By Xu Lifan
徐立凡
According to the US Cable News Network (CNN), on January 28, local time, the United States Central Command issued a statement confirming that a drone attack on a US military base in northeast Jordan near the border with Syria killed three US soldiers and wounded 34 others.
据美国有线电视新闻网（CNN）报道，当地时间1月28日，美国中央司令部发表声明证实，一架无人机袭击了位于约旦东北部靠近叙利亚边境的美军基地，造成3名美军士兵死亡、34人受伤。
This marks the first time the US soldiers have been killed by enemy fire in the Middle East since the onset of the new round of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, which includes Kataeb Hezbollah, Nujabaa and other militias, has claimed responsibility for the assault. The Iraqi militias previously claimed to have attacked five US military bases in Syria and Iraq in retaliation for Washington's support for Israel's military operations in the Gaza Strip, but no casualties were reported.
这是新一轮巴以冲突以来，首次有美军士兵在中东地区的袭击中丧生。伊拉克伊斯兰抵抗组织已声称对袭击负责，这个组织包括真主党旅、Nujabaa和其它民兵组织。此前，伊拉克民兵组织声称袭击了美国在叙利亚和伊拉克的五个军事基地，以报复华盛顿支持以色列在加沙地带发动的军事行动，但没有伤亡情况报告。
From Gaza to the Red Sea, and from Lebanon to Syria and Iraq, attacks against the US forces have been steadily increasing. This reflects the strategic deficiencies of the US military in the Middle East and the failing Middle East policy of the Biden administration.
从加沙到红海，从黎巴嫩、叙利亚到伊拉克，针对美军展开的袭击活动越来越多。这既反映了美军在中东地区的战略弱点，也折射出拜登政府的中东政策正趋于失败。
The attack exposed US military deployment vulnerability
本次袭击暴露了美军部署漏洞
The US base targeted by the drone, named TOWER 22, with 350 US Army and Air Force personnel deployed there, is an outpost of the US military base at Al-Tanf.
本次遭无人机袭击的美军基地，名为TOWER 22，驻有350名美国陆军和空军人员，属于美军坦夫基地的前哨基地。
The Al-Tanf base, located in the border area with Syria and Iraq in northeast Jordan, has been quartered by the US military since early 2016 under the banner of training new Syrian troops against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). It can be said that the Al-Tanf base constitutes a major source of risk for instability in the Middle East, especially in Syria. Former Commander of the United States Central Command Joseph Votel made no secret of Al-Tanf's significance to the US military, bluntly stating that it is an important stronghold to contain Iranian forces.
坦夫基地位于约旦东北端与叙利亚、伊拉克的交界处，美军于2016年初开始在该基地驻扎，打的旗号是训练新叙利亚军对抗伊斯兰国（ISIS）。可以说，坦夫基地是中东地区，特别是叙利亚动荡不安的一个主要风险源。而美国中央司令部司令约瑟夫•沃特尔曾毫不掩饰地表示坦夫基地对美军的重要性，直言其是遏制伊朗势力的重要据点。
The question is why the air defense system at such an important military base failed to protect itself against drone attacks. The base had been attacked at least two times last year with no fatalities. The US military apparently had not strengthened the air defense forces, so the air defense system of the Al-Tanf base did not effectively cover TOWER 22. Otherwise, the incident was caused by human errors. Whatever the case, this has revealed the US weakness in terms of military deployment.
问题是，在美军如此重要的军事基地，为什么防空系统却没有防住无人机袭击？该基地去年就曾遭到至少两次袭击，只是无人丧生。但美军显然没有加强防空力量，坦夫基地的防空体系并未有效覆盖TOWER 22，亦或是人为失误。但无论如何，这都暴露了美军在军事部署上的弱点。
The legitimacy of US military bases in the Middle East is being questioned
中东美军基地面临合法性拷问
Currently, the US has deployed about 3,000 troops in Jordan, about 2,500 troops in Iraq and about 2,000 troops in Syria. It is worth noting that despite rising military conflicts in the region, the Middle Eastern countries have continuously decreased their dependence on the US military protection. What’s more, there is an increasing chorus of voices questioning the presence of the US military.
