Attack on US outpost

ADRONE attack on a small US outpost on the Jordan-Syria border on Sunday night claimed the lives of three servicemen and gravely injured over two dozen. American military camps in several grey zone areas of West Asia have witnessed over 170 strikes by militia groups in the past four months or so. The drone managed to breach the US military’s elaborate air defences. This is the first time the Pentagon has acknowledged the death of US soldiers in West Asia as collateral damage for backing Israel’s disproportionate response to the October 7 Hamas attacks.

The portents are dire. On the campaign trail, US President Joe Biden has vowed retaliation and chosen to explicitly blame Iran. Historically, the US has got sucked into a military quagmire whenever it has sought to fight asymmetrical battles. In West Asia, the attacks from a bewildering number of directions show that it has too many enemies to be counted. Targeting Iran, as the Republicans have been urging Biden to do, will be like disturbing a beehive. The immense resilience of the region’s militia groups is proven by their survival for decades in a very tough neighbourhood.

The situation can get out of hand for the US. The entire world will suffer the consequences, going by the adverse impact of the Red Sea attacks. The reason for the sudden burst of hostility by Islamist groups is obvious: American backing for Israel’s unabated military assault on Gaza. Western countries need to reassess their policies that have allowed the killings to continue. With the most sophisticated systems unable to protect its troops, the US needs to address the cause that has brought its soldiers in the line of fire.