It sure looks like the United States is getting ready to go to war in the Middle East. On Wednesday afternoon, the U.S. government suddenly announced the evacuation of embassy staff and military dependents across the region. Gen. Erik Kurilla, commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East, then cancelled his planned testimony to Congress.
As those evacuations were happening, the British government's shipping industry security office issued a bulletin about "increased tensions within the region which could lead to an escalation of military activity." Asked what was happening, President Donald Trump ominously told reporters, "you're going to have to figure that one out yourself."
While the administration wouldn't publicly say what was going on, its officials were happy to leak the source of the panic to the press. Israel was preparing an attack on Iran, sources told NBC and CBS. The NBC report included a detail that somewhat changes the picture: Israel would attack "most likely without U.S. support."
