The United States is once again helping to expand the war in the Middle East. The U.S. has decided to send 2,000 Marines to Israel to “support” the warring faction of the Jewish state.
The Pentagon has sent 2,000 Marines and sailors to waters off Israel’s coast as part of a “show of force” in the region, CNN has reported, citing unnamed US officials. The move comes amid fighting between Israel and Palestinian militants, which has claimed thousands of lives this month. The naval deployments are reportedly meant to “send a message of deterrence to Iran and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah,” and some of the U.S. warships have recently patrolled waters near the Islamic Republic.
Led by the elite 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, the “rapid response force” is headed toward Israel on board the USS Bataan, an amphibious assault ship previously stationed in the Gulf of Oman, officials told the outlet on Monday. They did not specify the unit’s exact destination or say if it would join two US carrier strike groups presently in the Eastern Mediterranean. -RT
This “show of force” will do little more than inflame the tensions already present and could push the war to another level.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin ordered an additional roughly 2,000 troops to prepare for a potential deployment to Israel to help with tasks like medical and logistical support, multiple defense officials said. Pentagon staffers stressed that the order does not guarantee direct U.S. involvement in the war with the Gaza-based militant group Hamas, noting that the White House “does not want to give the impression that American troops could become embroiled in a hot war.”
But that impression has already been given.
The U.S. has ramped up its warmongering rhetoric lately to new levels. When asked whether Washington should “bomb Iran,” even without evidence the country aided Hamas’ deadly October 7th terrorist attack on Israel, Senator Lindsay Graham simply replied: “Yeah.” Senator Marco Rubio has called for the eradication of those on the other side of the war.
Though officials said the move would be aimed at “forestalling a wider regional war,” the planning comes as some U.S. lawmakers push for direct military action in the Middle East. During a sit-down with CNN last week, Graham declared: “If there’s an escalation of this war against Israel, I’m blaming Iran, and it is now time to put them on notice.”