It was only a matter of time before the rising tensions in the Middle East, spurred on by Iran, ended up harming American military members – this time by the hand of Kataib Hezbollah.

Despite the Biden administration’s grotesque failure in Afghanistan, there are American service members stationed all around the world, and within the Middle East. Ever since the Hamas invasion and massacre on October 7th, the terror groups across the region have been emboldened to raise their profiles and aim for western targets. We have seen this with the increasing aggression of the Houthi pirates, which the United States could end today if Joe Biden had the political will to do so – and if he hadn’t taken the Houthis off the terror group list back in 2021, a move that has proven to be incredibly short-sighted.

And because the Biden administration has been desperately trying to resurrect the Iran Deal for years (which is now completely and fully dead thanks to Iran’s backing of Hamas), the administration is littered with Obama retreads who were trying to salvage their former boss’s legacy. That meant that as Iran-backed aggression rose, the administration waffled. Now, the name Kataib Hezbollah is entering the chat, even though the group itself has been around a long time.

The Iraq-based militia group, also known as the Hezbollah Brigades, is a Shiite Iraqi insurgent group which was founded in 2007 as the union of five other militant organizations, according to Stanford University’s Center for International Security and Cooperation.

What is this, the Super-Friends of Terror Groups?

The group’s first attack, conducted using an improvised rocket-assisted munition against a U.S. base southeast of Baghdad in 2008, killed one American civilian. The following year, the U.S. labeled the group a terrorist organization.

While Kataib Hezbollah’s initial actions focused on Washington’s troops in Iraq, the group moved on to fighting the Islamic State (IS) in the country following the U.S. withdrawal in 2011. But after the general defeat of IS in 2017, the group went back to targeting American forces.

Great. So they already have American blood on their hands.

Since Hamas’ attack against Israel on October 7 and the Israeli government’s war against the militant group, which has caused more than 20,000 deaths in Gaza—most of them civilians, and most of which are women and children—the group’s attacks against U.S. troops in Iraq have increased.

The Director of National Intelligence (DNI) wrote that the group “poses a high threat to U.S. diplomatic and military personnel in Iraq and Syria because of its access to areas with a U.S. presence and its longstanding hostility toward U.S. and allied forces, as demonstrated by its history of attacks and anti-American rhetoric.”

According to the Stanford University’s researchers, Kataib Hezbollah has received “a significant amount of training, logistical support, and weapons from the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). The group seeks to establish an Iran-aligned government in Iraq, according to the DNI, and expel U.S. and coalition forces from the country.

Kataib Hezbollah was led by founder Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis until 2020, when he was killed in a drone strike, and is now headed by Ahmad al-Hamidawi. It currently counts up to 10,000 members, according to the DNI.

And now, Kataib Hezbollah is on the receiving end of an American strike, but ONLY after they have severely wounded American servicemembers in Iraq.

Today, at @POTUS’ direction, U.S. military forces conducted necessary & proportionate strikes on 3 facilities used by Kataib Hezbollah & affiliated groups in Iraq. These precision strikes are a response to a series of attacks against U.S. personnel in Iraq & Syria by…

— Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III (@SecDef) December 26, 2023

Joe Biden was informed about the attack by Kataib Hezbollah on Christmas morning, but held off until late evening to respond. Three military members were wounded, and one is reportedly in critical condition. Secretary Austin touted the administration’s response in his press statement with this:

And let me be clear – the President and I will not hesitate to take necessary action to defend the United States, our troops, and our interests. There is no higher priority. While we do not seek to escalate conflict in the region, we are committed and fully prepared to take further necessary measures to protect our people and our facilities.

*cough cough*bullshit*cough cough* The administration is not PROTECTING the United States Navy by making them the targeted punching bag of Houthi pirates as they attempt to make a mess of shipping lanes and hijack anything they think is remotely connected to Israel. There is no PROTECTION in making Erbil Air Base a sitting duck for Kataib Hezbollah.

The airstrikes are reported to have knocked out three facilities used by Kataib Hezbollah, but of course, we cannot get a straight answer about who or what was hit by U.S. forces.

In a statement about the U.S. strikes on Tuesday, General Michael Erik Kurilla of the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said: “These strikes are intended to hold accountable those elements directly responsible for attacks on coalition forces in Iraq and Syria and degrade their ability to continue attacks. We will always protect our forces.”

A statement by CENTCOM said that “there are no indications that any civilian lives were affected” by the U.S. strikes. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin called the strikes “necessary and proportionate.”

However, the Iraqi government said more than 18 people had been injured, including civilians, labeling the U.S. actions a “clear hostile act.”

“It runs counter to the pursuit of enduring mutual interests in establishing security and stability, and it opposes the declared intention of the American side to enhance relations with Iraq,” Baghdad said in a statement carried by an Iraqi news agency on Tuesday.

“We emphasize that this action undermines the bilateral relations between the two nations,” the Iraqi government added.

“Above all, it constitutes an unacceptable violation of Iraqi sovereignty,” it said.

Maybe Baghdad would like to explain why an Iranian-based terror group is operating within Iraq, and why they haven’t been wiped out in the best interests of Iraq’s security and safety? Of course not. That would mean Iraq would need to be accountable, instead of whining.

Our prayers are with the injured, and we hope they all make a full recovery. But the fecklessness of the Biden administration has gotten servicemembers killed before, and it increasingly feels like it may happen again as the Iran fanboys in the administration dither about what to do.

Featured image : U.S. Secretary of Defense Flickr account via Wikimedia Commons, cropped, Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0 DEED)