目前，美军在约旦驻军约3000人，在伊拉克有约2500人，在叙利亚境内也有约2000人。值得注意的是，尽管该地区的军事冲突在不断上升，但中东国家对美军“保护”的依赖度持续下降，相反，质疑美军军事存在的声音越来越大。
On January 13, a total of 88 Iraqi councilors submitted a bill to the Council of Representatives to end the deployment of foreign troops in the country. On January 27, Iraq and the US initiated the first round of talks to discuss terminating the existence of the US-led international military coalition in Iraq. Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani said that the reason for the presence of international allied forces in the country has disappeared.
1月13日，伊拉克88名议员向议会提交了一份有关结束外国军队在伊存在的议案。1月27日，伊拉克和美国启动了首轮对话，讨论结束美国主导的国际联盟在伊拉克的存在。伊拉克总理苏达尼表示，国际联军在伊拉克境内存在的理由已经消失。
Mass protests recently erupted in Bahrain and protesters refused to recognize the legitimacy of the presence of the United States Fifth Fleet in the region. In Saudi Arabia, the US military had previously withdrawn its missile defense system and Patriot anti-missile forces. As for the Al-Tanf base, Syria has never acknowledged the legitimacy of the US military presence.
日前，巴林爆发了大规模抗议活动，拒绝承认美军第五舰队在该地区存在的合法性。在沙特，美军此前已撤出其导弹防御系统和爱国者反导部队。至于坦夫基地，叙利亚从未承认美军存在的合法性。
The legitimacy of the US bases is broadly challenged. The attacks on the US bases demonstrate that the presence of the US military in the Middle East has not reduced regional security risks but increased its own security risks. Such risks would exert political impact on the Biden administration.
美军基地的合法性遭到普遍质疑。而基地遇袭事件表明，美军在中东地区的存在，不仅没有降低地区安全风险，反而升高了自身的安全风险。这种风险对于拜登政府来说是政治性的。
The Biden administration has been stranded in a mire
拜登政府进入了死胡同
Biden quickly reacted to the attack on the Al-Tanf base. Leading US senators Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott from differing parties also called on "hitting Iran hard."
坦夫基地遇袭事件发生后，拜登迅速作出反应。美国两党的重量级议员林赛•格雷厄姆、蒂姆•斯科特也呼吁要“狠狠打击伊朗”。
However, Biden's options are constrained in reality. On the one hand, the Ukraine crisis and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict have weakened US military deployment in other regions. Under such circumstances, it would be difficult for the US to directly launch large-scale retaliation against Iran.
但实际上，拜登的选择余地并不大。一方面，乌克兰危机和巴以冲突已削弱美国在其他地区能够投入的军力。在此情况下，很难直接针对伊朗展开大规模报复行动。
On the other hand, since the outbreak of the current round of Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the Biden administration has adopted a strategy of avoiding involvement while effectively deterring Sunni forces in the context of the US election. The election campaign is now underway in the US, and if the Biden administration readily resorts to force toward Iran, it may not necessarily bolster deterrence and could actually undermine its election campaign.
另一方面，自本轮巴以冲突爆发以来，拜登政府采取的是避免卷入、同时对逊尼派力量进行有效威慑的策略，这是在美国大选背景下采取的策略。目前，美国大选已经开锣，如果拜登政府轻易针对伊朗动武，未必就能增加威慑，相反还可能损害自身选情。
Pushing for a ceasefire in Gaza is the only way for the US forces to avoid being attacked. The problem is that except for flexing muscles by the aircraft carrier diplomacy and the Red Sea escort coalition, the Biden administration has never come up with a real solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and the attacks on the US military bases have forced it into a tight spot with no easy way out.
美军要想避免被袭击，推动加沙地带停火才是唯一办法。问题是，除了用“航母外交”和“红海护航联盟”展现“肌肉”外，在巴以冲突问题上，拜登政府从未拿出真正的解决方案，美军基地遇袭事件已把拜登政府逼进死胡同。
Editor's note: Originally published on china.com.cn, this article is translated from Chinese into English and edited by the China Military Online. The information and opinions in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of eng.chinamil.com.cn.
