US troops in the Middle East face a growing challenge

American troops in the Middle East. Recently, U.S. forces have been attacked in Iraq by Iran-backed militias, for example.

Host Ari Shapiro speaks with NPR's Jane Arraf in Amman, Jordan and NPR Pentagon correspondent Tom Bowman about what all this could mean for troops in the region.

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In this image provided by the UK Ministry of Defence, a Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR4 takes off to carry out air strikes against Houthi military targets in Yemen, Monday, Jan. 22, 2024. AS1 Jake Green RAF/AP hide caption

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AS1 Jake Green RAF/AP

In this image provided by the UK Ministry of Defence, a Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR4 takes off to carry out air strikes against Houthi military targets in Yemen, Monday, Jan. 22, 2024.

AS1 Jake Green RAF/AP

This episode was produced by Megan Lim and Karen Zamora, with audio engineering by Kwesi Lee. It was edited by Andrew Sussman, James Hider and William Troop. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.