WASHINGTON
\nThe killing of three US troops and wounding of dozens more on Sunday by Iran-backed militants is piling political pressure on President Joe Biden to deal a blow directly against Iran, a move he\u2019s been reluctant to do out of fear of igniting a broader war.
\nBiden\u2019s response options could range anywhere from targeting Iranian forces outside to even inside Iran, or opting for a more cautious retaliatory attack solely against the Iran-backed militants responsible, experts say.
\nAmerican forces in the Middle East have been attacked more than 150 times by Iran-backed forces in Iraq, Syria, Jordan and off the coast of Yemen since the Israel-Hamas war erupted in October.
\nBut until Sunday\u2019s attack on a remote outpost known as Tower 22 near Jordan\u2019s northeastern border with Syria, the strikes had not killed US troops nor wounded so many. That allowed Biden the political space to mete out US retaliation, inflicting costs on Iran-backed forces without risking a direct war with Tehran.
\nBiden said the United States would respond, without giving any more details.
\nRepublicans accused Biden of letting American forces become sitting ducks, waiting for the day when a drone or missile would evade base defenses. They say that day came on Sunday, when a single one-way attack drone struck near base barracks early in the morning.
\nIn response, they say Biden must strike Iran.
\n\u201cHe left our troops as sitting ducks,\u201d said Republican US Senator Tom Cotton. \u201cThe only answer to these attacks must be devastating military retaliation against Iran\u2019s terrorist forces, both in Iran and across the Middle East.\u201d
\nThe Republican who leads the US military oversight committee in the House of Representatives, Representative Mike Rogers, also called for action against Tehran.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s long past time for President Biden to finally hold the terrorist Iranian regime and their extremist proxies accountable for the attacks they\u2019ve carried out,\u201d Rogers said.
\nFormer President Donald Trump, who hopes to face off against Biden in this year\u2019s presidential election, portrayed the attack as a \u201cconsequence of Joe Biden\u2019s weakness and surrender.\u201d
\nThe Biden administration has said that it goes to great lengths to protect US troops around the world.
\nOne Democrat openly voiced concern that Biden\u2019s strategy of containing the Israel-Hamas conflict to Gaza was failing.
\n\u201cAs we see now, it is spiraling out of control. It\u2019s beginning to emerge as a regional war, and unfortunately the United States and our troops are in harms way,\u201d Democratic Representative Barbara Lee said, renewing calls for a ceasefire in the Israel-Palestinian war.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
WASHINGTON The killing of three US troops and wounding of dozens more on Sunday by Iran-backed militants is piling political pressure on President Joe Biden to deal a blow directly against Iran, a move he\u2019s been reluctant to do out of fear of igniting a broader war. Biden\u2019s response options could range anywhere from targeting […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-384006","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n