Congressional Hawks Urge ‘Hit Iran Hard’ After 3 US Troops Killed By Tehran-Aligned Militants

Update(1452ET): It took a mere minutes after the headlines spread across the globe for the hawks and neocons to call on the White House to “hit them hard”—in reference to Iran and Iranian-linked groups believed responsible for the attack on a US outpost along the Jordanian border which killed three American troops and injured 25 more.

The government of Jordan has since said that none among their own troops were injured, which suggests all of the injured were Americans too. Below is a partial survey of the Congressional hawks who are now essentially calling for full-blown war against Iran and its proxies [emphasis ZH]…

“The only answer to these attacks must be a 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.'” —Republican Senator, Tom Cotton of Arkansas

“The Biden Administration can take out all the Iranian proxies they like, but it will not deter Iranian aggression. I am calling on the Biden Administration to strike targets of significance inside Iran, not only as reprisal for the killing of our forces, but as deterrence against future aggression… Hit Iran hard, hit them now.” —South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham

“Target Tehran” —Republican Senator from Texas John Cornyn

And as also fully expected, the think tank “armchair warrior” crowd is all in favor of sending more young Americans to fight and to die in the Middle East, based purely on another ‘war of choice’ with unclear end goals…

Mr. President, this crosses a line. You have to hit #IRGCterrorists and hit them hard. Aim for targets that hold strategic significance for #Iran's regime, not merely its proxies. Aim for the head of the Octopus, not merely its tentacles. pic.twitter.com/9TGEq5l3Tf

— Jason Brodsky (@JasonMBrodsky) January 28, 2024

Of course, the neocons have had their sites set on Tehran and hoped-for regime change there going all the way back to the 1990’s, as is evident from the writings of PNAC crowd (Project for the New American Century, which went on to largely staff GW Bush’s cabinet).

But the reality is that the years-long US occupation of Syria, which happens to largely be in only oil and gas producing parts of the country, have left US forces as ‘sitting ducks’ yet without any clear identifiable mission or goal. The Biden administration knows this very well, having been quoted as saying the same merely a week ago in The New York Times:

The latest attack on American troops in the region over the weekend resulted in no deaths, but President Biden and his advisers worry that it is only a matter of time. Whenever a report of a strike arrives at the White House Situation Room, officials wonder whether this will be the one that forces a more decisive retaliation and results in a broader regional war.

But this is the pattern of US interventionism of the past more that two decades: intervention begets more intervention… then begets US occupation at some far-flung outpost… militant attack on said outpost begets greater escalation and yet more intervention. It seems the cycle never ends as the neocons’ GWOT legacy.

It seems this is what President Ronald Reagan foresaw and understood in the wake of the Beirut barracks bombing.

Biden is in a corner. He has no moves…https://t.co/r5U5gBmTqI

— Daniel McAdams (@DanielLMcAdams) January 27, 2024

* * *

An overnight drone attack on a US military outpost in northeast Jordan has killed three American troops and left 25 more injured, according to breaking reports Sunday morning.

The outpost, called Tower 22, is located very close to the Syrian border, and the casualty rate is so high as soldiers were reportedly sleeping in tents when the drone struck. By all accounts thus far, the drone appears to have come from Syrian territory.

President Joe Biden issued a statement announced the attack on Americans, saying that “radical Iran-backed militant groups” in Syria and Iraq were behind it.

“While we are still gathering the facts of this attack, we know it was carried out by radical Iran-backed militant groups operating in Syria and Iraq,” Biden said. “Have no doubt – we will hold all those responsible to account at a time and in a manner our choosing.”

“Jill and I join the families and friends of our fallen – and Americans across the country – in grieving the loss of these warriors in this despicable and wholly unjust attack,” the statement added.

According to CNN:

US Central Command confirmed in a statement on Sunday that three service members were killed and 25 injured in a one-way drone attack that “impacted at a base in northeast Jordan.”

US officials have said that identities of the slain will not be revealed for 24 hours until their families have been notified.

Tower 22 is also close to the Iraq border, and the US occupation base at Tanf…

BREAKING:

US announces that 3 American soldiers were killed by a suicide drone striking the Tower 22 military outpost in Jordan last night.

Another 25 Americans wounded.

Tower 22 (Area 55) is located right next to the border with Syria and Iraq.

Major crisis happening pic.twitter.com/z0lladWID5

— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) January 28, 2024

Crucially, these are the first known American troop deaths in the Middle East region since Hamas Oct.7 terror attack.

developing…