One Dead in Rocket Attack on US Military Base in Iraq... US Faces Difficult Decisions on Middle East Withdrawal

Growing Pressure on Biden Administration Ahead of NATO Meeting
Overwhelming U.S. Public Opinion for Troop Withdrawal... White House Struggles to Find Direction

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] A rocket attack on a U.S. military base stationed in Iraq resulted in the death of one civilian and injury to one U.S. soldier, marking a terrorist incident. With direct damage to U.S. forces, this is expected to become a burden for the Biden administration, which is grappling with Middle East withdrawal policies. It is also likely to affect the NATO meeting scheduled for the 17th.

According to major foreign news agencies including AP, on the night of the 15th (local time), a rocket attack targeting the U.S. military base in Erbil, the Kurdish autonomous region in northern Iraq, caused the death of one civilian and injuries to one U.S. soldier and five civilians. The U.S. forces stationed in Iraq explained that the deceased civilian was not Iraqi but a subcontractor contracted with the U.S. military. The perpetrators behind the rocket attack have not yet been identified.

This rocket attack occurred two months after the rocket attack on the U.S. embassy in Baghdad on December 20 last year. It was the first terrorist attack in the Kurdish autonomous region in over six months since September 30 last year. The U.S. Department of Defense has previously pointed to Iran-backed militias such as the Shiite paramilitary group Hashd al-Shaabi in Iraq as the main actors behind rocket attacks occurring in Iraq.

This terrorist attack is expected to further increase the burden on the Biden administration, which is already struggling with the issue of Middle East withdrawal. NATO is also opposing the U.S. Middle East withdrawal policy, adding to the pressure. According to AFP, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg emphasized again at a press conference that "We will not leave Afghanistan until the right time," expressing opposition to the U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan. This statement is interpreted as a move to pressure the Biden administration to revise its Middle East withdrawal strategy ahead of the NATO Defense Ministers meeting starting on the 17th.

With direct damage to U.S. forces and added pressure from NATO, the Biden administration finds itself in a dilemma. According to CNN, the U.S. National Security Council (NSC) discussed issues related to withdrawal from Afghanistan and the Middle East on the 12th, but no clear direction has yet been established. Within the U.S., even the Democratic Party opposes the prolonged Afghanistan war lasting over 20 years and the U.S. presence in Iraq, with public opinion strongly favoring withdrawal, making it difficult for the Biden administration to decide on extending the deployment period, CNN reported.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.