By Geoff LaMear
Rockets struck the U.S. embassy in Baghdad on Monday, following two attacks targeting American military bases this past week. With many analysts attributing the spate of attacks to Iran, there is pressure on the Biden administration to pursue a hardline response against Iran. But U.S. security doesn’t depend on Iran’s culpability in the attack. Rather than choosing who to fight, President Joe Biden could make the more prudent decision to withdraw altogether.
Attacks from Iran-aligned militias are not new. The United States fell into a spiral of escalation with Iran in 2019 for the same reason. But it’s paradoxical to protect American troops by pursuing actions that will result in more American troops being attacked. This isn’t to say that we just accept a new normal of rockets hitting U.S. troops weekly, either. But the way to stop these attacks is not with escalation.
Rather than juggle between confrontation and appeasement, the United States can reject this dichotomy altogether and simply leave militarily. President Ronald Reagan did just that in response to the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing. Biden doesn’t have to thread the needle of a “contested deterrence” that tolerates U.S. casualties as an acceptable price to contain Iran.
This piece was originally published in The National Interest on February 25, 2021. Read more HERE.