Republican Senator Doubts Strikes on Syria, Iraq Will Be Successful

Republican Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas says that he doubts President Joe Biden's decision to strike Iran-backed militia targets in Syria and Iraq will be a "strategic success."

Cotton expressed his skepticism while blasting Biden's "failed Iran policy" during a Fox News interview on Friday night, shortly after the Pentagon announced that it had launched the attacks in response to Sunday's killing of three U.S. troops by a group purportedly linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force.

The Context

Sunday's deadly drone strike in northeastern Jordan, near the Syrian border, wounded dozens of U.S. soldiers in addition to the three troops killed. The attack was purportedly launched from Syria.

Several IRGC-linked groups are believed to be active in Syria and Iraq as Israel's bloody war against the Iran-backed militant group Hamas continues in Gaza.

Biden, who announced that he had decided on a response earlier this week, has resisted pressure to respond by directly attacking Iran, a move that some speculated could spark a new war.

Republicans have been particularly vocal in calling for direct attacks on Iran, with many having already demanded that the president take a tougher stance on Iran due in part to its links with Hamas.

What We Know

"I want to express my admiration for our brave troops who carried out these strikes," Cotton said on Friday. "I have little doubt that the pilots and their crews had a tactical success tonight. I think it's an open question whether this will be a strategic success ... I have serious reservations about whether it will be a strategic success for numerous reasons."

"We let Iran's leaders hightail it back to Iran from Syria and Iraq," he continued. "So, I suspect we did not kill many key Iranian leaders in these regions. Joe Biden also has shown no indication that he's going to reverse his failed Iran policy ... I have very serious reservations about whether this will be a strategic success."

Cotton went on to say that the scope of the attacks represented the "weakness, equivocation and hesitation" of Biden, while praising former President Donald Trump for the killing of Quds Force leader Qasem Soleimani in a January 2020 U.S. drone strike.

Newsweek reached out for comment to the White House via email on Friday night.

Views

After denouncing Biden for a war beginning during "every year" on his watch, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina urged the president during a Fox News interview on Wednesday to "go to the source of the problem" and launch direct strikes on Iran's oil refineries.

Retired U.S. Army Major General Paul Eaton told Newsweek earlier this week that "striking Iran directly would be disastrous" and "could drag the United States into a situation that could put even more lives at risk."

"Managing escalatory potential is of utmost importance right now," said Eaton.
"Continuous military action without diplomacy worsens an already volatile situation and heightens the risk of an outbreak of broader regional conflict."

On Monday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani claimed that allegations of Iran's involvement in the drone attack in Jordan were "baseless."

What's Next?

The Biden administration has not ruled out the possibility of striking Iran directly, while making it clear that Friday's actions were only the beginning of the U.S. response.

"Our response began today," Biden said in a statement. "It will continue at times and places of our choosing. The United States does not seek conflict in the Middle East or anywhere else in the world. But let all those who might seek to do us harm know this: If you harm an American, we will respond."