Middle East

There is good news and bad news for the brave men and women of the U.S. military who continue to risk their lives in the Middle East.

First, the good news. Attacks against American forces serving in Iraq, Syria, and Jordan have fallen to their lowest levels since Iran-backed terrorists stepped up strikes following Hamas’s brutal October 7 killing and kidnapping spree in Israel. POLITICO‘s Lara Seligman reports that as of Thursday, it’s been more than a month since an attack in any of those three countries.

“In Iraq and Syria, a tenuous ceasefire appears to have taken hold,” Seligman wrote. Between the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel and February 4 of this year, U.S. military bases were targeted 170 times, causing three service members’ deaths in Jordan and scores of injuries in Syria and Iraq.

While drone, missile, and rocket attacks initially continued after the Biden administration finally gave the green light for the military to launch major airstrikes, a month of inactivity is obviously a welcome sign for thousands of American troops serving in the troubled region.

It’s been more than a month since Iran-backed militias attacked U.S. troops in Iraq, Syria or Jordan. U.S. officials hope it’s a sign that previous airstrikes — and the threat of more — are working.

But nearby in the Red Sea, it's a different story:https://t.co/aU9DuZrBGm

— Lara Seligman (@laraseligman) March 6, 2024

Now to the bad news. Seligman reports that while Iran’s proxy war against the United States has paused in the aforementioned countries, it shows no signs of letting up in the Red Sea. There, “the Yemen-based Houthis, another Iranian proxy, continue launching missiles and drones on international shipping,” according to POLITICO.

Seligman adds that “on Tuesday alone, U.S. forces shot down one anti-ship ballistic missile and three one-way attack drones launched from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, and later destroyed three more anti-ship missiles and three unmanned surface vessels that presented an imminent threat to commercial and U.S. Navy shipping.”

On Wednesday, yet another Iran-backed Houthi attack killed two and injured six aboard the Liberian-owned MV True Confidence, also according to Seligman’s stellar reporting.

As The Stream has been reporting, the valiant members of our nation’s military remain under constant threat. Please pray not only for these service members, but their worried wives, husbands, children, moms, dads, extended family members, and friends here at home. Lord, we humbly ask You to shield our nation’s heroes from danger and swiftly return them to their loved ones.

Europe

A massive NATO training exercise is underway in Poland. It includes 20,000 soldiers from nine countries, including the United States.

According to the U.S. military, the training mission’s objective is to “test the Polish Armed Forces’ response to potential crises” and involves “land, air, sea, and cyberspace.” The images embedded below show troops crossing Poland’s Vistula River earlier this week.

Exercise #DRAGON24 showcased @NATO's strength w/ 20,000 soldiers from 9 nations, mastering combat tasks from mobilizing the #NATO Very High Readiness Joint Task Force to crossing the Vistula River in 🇵🇱. A testament to our #StrongAndStrategic readiness & cooperation! 🛡️🌍 pic.twitter.com/nMVeOVwOUm

— U.S. European Command (@US_EUCOM) March 5, 2024

This remarkable show of force also reminds us that more than 100,000 of our nation’s military service members are still deployed to Europe more than two years after Russia invaded Ukraine. If that war spirals into a regional conflict, our country’s selfless men and women in uniform will be right in the middle of a potential third World War.

Please keep these deployed warriors and their families in your prayers.

Training

Check out the amazing video embedded below. It shows the brand-new U.S. Navy supercarrier USS John F. Kennedy launching vehicles into the ocean during a training exercise on the massive ship.

MAKING A SPLASH: New U.S. Navy supercarrier USS John F. Kennedy catapults 80,000-pound vehicles more than 300 feet down a track at speeds topping 150 mph into river to test the aircraft launch system in wild video. pic.twitter.com/8cASHsZYlS

— Fox News (@FoxNews) March 6, 2024

Wow! This is just another example of why our nation’s military is still far and away the world’s best.

Coming Home

A group of U.S. Marines recently returned to Camp Lejeune in North Carolina after completing a deployment to Europe.

Welcome home, heroes! We sincerely thank you and your loved ones for helping keep our nation and world safe. God bless.

 

Tom Sileo is a contributing senior editor of The Stream. He is the author of the forthcoming I Have Your Back, the recently released Be Bold, and coauthor of Three Wise Men, Brothers Forever, 8 Seconds of Courage and Fire in My Eyes. Follow him on X @TSileo and The Stream at @Streamdotorg.