Former CIA director: Drone attack in Jordan is a ‘dangerous escalation’

Former CIA Director John Brennan described the deadly drone attack in Jordan as a “dangerous escalation” in the Middle East amid the Israel-Hamas war.

“It’s a very dangerous escalation, Jen, given that there were three military personnel Americans killed, and over two dozen injured — it’s a sizable attack. Whether it was one or more drones, these are drones that are packed with explosives and then detonate upon impact. But to have that type of the number of casualties suggested it was a fairly sizable one,” Brennan said on MSNBC’s “Inside with Jen Psaki.”

The Pentagon and President Biden confirmed Sunday that three U.S. service members were killed and at least two dozen were injured in a drone strike in Jordan on Saturday night. Biden said in a statement the attack was carried out by “radical Iran-backed militant groups.”

The attack marks the first time U.S. service members were killed by enemy combatants in the Middle East since the start of the Israel-Hamas war. Since the onset of the war, militant groups have been targeting U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria.

Brennan predicted there would be “consequences” as a result of the attack.

“And as the White House has pointed out, Iran has cultivated relationships with a number of the militia and extremist groups in Syria, Iraq and other areas as a way to put pressure on regional adversaries as well as on the United States,” Brennan said.

“So the big question, I think, for the White House is whether or not this is an Iranian supported group, or whether we want the indirect attack, but either way, I think they’re going to be consequences,” he added.

Brennan served as the director of the CIA in former President Obama’s administration from March 2013 to January 2017.