WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin says the U.S. is ramping up its response to groups in the Middle East, just days after a drone strike killed three American soldiers in Jordan.
Austin says the response to the drone attack will be multi-tiered, but some lawmakers say the Biden administration isn’t doing enough.
This is the first time Secretary Austin has held a press conference since his hospitalization earlier this year, warning that this is a dangerous moment in the Middle East.
Austin says President Biden will not tolerate attacks on U.S. troops and neither will he.
“They risked their lives and lost their lives to keep their fellow Americans safe from global terrorism,” he said.
Austin says an Iran backed militia is to blame for Sunday’s drone strike that killed three American soldiers and injured more than 40 others on an American military base in Jordan.
“We look to hold the people that are responsible for this accountable and we also looked to make sure that we continue to take away capability from them as we go forward,” he said.
Austin says any response needs to be carefully crafted to ensure that it doesn’t incite further escalation in the Middle East, but Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell says the U.S. should have responded days ago.
“Hesitation and hand wringing over fears of escalation have become hallmarks of the Biden Administration’s foreign policy,” McConnell said.
McConnell says waiting any longer is a sign of weakness.
“The administration’s public obsession with avoiding escalation at all costs only signals to our adversaries that indeed authoritarians can take what they want,” he added.
Texas Republican Congressman Michael McCaul agrees and says the U.S. needs to send a strong message.
“They need to know they can’t kill Americans and get away with that, there will be consequences,” McCaul said.
Austin didn’t give details of how the U.S. is planning to respond but did say it will be multi-tiered.
