US Troops Put on Standby for Potential US Ground Involvement in Gaza

The Intercept obtained a memo sent to Air Force personnel

US Air Force personnel in Iraq received a memo in January ordering them to be on standby to support potential US ground involvement in Gaza, The Intercept reported on Tuesday.

The memo contained orders for the airmen to be placed “on standby to forward deploy to support troops in the case of on ground US involvement in the Israel Hamas war.” A separate personnel document also obtained by The Intercept showed the order was meant for personnel deployed to Iraq last year.

The document does not suggest US ground operations in Gaza are definitely going to happen, but it does demonstrate the lengths the US might be willing to go to support the Israeli slaughter of Palestinians. Israel has been receiving support from US special operations soldiers on intelligence matters, but there’s no indication US troops have been on the ground in Gaza.

The revelation of the memo comes as the situation in the Middle East continues to escalate. President Biden could potentially target the Iranian military in the wake of a drone attack in Jordan that killed three US troops even though the Pentagon admitted it has no evidence Tehran was directly involved.

The US has also continued to bomb the Houthis in Yemen, and Israel is threatening total war with Lebanon. The memo suggests that the US might be planning to get involved in ground operations in Gaza if the region does explode into a full-blown war that involves the US and Iran.

Author: Dave DeCamp

Dave DeCamp is the news editor of Antiwar.com, follow him on Twitter @decampdave.