News broke over the weekend that Iranian proxies killed three U.S. Army soldiers and injured more than 30 in a drone attack on a base in Jordan. The hard truth is that these deaths were avoidable. But rather than adopt the policies of strength that could have prevented this, the Biden administration is utterly paralyzed by fears of “escalation.”
The only great power the Biden administration has actually deterred is the United States. During the past three years, Iran, Russia, and China have used American weakness to advance their shared agenda for a new world order. They understand that President Joe Biden refuses to impose anything but the most minimal of consequences for their aggression. Until their estimation of American resolve changes, their aggression will continue.
Biden and his aides, however, seem to believe that a display of American power would only make the situation worse. Speaking to the World Economic Forum earlier this month, for example, national security adviser Jake Sullivan said the administration is trying “to ensure that we manage escalation across the Middle East to the maximum extent possible, taking every possible measure that we can in that regard, and ultimately get on a path of diplomacy and de-escalation.” This view is not prudence — it is cowardice.
No amount of American “restraint” will change the fact that Iran is already at war with the U.S. and its allies. The attack in Jordan was part of a merciless proxy campaign the Islamic Republic has been waging against American troops and allies since Oct. 7. There have been more than 150 drone or rocket attacks on American bases in Syria and Iraq in the past four months alone. Houthi terrorists have been indiscriminately attacking ships in the Red Sea, including American vessels. For Iran’s proxies, the self-proclaimed “Axis of Resistance,” it is open season on Americans.
Thus far, the Biden administration has been unwilling to take decisive action against these terrorists. America’s top priority should be to dismantle the Iran-backed terrorist network stretching from Syria and Gaza to Yemen and beyond. Instead, the administration dithers about “escalation.” It is unwilling to commit the resources necessary to bring Iranian aggression to a halt.
Unfortunately, the Biden administration has not restricted this pattern of self-deterrence to the Middle East. These fears of “escalation” are also the source of Biden’s half-heartedness on Ukraine aid. Rather than give the Ukrainians the weapons and ammunition they need to repel Russian President Vladimir Putin’s barbaric invasion, the Biden administration has staggered the supplies the U.S. delivers so as not to “provoke” wider conflict. The lukewarm support has given Russian troops time and space to entrench themselves in occupied territory, lengthening the war and putting the West at a major disadvantage.
Paralysis and inconsistency also characterize the administration’s Taiwan policy. Occasionally, Biden will speak with moral clarity about the dangerous tyranny and expansionism of the Chinese Communist Party. But executive branch officials quickly walk back those comments. Rather than deterring a CCP invasion of Taiwan, administration officials such as John Kerry prefer to stress “cooperation” on matters such as climate change.
It is almost as if the Biden administration believes the U.S. is the aggressor, not our autocratic enemies. Liberals have imbibed an “anti-colonialist” critique of American leadership and “endless war” that cripples decision-making and endangers national security. They prefer “over-the-horizon” tactics and internationalist diplomacy. But a light touch can never replace the value of hard power.
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To reestablish deterrence in the wake of these latest attacks, Biden must act swiftly to impose steep costs on Iran. The U.S. should take every action necessary to disrupt the flow of weapons and money to the Islamic Republic’s proxies. And strikes against terrorist leaders in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and others coordinating the Axis of Resistance would send a strong message to leaders in not only Tehran but Moscow and Beijing as well.
America is facing a geopolitical crisis, the likes of which have not been seen since World War II. It will take all our strength and ingenuity to withstand the challenge. To weather the coming storm, we need leaders who will be self-confident, not self-deterred.
Michael Lucchese is a Krauthammer fellow at the Tikvah Fund and the founder of Pipe Creek Consulting.
