President Joe Biden has decided how to respond to what his administration describes as an Iran-sponsored drone strike on a U.S. base in Jordan that killed three U.S. service members and injured many more.
“Yes,” Biden told reporters Tuesday on the White House South Lawn when asked if he had reached a decision.
Amplifying statements from the White House and Pentagon, Biden said Iran was responsible for the attack “in the sense that they are supplying the weapons to the people who did it.” But the president expressed concern regarding the wider repercussions of his response.
“I don’t think we need a wider war in the Middle East. That’s not what I’m looking for,” he added.
Biden’s comments proceed Secretary of State Antony Blinken, beside NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, previewing that the administration would respond “strongly” to Sunday’s tragedy, in which three Army reservists from Georgia died after the drone was reportedly mistaken for a U.S. one returning to the outpost near the Syrian border.
“We have not seen a situation as dangerous as the one we’re facing now across the region since at least 1973,” Blinken said. “That response could be multileveled, come in stages, and be sustained over time.”
During the roughly two-minute exchange with reporters before departing on Marine One for Joint Base Andrews and campaign fundraisers in Florida, Biden also defended his posture toward the southern border, telling them he has “done all I can do.”
“Give me the power,” he said of Congress as lawmakers negotiate a national security funding deal. “I’ve asked from the very day I got in office, give me the Border Patrol, give me the judges, give me the people who can stop this and make it work best.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Biden was additionally asked whether former President Donald Trump should appear on ballots during the Republican primary as Illinois considers siding with Colorado and Maine and removing him after the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
“As far as I’m concerned, that’s fine,” he said.