U.S. embassies in Beirut, Buenos Aires, Argentina, Lebanon, and others have seen attacks, or bomb threats, while multiple others nations are seeing massive demonstrations, many violent. U.S. military bases and/or soldiers in Iraq and Syria have been attacked.
There are travel advisories from the U.S. State Department for Iraq, which says "do not travel," and as of October 23, a "worldwide caution advisory" for U.S. citizens traveling abroad.
More worrisome is the amount of military force being deployed to the Middle East, not only by the U.S. but by china as well. Of course we are told by China that their warships are there on "routine escort missions."
Both the U.S., China and Israel, are nuclear powers.
Perhaps the most concerning bit of new is that the U.S. is not only sending more missile systems to the Middle East but we are deploying additional troops. While our support is understandable since more than 30 American citizens were killed in the Hamas attack in Israel, it is a very bad sign when we start accruing troops in the Middle East, especially while a war is raging.
The Pentagon overnight said it will send two of its most powerful weapons against missiles to the Middle East and prepare an unspecified number of troops to deploy overseas after “recent escalations by Iran and its proxy forces” continue to threaten a wider war in the region.
The U.S. will send a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system and additional Patriot air defense missile system battalions "to locations throughout the region," Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement, adding that he has placed an “additional number” of American troops on prepare-to-deploy orders.
Austin did not say how many battalions would be sent or exactly where they would be going, nor did he specify the number of troops under new orders—the U.S. has already sent two aircraft carriers, their support ships and about 2,000 Marines to the Middle East, Reuters reported.
With the war not just between Israel and Hamas, as the U.S. has intercepted missiles coming from Yemen, and Hamas is in discussions with Iran, who controls both Hamas and Hezbollah in Syria.
Lebanon's Hezbollah has been exchanging fire with Israel across the border for days in the deadliest escalation since they fought a major war in 2006, threatening to expand a conflict between Israel and Palestinian group Hamas.
Backed by Iran, Hezbollah has said it is ready to help when the time comes in the war between Israel and Hamas, which is also backed by Tehran. Sources said last week Hezbollah's attacks so far had been designed to be contained and so avoid another major war.
We also have Iran now warning that the Middle East is about to go "out of control."
That is a lot to happen in just 16 days, and this war is projected to go on for months, with some estimates up to 18 months.
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