Shebe

Biden has begun striking militias in Iraq and Syria in retaliation for the three Americans killed last week by Iraqi militias. This is just the beginning, the White House says, insisting that there will be strikes over several days, perhaps weeks. Which doesn't seem to jive with his expressed desire to avoid a regional war. If the objective is to "restore deterrence" and stop the attacks by the militias against US troops, this approach is not likely to succeed UNLESS it is coupled with a ceasefire in Gaza. Absent such a ceasefire, Biden's strategy will only further escalate tensions in the region and potentially draw the US into the war that Biden says he seeks to avoid. Regardless of how Biden's campaign is choreographed and calibrated not to elicit lethal retaliations from the militias or Iran itself, there is no escaping this reality: Nothing in the region is likely to deescalate unless there is de-escalation in Gaza.