Tonight, President B, as you just heard, says the United States “shall respond following the deadly drone attack on American troops”. He blames Iran-backed militia for the overnight strike. It happened at a remote base in Jordan near the Iraq-Syria borders, underscoring the spreading violence in the Middle East. At least three American service members were killed. More than thirty others were wounded, some of them seriously.

US officials say the troops manning the outpost on the Jordanian side of the border with Syrian had little warning of the incoming drone. Many of the dead and wounded were still in their barracks when it hit. The outpost, known as Tower 22, provides support to US Special Operation Forces operating inside Syria where they are under constant threat of attack. But until now, Tower 22 had not been attacked. President B blamed it on Iranian-backed militia and vowed to retaliate. It was the US military’s worst loss of live to enemy action since the fall of Afghanistan and the first since Israel’s war with Hamas set off a drumbeat of more than one hundred-sixty attacks against US-troop locations in Iraq and Syria. Scores of troops suffered concussions in previous attacks. But there had been only one serious injury. Now the attacks have turned deadly, the B administration will be under pressure to launch much more damaging airstrikes against targets in Iraq and Syria.