President Biden has caused outrage following reports that he may not attend a ceremony commemorating the three US Army reservists who were killed in Jordan. It is reported that he may be planning retaliatory air strikes on Iranian assets in the Persian Gulf in the coming days.
The bodies of Sgt. William Rivers, 46, Spc. Brianna Moffatt, 23, and Spc. Kennedy Ladon Sanders, 24, all from Georgia, are expected to be flown back to Dover Air Force Base in a dignified transfer after being killed by Iranian-backed militants in an attack on a small outpost near the Syrian border.
When asked on Monday whether the president would attend the ceremony, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said he doesn’t “have anything on [the president’s] schedule to speak to.”
This response was criticized online as “disgraceful.”
There were comments suggesting that the president “doesn’t have anything on his schedule,” with reference to a prior situation where people in Ohio were still waiting for a visit after train derailments last year.
Jon Sweet, a former military intelligence officer, also expressed that the response was “not a good look for the president.”
Biden has pledged to retaliate against Iran for the fatal attack. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken mentioned that a response “could be multi-leveled, come in stages and be sustained over time.”
The specifics of this response are not clear, but the president is considering the possibility of attacking Iranian personnel in Syria and Iraq, or Iranian naval assets in the Persian Gulf. He is seeking options on how to respond to the attack without further involving the US in war in the Middle East, according to Politico.
The Pentagon and State Department have long considered potential Iranian targets in case of conflict with Israel. These include drone-making factories and their overseas suppliers, as well as plans for airstrikes on Iranian missile sites and air bases. The US has also developed a cyber attack option that would disable Iran’s air defenses, communications systems, and parts of its power grid.
However, Iranian officials have denied any involvement in the attack, despite the Iranian-backed Axis of Resistance claiming responsibility. Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani called allegations of Iranian involvement “baseless accusations” aimed at expanding the Israel-Hamas conflict.
