The Pentagon has issued a statement on Monday announcing that they intend to send “approximately 1,000 additional troops” to the Middle East. Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan made it clear this was all about Iran.
“The recent Iranian attacks validate the reliable, credible intelligence
we have received on hostile behavior by Iranian forces,” Shanahan said,
claiming that the US believes Iran threatens US personnel and interests
across the region.
Despite presenting it as a response to last week’s tanker attacks, which
the US is blaming on Iran, the deployments are really just a
continuation of the US escalation into the Middle East over the last two
months.
These escalations have been done from the start with claims that Iran
was posing threats to US interests, and that the US might end up in a
war against Iran. Shanahan added, as usual, that the US “does not seek
conflict with Iran.”
Iran has denied anything to do with the tanker attacks, and has also
rejected the idea that they pose a military threat to anyone in the
region. The US buildup is likely to continue either way, however.
US Sending Another 1,000 Troops to the Middle East
SecDef cites Iranian threats to US interests
Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.
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