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Rising Tensions

Area Residents React To Escalations With Iran Following Strike

In this photo, taken Saturday and provided by the U.S. Army, paratroopers assigned to 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division walk as they prepare equipment and load aircraft bound for the U.S. Central Command area of operations from Fort Bragg, N.C. A push led by pro-Iran factions to oust U.S. troops from Iraq is gaining momentum, bolstered by a Parliament vote in favor of a bill calling on the government to remove them. But the path forward is unclear. AP photos

Around 3,500 United States Army troops prepared to depart from Fort Bragg, N.C., this week after President Donald Trump ordered a drone strike that resulted in the death of a top Iranian general on Friday.

Some members of the 82nd Airborne will first make their way to Kuwait, before moving on to classified final destinations.

The rise in tensions between the United States and Iran has put conflict in the Middle East on everyone’s minds, including residents of Jamestown.

For some, like Sharon Tefft, the foreign policy move is an indication of strength.

“I think we need to do what we have to do,” Tefft said. “We have to be strong, we can’t let people walk over us. Too many past administrations have just sort of let our defense down. I support the president.”

An Indian Shiite Muslim holds a photograph of Gen. Esmail Ghaani, newly appointed commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Quds Force, as he shouts slogans during an anti-U.S. protest near U.S.embassy in New Delhi, India, Tuesday.

Like many in Jamestown, Tefft does not have to look far for connections to active servicemembers.

“I do have a nephew right now who has a military dog, he has been (in the Middle East),” she said. “We really have to support our military and support the people that are in those high-powered positions to keep America safe.”

While many are thinking about the impact that a potential new conflict could have on their families, others spend their days at the office with active members of the U.S. military.

“We have active military on staff at our company,” said Bobby Angilella of SlickText, an internet marketing firm based in Jamestown. “Does that really affect our business? For sure, because when you think about it we have a sales guy, that is what he does, who is now in training but we knew he was going to be in training, and he is gone for two months out of the year. The great part is, the way our company works is that it’s flexible and he can actually do a lot of his stuff in his downtime. So it is a lot of email communications, phone calls and not so much needed for the body to be in the office. So it actually works out for him. We get to have active military on staff and a lot of times military folks are top-notch. He is one of our top players in our business.”

Like Tefft, Angilella viewed the recent move by the White House as appropriate.

“I kind of support the president as far as his decision to be proactive and reacting to the information he received, that is just my opinion,” he said. “I think it is smart to be on the defense and the offense at the same time. If we can prevent something, based on the information that I know, I think it was a smart move.”

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