President Biden was at Dover today as the remains of the 3 fallen service members killed in Jordan were returned to U.S. soil. A few hours later, retaliatorily air strikes began.
SARAH MCCAMMON, HOST:
President Biden was at Dover Air Force Base this afternoon, part of the solemn ritual of the dignified transfer of remains of U.S. service members killed overseas. He’d vowed that the U.S. would respond to the drone attack in Jordan that killed the three reservists from Georgia. And a few hours later, that response began. Senior White House correspondent Tamara Keith joins us now to tell us more. Hi, Tam.
TAMARA KEITH, BYLINE: Hi.
MCCAMMON: So, Tam, we’re seeing now these U.S. strikes in Iraq and in Syria, as announced by the Pentagon. But what is the white House saying about it?
KEITH: In a statement, President Biden said that the drone strike that killed those American reservists was launched by militant groups backed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC. Thus, he said this afternoon, at his direction, the U.S. military struck facilities in Iraq and Syria that the IRGC and affiliated militia used to launch attacks on U.S.’ forces. And he said that while the response began today, quote, “it will continue at a time and place of our choosing.” Biden also reiterated something that he said earlier this week, that he does not seek a wider conflict in the Middle East, but that attacks on U.S. troops can’t go unanswered.
And we should note here that while the strike last week killed three Americans, it was not a one-off. There have been more than 150 attacks and attempted attacks on U.S. forces in the Middle East since the October 7 Hamas attacks in Israel. And the U.S. has recently done some targeted strikes against militant groups, but this was significantly more widespread and goes after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and not just its proxies.
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