At the Pentagon’s press briefing yesterday, spokesman Pat Ryder hyped up the U.S. military buildup in the region. The deployment of the USS Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group to Central Command “will strengthen the capabilities that we have there, and importantly, it will enhance our ability to respond to a range of contingencies,” he said. He announced that more forces had been placed on prepare-to-deploy status but provided no details on what those forces are or how many troops are involved.
Ryder suggested, however, that these deployments, including the air defense forces, are all about force protection of U.S. bases in the region. In Iraq and Syria, U.S. bases have already been subjected to drone attacks, and Ryder echoed Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s comments on Oct. 22 that the Pentagon is concerned that these attacks may escalate. Referring to the THAAD and Patriot batteries, he said: “I can tell you these are intended for force protection purposes.” He confirmed reports of an afternoon drone attack on the U.S. Al Tanf base in Syria yesterday.
