As an Iraq and Afghanistan veteran, I sat on the edge of my seat this past Tuesday night as news broke about an attack occurring on U.S. troops at Ain Al-Asad and Erbil Air Bases in Iraq.
Having flown through both those bases during Operation Iraqi Freedom, the news hit me especially hard because of the close family and friends that I have still serving in the region.
Last week, Donald Trump ordered the assassination of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani, an unquestionably bad person who was clearly a threat to U.S. and allied forces throughout the region. Let me make it clear that Soleimani was a despicable human being who ultimately received the quick and impersonal death he deserved.
However, this brazen action by our Commander-in-Chief, was done without any thought of the immediate and long-lasting consequences. As a result of Donald Trump’s complete lack of strategic thinking, Iran is actually stronger, not weaker.
Firstly, as a result of our action, the Iraqi Parliament voted to expel U.S. forces, an act that opens the door for a flood of Iranian militia and influence into Iraq.
Next, U.S. forces that were previously engaged in cleaning up the remnants of ISIS suspended those operations to safeguard against a potential Iranian counterattack.
Thirdly, the Iranians have fully withdrawn from the Iran Nuclear Agreement. Regardless of the merits of this agreement, one cannot argue that the world was in fact safer with Iran’s nuclear arsenal limited, rather than unchecked as it is now.
Next, the protests that we saw last month throughout Iran pleading for a change in government and end to corruption came to a screeching halt. Instead, Iranians took the streets to demand military action against the U.S.
Finally and most importantly, U.S. forces were put in jeopardy, as evidenced by Iran’s missile attack on two of our military installations. Luckily, no U.S. forces were killed or hurt. All of these tenets lead to a stronger, not weaker Iran, and are all the result of short-sighted thinking by President Trump.
Should our President decide to take any further military action, I hope he thinks about the ripple effects that action might have before more of my friends and family are put at risk.
Bryce Remkes
Brooks, Ga.
This, like many others, believe the President acts alone in the decision to strike at targets. It’s a combination of advisements from the JCS, Secretary of Defense, and several other government organizations. Essentially, the President gets to ask questions (casualty risk, backlash, legal questions, etc.) then agrees or disagrees with the intel and action, then provides their signature to strike. This, in a nutshell, is the President putting his signature to assume the risk of deciding whether to strike a target by the medium advised.
Another example of this was the Bin Laden raid. The CIA wanted to drop a bomb on the safehouse in Pakistan, that’s no secret. It’s also no secret that the escalation from this action would have been dangerous to the already shaky relationship with Pakistan. At least with a precision SEAL team going in, getting the target and egressing, there was at least a chance to bail before causing issues…but we see how that turned out.
I would expect someone who says they’re a veteran who “flew through” those regions to know at least this, and it seems very unlikely that the author was in any sort of strategic role while serving. Having actually been deployed to Al-Asad twice, they would be lucky to have hit anything with their archaic targeting technology with the base being as spread out as it is (given it takes an average 5-7 minutes to get anywhere by vehicle), and that several buildings remain unoccupied or condemned from use.
This opinion piece is an exercise of the blatant ignorance, derangement, or abject stupidity that is clearly shown through the media outlets we consume through TV, internet, and print.
We supported the embassy from potential American casualties, killed a very bad guy who is a high ranking General from a country who has essentially been punking us for many, many years, and until this presidency, has pretty much been allowing it to happen.
Don’t care how you feel about the Prez, but let’s get some facts. There’s no WWIII coming, Iran is extremely weak from a military standpoint, and they’ve just proven incompetent by missing two major targets, and yes, they missed…no matter what other outlets tell you.