Vantage: Will America get drawn into an all-out war?

Day 14 of the war, Israel’s allies are joining the action, namely, the United States, they have got a lot of firepower in West Asia, and on Thursday, it was put to use, the target? Yemen’s Houthi rebels. Missiles and drones were fired from Yemen, the assumption is, they were headed to Israel. That’s when a US Warship, the USS Carney, sprung into action. It shot down three missiles and also several Houthi drones. The pentagon has confirmed this operation. They have also said, they will do it again, if necessary. “This action was a demonstration of the integrated air and missile defense architecture that we have built in the middle east and that we are prepared to utilize whenever necessary to protect our partners and our interests in this important region,” said Pentagon spokesperson Brigadier General Pat Ryder. Now, the Carney is a destroyer, it was stationed in the Red Sea, but American assets are spread all over the region, like in the eastern Mediterranean, there are two US Aircraft carriers there, the USS Gerald Ford, and the USS Dwight Eisenhower. Now, the idea here is to deter outside actors. But these American assets are also targets. Many of them have been hit this week. Watch:

On Tuesday, Iraq’s Al-Asad base was targeted by drones, the base hosts American soldiers and assets. The attack caused minor injuries. The same day, there was another attack to the north, on the Bashur air base, again, drones were used, but no injuries. On Wednesday, US Forces in Syria were attacked, two drones targeted the Al-Tanf Garrison, both were destroyed. That same day, there were attack alerts in Iraq, at the Al-Assad base. The US soldiers decided to take cover, but the attack never came. But on Thursday, it did. Drones and rockets hit the same military base. Reports say, multiple blasts were heard inside. Rockets also hit US forces near Baghdad. Now, that’s a lot of attacks in three days. Who is behind them? Possibly Iranian proxies. Last week, they threatened to attack US assets in Iraq and Syria. Looks like they were serious about it. But these groups are playing a dangerous game. There are 2,500 American soldiers in Iraq, another 900 in Syria. The casualties so far have been negligible. But if there is a major attack, the US could get drawn in. They have enough firepower to retaliate and to hit back hard. Whether that happens or not, depends on many factors. The biggest being Israel’s next move, a lot depends on that. Right now, Israel is striking Gaza, non-stop. Even civilian sites and shelters are being targeted, the death toll has crossed 4,000. More than 1,500 of them are children. Violence has also spread to the West Bank. On Thursday, Israel conducted an airstrike there. Reports say 12 Palestinians were killed. Now, this is rare for israel. They do deploy soldiers into the West Bank but airstrikes are rare. So far around 70 Palestinians have died in the West Bank. Plus, around 800 arrested, things could get even worse if Israel invades Gaza. In fact, they are bracing for it. The Muslim world has united against Israel. There are street protests across muslim capitals. So Israel has made a drastic move. They have decided to pull out diplomats, and Israeli officials have started to leave Turkiye. Reports say they are considering similar moves in other West Asian countries. The problem seems to be security. Let’s assume Israel invades Gaza, then the public anger would be much more, Israeli missions and diplomats would be prime targets. Hence the withdrawal, regional and world powers have already warned of this. They are expecting a wider war. “As for the Gaza strip, the risk of this crisis escalating into a regional conflict is quite serious. I have already mentioned that the United States vetoed a resolution that called for a stop to any hostilities and to begin to resolve humanitarian issues. And if this is so, then they will probably believe the conflict may grow,” said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. “We hoped to have better news, but honesty requires us to say that we fear for the worst. Everything indicates that the worst is yet to come. We are working with all our capabilities to prevent that,” said Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi. “The worst is yet to come”. For once, that’s not fear-mongering, it is a fairly honest assessment. Things have been heating up there in the last few days. Especially after the Gaza hospital attack. On Wednesday, Hezbollah struck targets on the Israeli side. Smoke was seen rising from the border hills. Of course, Israel struck back, they have stationed plenty of tanks and soldiers near the northern border. They are also evacuating people. The city of Kiryat Shmona has been struck by Hezbollah rockets, so its 20 thousand residents have been asked to leave. There is no-go zone near the border, it is around two kilometres wide. So, Israel is bracing for an escalation in the north, a possible attack by the iran-backed Hezbollah. However, their main focus is down south. The Gaza Strip. Both prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his defence minister visited the front lines. They interacted with IDF soldiers. Both men had the same indirect message. Get ready for the invasion. “Netanyahu: I am here with Golani soldiers from all parts of the country. They have fought like lions and will fight like lions. Are you ready to continue? Soldiers: Yes Netanyahu: We are going to win with full force. Are you ready? Soldiers: Yes Netanyahu: All the people of Israel are behind you and we will deal harsh blows to our enemies in order to achieve victory. To victory! Are you ready? Soldiers: Yes” “We trust you and count on you. Carry on training while there is time, get organised, be prepared, the command will come. Thanks guys, we count on you, good luck. And anyone who now sees gaza from a distance will see it from the inside, i promise you,” said Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant. To sum up, airstrikes continue in Gaza, anger is growing in the Muslim world, protests are escalating in the West Bank, attacks are more frequent at the Lebanon-Israel border, and US military assets are being targeted. It’s like a non-stop journey to all-out war. There are exit ramps all over. The question is: Are leaders looking for an exit? Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost_’s views._ Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.