US response to Iran proxy attacks

 American Update:

The U.S. struck facilities tied to Iran-backed militias after an attack earlier on Monday injured three service members in the most serious attack on American troops in Iraq and Syria, the Pentagon and White House confirmed.

U.S. military forces conducted “necessary and proportionate” strikes on the facilities in direct response to the Monday attack by Iran-affiliated Kataib Hezbollah group at Erbil Air Base in Iraq, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said in an emailed statement to the Daily Caller News Foundation. Despite more than 100 claimed attacks on U.S. and coalition bases in Iraq and Syria since Oct. 17, according to The Associated Press, Monday’s was the first to result in critical injuries to U.S. troops and could signal an further escalation in tensions in the region.

“Today, at President Biden’s direction, U.S. military forces conducted necessary and proportionate strikes on three facilities used by Kataib Hezbollah and affiliated groups in Iraq,” Austin said.

President Joe Biden was immediately briefed on the suicide drone attack early Monday and requested response options from the Department of Defense against the responsible groups, the National Security Council said in a statement. The president received options in a call Monday afternoon with the defense secretary and members of the national security team.

“During that call, the President directed strikes against three locations utilized by Kataib Hezbollah and affiliated groups focused specifically on unmanned aerial drone activities,” the statement said.

“These precision strikes are a response to a series of attacks against U.S. personnel in Iraq and Syria by Iranian-sponsored militias, including an attack by Iran-affiliated Kataib Hezbollah and affiliated groups on Erbil Air Base earlier today, and intended to disrupt and degrade capabilities of the Iran-aligned militia groups directly responsible,” Austin said.

U.S. Central Command said the strikes likely killed several Kataib Hezbollah militants in a statement.

Iraq’s government on Tuesday claimed the strikes hit Iraqi military sites and killed a servicemember, Reuters reported. Baghdad condemned U.S. actions as a violation of Iraq sovereignty but noted that attacks on U.S. and coalition bases in Iraq by militant groups also threaten the nation’s sovereignty, Reuters reported.
...

The US should be making it clear to Iran that it will come under attack if it continues to use proxy forces to attack American troops.  That is probably the only way to deter the rogue regime in Iran.  If the US continues to use a "proportionate" response to the Iran attack it will be playing into Iran's hand instead of actually deterring such attacks on US forces.  What is needed is an attack on Iranian forces that is overwhelming.

See also:

A US Navy destroyer and F-18 fighter jets shot down 17 drones and missiles that Iran-backed rebels fired in the Red Sea over 10 hours

And:

 Super Hornets Score Aerial Kills Over Red Sea

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