Biden’s self-deterrence empowers America’s enemies

News broke over the weekend that Iranian proxies killed three U.S. Army soldiers and injured more than 30 in a drone attack on a base in Jordan. The hard truth is that these deaths were avoidable. But rather than adopt the policies of strength that could have prevented this, the Biden administration is utterly paralyzed by fears of “escalation.” 

The only great power the Biden administration has actually deterred is the United States. During the past three years, Iran, Russia, and China have used American weakness to advance their shared agenda for a new world order. They understand that President Joe Biden refuses to impose anything but the most minimal of consequences for their aggression. Until their estimation of American resolve changes, their aggression will continue. 

Biden and his aides, however, seem to believe that a display of American power would only make the situation worse. Speaking to the World Economic Forum earlier this month, for example, national security adviser Jake Sullivan said the administration is trying “to ensure that we manage escalation across the Middle East to the maximum extent possible, taking every possible measure that we can in that regard, and ultimately get on a path of diplomacy and de-escalation.” This view is not prudence — it is cowardice.

No amount of American “restraint” will change the fact that Iran is already at war with the U.S. and its allies. The attack in Jordan was part of a merciless proxy campaign the Islamic Republic has been waging against American troops and allies since Oct. 7. There have been more than 150 drone or rocket attacks on American bases in Syria and Iraq in the past four months alone. Houthi terrorists have been indiscriminately attacking ships in the Red Sea, including American vessels. For Iran’s proxies, the self-proclaimed “Axis of Resistance,” it is open season on Americans. 

Read more in the Washington Examiner.