Saturday night, three US servicemen were killed and at least 25 wounded; that number seems sure to grow by about 10 in a drone attack on a US base in Jordan called Tower 22.
Since that attack happened, Joe Biden has come under considerable political pressure from key members of the GOP to do something. Our bases have been attacked at least 158 times since the Israel-Hamas War started on October 7. Until today, the number of wounded stood at over 70, the only fatality being an American contractor.
You Don't Have to Be a 'Hawk' to Know Iran Needs to Pay for Killing American Troops
Bits of information are beginning to circulate.
These two cities are in the primary Iranian-controlled area of Syria. In December, we launched an airstrike that killed 19 fighters in Al-Bukamal. Al-Bukamal is a primary transit point for Iranian weapons.
A second data point is that there are rumors that Russian advisers and senior Syria officials have evacuated Shayrat Airbase. This is speculative as there don't seem to be visible ties between the Syrians/Russians and Iranians and their militias. But Shayrat Airbase allegedly is used by the Iranians to bring in weapons.
At least six KC-135 tankers are heading to the UK from their home base at March AFB, Riverside, CA.
Aerial refueling operations are not my thing, but six KC-135s means a lot of planes and multiple axes of attack.
This is shaping up to be a Bidenesque response to the fatal drone attack at Tower 22.
Enough time has elapsed after the attack that there is little danger to critical Iranian equipment or personnel. This has echoes of the first major package of airstrikes directed at the Houthis, where they were given about 12 hours' warning of the attack.
The strikes will focus mostly on areas, like Al-Bukamal, that have been frequently bombed. There probably won't be strikes on Iran itself, though I really hope I'm wrong on that.
The six tankers hold out hope that this retaliation will include Houthi targets as well as targets in Syria to emphasize that we consider all Iranian proxies to be the same. Ideally, we'd blast the Iranian spy ship in the Gulf of Aden, but that ain't happening. When the dust settles, Joe Biden and his sycophants can puff out their tiny, wizened chests and boast about how tough they are when, in reality, it was all theater.