FAIR WARNING: Intel Officials Warned of Attack Risk Before Jordan Drone Strike; Report

According to a Politico report, intel officials warned for months before the deadly attack in Jordan that Iranian-made weapons would penetrate U.S. defenses in the Middle East.

“Officials in the intelligence agencies and at the Pentagon issued those warnings both internally and in briefings on Capitol Hill starting in late October, when Israel invaded Gaza and Iran-backed groups in Iraq and Syria ramped up their attacks on American forces in response,” Politico reports.

From Politico:

While U.S. officials have said for years that the country’s air defenses have vulnerabilities, the latest warnings grew more urgent as Iran-backed militias stepped up their attacks in October and November.

That raises questions about whether the Pentagon could have done more to increase protections for troops at the Jordan outpost and other bases in the region in the days and weeks following Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

Tower 22 — the outpost where three service members were killed on Jan. 28 — had already been threatened at least once by a drone from an Iran-backed militias, in October. In that case, its air defenses took out the enemy drone using electronic warfare.

“In theory, DOD has had a few months to rectify the lack of defense, and it didn’t,” said Charles Lister, a senior fellow and the Director of the Syria and Countering Terrorism & Extremism programs at the Middle East Institute. “There is a precedent for an attack on the facility. And that should have rung alarm bells, that it was insufficiently defended.”

Full report over at Politico:

Intel officials warned well before Tower 22 attack of increased risks from drones https://t.co/UmIht09Zer

— POLITICO (@politico) February 8, 2024