US stands on edge of conflict as attacks on troops continue in Middle East

“I’m sure there is a hope that [the U.S. strikes] would have a deterrent effect, but clearly they have not,” said Jonathan Lord, the director of the Middle East Security Program at the Center for a New American Security. “I don’t suspect that they would because these groups that are conducting these strikes are trying to [get] the U.S. into a larger conflict. That is their purpose in targeting the U.S. forces at this point.”

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Lord described the steady uptick of attacks on U.S. troops as “increasing escalation on a dimmer switch,” injecting a bit of uncertainty into American decision-making.

“Historically, the red line that has drawn a U.S. response has been either serious injury or, more often than not, the killing of U.S. forces or personnel,” he said. “Obviously that creates a pretty terrible dilemma for the president because no one wants to sit around and wait for these attacks to ultimately claim another American life before responding.”

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”The fear and concern for broader escalation, [wherein] the Israel-Hamas conflict then leads to broader regional war, is very real,” Lord said.

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