Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the U.S. is prepared to respond should the military or American personnel become targets of what will likely be an escalation in the Israel-Hamas war.
“This is not what we want, not what we’re looking for. We don’t want escalation,” Blinken said Sunday. “We don’t want to see our forces or our personnel come under fire. But if that happens, we’re ready for it.”
Explaining to ABC’s “This Week,” the reasoning behind the USS Eisenhower heading to the Persian Gulf, missile defense systems going to the region, and troops on standby, Austin said it’s because the U.S. is “concerned about potential escalation” after seeing “rocket and UAV attacks against bases housing our troops in Iraq and Syria.”
He continued, “in fact, what we're seeing is a -- is a prospect of a significant escalation of attacks on our troops and our people throughout the region. And because of that, we're going to do what's necessary to make sure that our troops are in the right -- in a good position, and they're protected, and that we have the ability to respond.
“Now, this additional deployment sends another message to those who would -- who would seek to widen this conflict…our advice is don't,” Austin added. “We maintain the right to defend ourselves, and we won't hesitate to take the appropriate action.”
The warnings come ahead of an expected ground invasion of Gaza by the Israeli military following the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attack that left more than 1,400 Israelis dead, thousands more injured, and at least 200 taken hostage.
It also comes as all non-emergency personnel in the U.S. embassy in Iraq were ordered to evacuate.
Non-emergency personnel have been ordered to evacuate the U.S. Embassy in Iraq.
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) October 22, 2023
This is the seventh embassy evacuation of the Biden presidency, after Afghanistan, Ukraine, Belarus, Sudan, Haiti, and Niger. pic.twitter.com/0BDBKKeAA3