The U.S. military has just reflected： Is sending more troops to the Middle East to contain the war or to fan the flames？

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Wen Observer Network Qi Qian

The United States has always claimed to strengthen its military presence in order to ease the situation in the Middle East, but with the escalation of US military deterrence, Israel has expanded its conflicts with Lebanon and Iran. According to The New York Times’s report on October 4th, there is a heated debate in the Pentagon: whether our sending more troops to the Middle East "contained an expanding war" as we hoped, or aggravated the conflict.

Since October last year, the situation in the Middle East has been heating up continuously. In the past year, the Pentagon has continuously dispatched troops to the Middle East, sending a series of weapons and equipment including aircraft carriers, guided missile destroyers and amphibious assault ship, as well as a large number of troops.

Dana Stroll, the Pentagon’s top official in charge of Middle East policy, said earlier: "At present, the situation of the US military in the region is enough. If the Iranians intervene, we can and will support Israel’s defense."

Recently, several anonymous Pentagon officials revealed that they were worried that Israel was launching increasingly radical actions against Hezbollah in Lebanon. Because, as Stroll said, the Israelis know that a fleet of American warships and dozens of attack planes is ready to help them defeat any response from Iran.

These officials said that Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the United States, raised this concern at a meeting between the Pentagon and the White House a few days ago.

According to reports, Brown was an F-16 pilot and commanded the US Air Force in the Middle East. According to the report, in addition to worrying that the strengthening of the US military presence in the Middle East will intensify contradictions, he also questioned that this move will make the US military lose sight of one thing and affect the impact of the US military on the overall "preparation" of operations, that is, the ability to respond quickly to conflicts including China and Russia.

A senior US military official familiar with the matter said that Brown, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and other officials tried to strike a balance between "containing the conflict" and "encouraging Israel". Another official also questioned that when Israel knew that America’s "big brother" was nearby, it was easier to launch an attack.

US Defense Secretary Austin (left) and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Brown Foreign Media Data Map

The New York Times mentioned that the situation in the Middle East is in jeopardy recently, and the US military has done its best to help defend Israel.

As Israel killed Hezbollah leader Nasrallah in Lebanon and continued air strikes against Lebanon, the tension between Lebanon and Israel escalated. On September 29, local time, the Pentagon announced that it would send more troops to the area, and at the same time ordered the deployed aircraft carrier to stand by, and other troops were ready to deploy.

The Pentagon issued a statement on the same day, saying that Austin has ordered the US aircraft carrier abraham lincoln strike group to continue to be deployed in the Middle East, and the amphibious combat readiness group Hornet will continue to perform tasks in the Eastern Mediterranean; At the same time, the presence of fighters and attack squadrons has been strengthened, and fighters including F-22, F-15E, F-16 and A-10 have been deployed, and "the defensive air support capability will be further strengthened in the next few days".

According to reports, besides Wasp, the amphibious combat readiness group of Wasp also includes new york, a San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship, Oak Hill, a Harpers Ferry-class dock landing ship, F-35B fighter jets and thousands of marines.

On the evening of October 1, local time, Iran launched a large-scale missile attack on Israel. During this period, two US Navy destroyers, bulkeley and Cole, fired 12 interceptors and shot down a number of Iranian missiles.

When the conflict between Iraq and Israel continues to be tense, US President Biden has repeatedly expressed his support for Israel. A Pentagon spokesman reiterated on the 3rd that the US military is still "focused on protecting American citizens and troops in the region, protecting Israel and easing the situation through deterrence and diplomatic means". The spokesman also claimed that the United States expanded its military presence to "contain aggression and reduce the risk of a wider regional war."

The US aircraft carrier "abraham lincoln" has been deployed on the Pentagon website in the Middle East.

However, the above-mentioned US officials said that it is more difficult for the Pentagon to deal with Israelis, because Israel has made it clear that it will not warn the United States in advance unless it takes action against what it considers to be an existential threat.

For example, the report said that on September 27th, local time, Israeli troops attacked Hezbollah headquarters in Beirut, causing the death of Hezbollah leader Nasrallah. At the same time, Israel rejected the "21-day ceasefire initiative" promoted by the United States and France. Pentagon officials complained that Austin was angry that Israel had not notified its assassination plan in advance.

In the early morning of the 1st local time, despite the opposition of the international community, Israel insisted on launching a ground attack on Lebanon. Some American officials pointed out that although the Israeli army claimed that the attack was "limited, partial and targeted", so far, the Israeli attack looks more like a "large-scale operation."

The New York Times pointed out that in the past ten years, successive American administrations have tried to withdraw their troops from the Middle East, focusing on the so-called "great power conflicts" with Russian and China countries, but it backfired. The situation in the Middle East continues to be turbulent, and more and more American military forces are deployed here.

A few days ago, when attending the activities of the Committee on Foreign Relations, an American think tank, in new york, Brown said, "What happens in one part of the world will affect other parts of the world. We must ensure that we can establish connections in case we are surprised and caught off guard by what may happen in the future because we only focus on one area. "

Source | Observer Network

Original title: "The US military just reflected: Is sending more troops to the Middle East to contain the war or to fan the flames? 》

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