US confronts dangers from ‘not very good’ Iran-backed militants

Reuters-Feb 9th2024

WASHINGTON, Feb 9 (Reuters) – More than a month before a deadly drone strike that killed three U.S. soldiers in Jordan, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin sought to reassure U.S. troops about the military’s ability to withstand attacks by Iran-backed militants.

Austin, in previously unpublished remarks to sailors aboard the Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier on Dec. 20, said the number one reason the militants had failed to that point was that “they’re not very good at what they do.”

“Every day, Iranian proxies are shooting at our troops that are in Iraq and Syria. They haven’t been effective at all because (of) two reasons: Number one, they’re not very good at what they do,” Austin told the crew.

“But number two, we’ve done a lot of things to ensure that we have the adequate force protection … Eventually, as we all know, they may get lucky one day and cause injury to one of our troops. But we will stay on the balls of our feet and make sure that that doesn’t happen.”

In the wake of the drone attack, President Joe Biden’s administration is vowing to do whatever it takes to protect U.S. troops from an escalating cycle of violence in the Middle East, where Iran-aligned militants are firing at them in Iraq, Syria, Jordan and off the coast of Yemen in the Red Sea.

But current and former U.S. officials tell Reuters the militants’ periodic success in attacks may be unavoidable, given the sheer number of drones, rockets and missiles fired at U.S. troops and the fact that base defenses cannot realistically be completely effective 100% of the time.

Experts also caution against underestimating the Iran-backed militants, even if most of their attacks fail.

Charles Lister of the Washington-based Middle East Institute recalled former President Barack Obama’s description of Islamic State as a junior varsity team in 2014 even as the group was gathering strength.

“To suggest, Obama-style, that ‘well, they’re just a J.V. team’ and we can chuckle along and take the hits and know that nothing serious is happening is just profoundly naive,” Lister said. “These groups have conducted sophisticated transnational strikes, and they have a very deadly history against American troops.”

Still, U.S. commanders have a long history of putting on a brave face before their troops. Austin is a retired four star general who served on the ground in Iraq, himself coming under fire.

Asked for comment, Pentagon spokesperson Major General Patrick Ryder said Austin was outraged and deeply saddened by the soldiers’ deaths in Jordan and had “no higher priority than protecting our forces and taking care of our people.”

TRAGIC, BUT PREDICTABLE

As of Feb. 7, there have been more than 168 attacks against U.S. troops in Iraq, Syria and Jordan since Middle East tensions surged in October with the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war. That has caused injuries among 143 U.S. service members, with two sustaining very serious injuries and nine suffering serious injuries.