Expert Available to Discuss Drone Attack in Jordan

If you need an expert to speak on the drone attack in Jordan, retired U.S. Navy Vice Admiral Robert Murrett is available for interviews. Robert Murrett is currently a professor of practice at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School and deputy director of the Institute for Security Policy and Law. If you’d like to schedule an interview, please reach out to Vanessa Marquette, media relations specialist, at vrmarque@syr.edu.

Murrett writes: “The lethal attack yesterday by Kataib Hezbollah on the Syria/Jordan border, which killed three Americans and wounded more than 30 others, is the latest in a series of mounting attacks by Iranian proxy forces throughout the region. The White House has made it clear that there will be retaliation for the attack, and it is likely that response options are already available to the President for execution at any time.

The larger issue here is a policy of strong deterrence without causing escalation. We continue to witness a wide range and increasing number of Iranian-backed attacks in the Red Sea, from Lebanon, in Syria, Iraq, and the Gulf of Aden. Difficult choices will be required in the days and weeks ahead as military operations continue a policy of strong deterrence without seeking widespread escalation that could harm our interests and those of our allies. While a retaliatory attack against proxy groups such as Kataib Hezbollah would not necessarily constitute a major inflection point, a decision to strike actual Iranian target(s) could do so.”