‘Global consequences’: ‘Horrendous sign of weakness’ if US did not respond to attack

ASPI Senior Analyst Dr Malcolm Davis says if the United States did not respond to a drone strike that killed three American soldiers, it would have been a “horrendous sign of weakness” that would have had “global consequences”. The US has launched retaliatory airstrikes against Iran-backed targets in Iraq and Syria in response to the drone attack in Jordan, which killed three American soldiers. US President Joe Biden had previously warned of a ‘tiered response’ over time, so this airstrike is unlikely to be the last. The US Central Command says the military struck more than 85 targets, using more than 125 precision munitions. “The US had to respond to the attacks that killed three soldiers; for the US not to respond would have been a horrendous signal of weakness, not just to the Iranians, but also to Moscow and to Beijing,” Dr Davis told Sky News Australia. “It would have had global consequences if the US had not responded effectively. “It is early days yet in terms of this campaign. “How the Biden administration evolves this in terms of its operations in coming days and weeks and how it essentially continues to attack the IRGC and militias will be very interesting to see.”