The ex-US admiral and former NATO commander James Stavridis has already drawn up his own attack strategy against Iran.
In an opinion piece for the US news agency
Bloomberg,
he explained in detail how to respond to the attack in Jordan.
The first step in his plan: “The mullahs must not be allowed to hide behind their deputies.” Therefore, information would first have to be collected for weeks that would show that Iran was directly responsible for the attack.
These would then have to be presented to the world.
Apparently Stavridis wants to lay the foundation for justifying a tough attack on Iran.
Because Iran often operates on the basis of so-called “plausible deniability” when it comes to its proxy forces in the Middle East.
It is said again and again that Iran trains the “resistance groups” – such as Hezbollah, the Houthis or Hamas – but that they themselves make the decisions for attacks.
According to a report by the
Reuters
news agency , citing informed sources, this was indeed the case in the case of the bloody Hamas attack on Israel.
Therefore, the US intelligence services would have to collect targeted information to show that Iran was involved in the attack - directly through an order or indirectly through training and arming.
The US base called “Tower 22”.
Three US soldiers were killed in an attack there.
© dpa
US proxy forces against Iran?
Ex-NATO commander calls on CIA to take action
If Stavridis has his way, the next step will be to launch major cyber attacks against Iran.
The targets: Iran's command and control level, Tehran's connection to militia groups, the country's oil and gas infrastructure and weapons production.
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At the same time, says Stavridis, the CIA must “establish, finance and operationalize” its own proxy forces against Iran.
By this, the former NATO commander means the internal resistance in the country against the mullahs' regime.
“We have to do everything we can to help,” said the ex-admiral.
This includes stronger communication with opposition forces and the use of social media “to show dissatisfied Iranians how best to degrade their rotten theocracy.”
At this point he also sees Israel as responsible in the background of a possible direct confrontation with Iran.
The country must work on a ceasefire together with the USA and Arab partners.
If a conflict with Iran were to actually occur, Washington would no longer be able to support Israel as strongly as before because it would need the weapons and equipment for its own war: “Israeli leaders must understand that the US's resources are not infinite .”
After the death of US troops: Ex-Admiral Stavridis wants to see an air campaign against Iran's militias
In his post, Stavridis also suggests sending another US aircraft carrier group to the Middle East to join the two groups already in the region.
“This would add an additional 80 fighter jets and hundreds of Tomahawk missiles to the US Central Command arsenal,” the former NATO commander wrote.
In addition, the Pentagon must launch an air campaign with attacks against Iranian militias in Yemen, Syria and, if necessary, Iraq, which would last five to seven days.
According to Stavridis, missile and drone facilities, ammunition and fuel storage facilities as well as command and control buildings should be targeted.
A second wave should eventually hit remaining targets.
Sources from the pro-Iranian “Islamic Resistance” have already told the Arabic newspaper
Araby al-Jadeed
that military posts on the border between Iraq and Syria have been evacuated in preparation for possible US attacks.
US warplanes regularly carry out airstrikes in the area.
Direct attacks on Iran?
“We have to show that we are not afraid of war either”
That's not all: According to Stavridis' strategy, while these attacks are underway, plans must also be put in place to directly attack Iranian targets.
For example, warships in the Red Sea, Iranian oil and gas platforms in the Arabian Gulf and headquarters of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, which is responsible for training, equipping and organizing the Iranian militias.
At the same time, you have to signal to Iran that you don't want a big war.
But the US must show the Iranians that it is serious about its commitment to ensuring the safety of US soldiers and will resort to massive retaliation if necessary.
The ex-admiral and former NATO commander states: “Nobody wants a war in the Middle East, but the Iranians have to be shown that we are not afraid of a war either.”
(bb)