The Human Cost of Failed Deterrence
The White House released a photo of President Biden in the Situation Room on Monday, portraying him as large and in charge of a response to the murders of three Americans on Sunday. That’s a nice PR image, but does Mr. Biden realize what a corrosive effect his deterrence failures are having on U.S. public and military morale?
The Pentagon on Monday identified the Americans killed in the Sunday drone attack on a U.S base in Jordan: Sgt. William Rivers, Spc. Kennedy Sanders, and Spc. Breonna Moffett. All hailed from Georgia and ranged in age from 23 to 46. They were killed when a drone eluded the base defenses and hit the container unit that serves as base housing.
Iranian proxy forces have attacked U.S. forces 165 times in the Middle East since Oct. 17. At least 80 Americans have been wounded. If this keeps up, more of the public will wonder why any Americans should be based overseas if the Commander in Chief won’t protect them.
Some 66% of voters in a Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute poll late last year said they support maintaining “military bases around the world to deter attacks and respond quickly if something happens.” But Mr. Biden is neither deterring attacks nor responding quickly.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/president-biden-deterrence-iran-pentagon-three-americans-killed-breonna-moffett-william-rivers-kennedy-sanders-cd4a0357?mod=RSSMSN
