(Ken Silva, Headline USA) Increased attacks on U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria, saber-rattling by officials in Washington DC and an open-ended promise by President Joe Biden to back Israel’s war against Hamas are among the numerous signs pointing to the likelihood of a massive impending war in the Middle East.
The Biden administration is planning accordingly.
According to a Monday article in the Washington Post, the Biden administration is preparing to evacuate hundreds of thousands of Americans from the Middle East. The Post included the caveat that the evacuation will only happen “if the bloodshed in Gaza cannot be contained.”
The chief concern, the Post reported, is that Hezbollah attacks Israel during its ground invasion against Hamas. That would put Israel in a two-front war, and would drastically increase the pressure on the U.S. to intervene.
“Top U.S. officials have not wanted to discuss such contingency planning in public, hoping to avoid setting off a panic among Americans in the region,” the Post reported. “But their posture has shifted in recent days to convey the anxiety about other actors entering the conflict.”
On the same day that the Post reported on the secret evacuation planning, Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder said he expects a “significant escalation” of attacks on US troops stationed in the Middle East in the coming days.
Additionally, a senior U.S. Central Command official reportedly signaled that the military is prepping for a showdown with Iran.
“We see a prospect for much more significant escalation against U.S. forces and personnel in the near term,” said the senior defense official, who was not authorized to speak on the record. “And let’s be clear about it: the road leads back to Iran. Iran funded, armed, equipped and trained militias and proxy forces all across the region.”
Those comments came on the heels of CENTCOM announcing that it downed two drones that were fired at a U.S. base in Syria.
The Pentagon has blamed Iran due to its support for Shia militias that operate in Syria and Iraq, although there’s no smoking-gun evidence Iran is directly involved.
While U.S. officials are seemingly prepping for conflict, retired U.S. Army colonel Douglas Macgregor warned Monday night that the country can’t handle another war.
“There doesn’t’ seem to be any real appreciation for the implications for us—and frankly, for Europe and the world—as well as the Middle East of such action. Just on the economic side, about 20 percent of the world’s oil passes through the strait of Hormuz every month. You’re talking about shutting down 2 to 3 million barrels of oil from Iran every day,” Macgregor said on Tucker Carlson’s Twitter X show.
We are moving towards war with Iran and the chosen destination is Armageddon.
The entire region is involved in the war. pic.twitter.com/KSkZ1gJ8nH
— Douglas Macgregor (@DougAMacgregor) October 23, 2023
“We’re looking at 10-year treasury yields that are up over 5 percent, and people are increasingly convinced that the Fed has lost control. The economic side of the house is a catastrophe. And on the military side, you have to look at the arsenal of missiles that Iran possesses, which can reach up to 1,200 miles with great precision,” he said.
“The bottom line is: We need to think this through, and everyone right now is emoting. There is no thinking anywhere.”
Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at twitter.com/jd_cashless.
