Biden Warns of Early-Morning Retaliatory Raid
Washington, D.C. (AP) — President Biden vowed to retaliate for a series of attacks against U.S. bases in the Middle East.
Walking from the White House to Marine One for a long weekend at his home in Wilmington, Del., the president stopped to talk to reporters and signal his resolve in the growing conflict in the Middle East.
“We will launch these retaliatory attacks at a time of our choosing,” President Biden told the journalists. “We are, in particular, looking at 0400 local time next Thursday morning.”
Biden said that the early-morning hours are the best time for U.S. forces to operate and maintain the element of surprise and added that next Thursday would let enough time pass to avoid making the retaliation seem precipitous, while steering clear of Friday for reasons of cultural sensitivity.
When pressed by a reporter whether he was doing too much to reveal operational details, the president said he wasn’t “ruling anything out,” including perhaps launching the attack next Wednesday, if it came to that.
“Watch this space,” Biden added, before shuffling toward Marine One, “especially midweek, if you catch my meaning.”
U.S. Official Rules Out Attack against Iran, Syria, Yemen, and Large Parts of Iraq
Washington, D.C. (AP) — At a Pentagon briefing, a U.S. official outlined U.S. thinking about retaliatory strikes that have been signaled for days now.
The senior administration official who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive matters and to avoid personal embarrassment said the Unites States “doesn’t want war with Iran, nor do we seek an escalating conflict in the Middle East.”
The official said the administration had ruled out attacks in Iran proper, or against Iranian assets or personnel elsewhere in the region, or against any asset or interest that Iran might hold dear.
“To be honest,” he added, “we aren’t going to hit targets in Syria or Yemen for this one, either.”
When asked if that meant Iraq, the official was emphatic that the administration couldn’t reveal military plans, but that southern, central, and northern Iraq were considered off-limits.
The official refused to comment on whether, logically, that left only Al Anbar Province as the likely site for the raid. He did note, though, that the Hashed al-Shaabi militia has its facility in the Al Anbar town of Al-Qa’im.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken Says Attack Is Imminent
Doha, Qatar (AP) — On a diplomatic trip to the war-torn Middle East, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken issued the starkest warning yet of an imminent retaliatory raid for a series of attacks on U.S. forces based in the region.
“If you’ve targeted our forces,” the secretary said at a press briefing Wednesday afternoon, “we want you to know you have no place to run or to hide, but you might want to hide very soon anyway.”
After Blinken said that the U.S. retaliation would “come at a time and a place of our choosing,” he responded to a reporter’s question that he could neither “confirm nor deny” that the U.S. would hit Al-Qa’im, Iraq. Speculation has swirled around the site of a Hashed al-Shaabi militia facility after a senior administration official mentioned it during an off-the-record briefing.
Blinken added that the U.S. bears no animus toward the people of Al-Qa’im and that he wishes them the very best, especially over the next 18 hours.
Early-Morning U.S. Strike Targets Militia Site in Western Iraq
Baghdad, Iraq (AP) — Al-Qa’im, a small town west of this capital city, was rocked by a loud explosion at approximately 4:30 a.m. on Thursday morning.
U.S. officials confirmed a raid against a facility of the Hashed al-Shaabi militia and said two B-1B bombers had been deployed from Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, and dropped a single precision munition.
Eyewitnesses described, upon daybreak, seeing a vacated stone complex that had been instantaneously reduced to rubble. They reported no casualties, and a long-time resident who requested anonymity to protect his safety said, “All the fighters ran away days ago, and all they left behind, apparently by accident, was a small propane stove and a Time magazine special issue on Taylor Swift.”
U.S. officials said the damage would be extensively surveyed in coming days.
In a statement issued by the White House, President Joe Biden said, “This raid confirms the resolve of the United States, which can and will strike at times and places of our choosing.”
A senior administration official who requested anonymity to discuss the time and place of follow-on strikes said it could be an eventful weekend in eastern Syria and urged travelers to avoid the town of Bukamal, especially its northern outskirts.