Donald Trump shows he has the fortitude to do what Obama wouldn’t
120307-N-BV659-443 A UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter lands to medically evacuate an Afghan commando injured by insurgent small arms fire in the Sar Kani district of Afghanistan's Kunar province on March 7, 2012. DoD photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Clayton Weis, U.S. Navy. (Released)
Overnight US President Donald Trump authorised his first military operation. Trump authorised a direct commando assault on a known al-Qaeda branch in Southern Yemen, a direct change from the Obama’s administration’s decision to use drones rather than boots on the ground. Obama has previously attempted to take out this branch with repeated drone strikes to no avail.
The gun battle between U.S. commandoes and al-Qaeda fighters resulted in 14 militants being killed at the scene according to US military officials. Medical sources on the ground put the death toll at over thirty including civilians. The U.S. government has confirmed the death of one U.S. soldier along with three injuries obtained during the operation. “We are deeply saddened by the loss of one of our elite service members. The sacrifices are very profound in our fight against terrorist who threaten innocent peoples across the globe” Gen. Joseph Votel, head of the Pentagon’s Central Command said in a released statement.
A U.S. military aircraft was also lost in the raid after it crash landed and was unable to fly, an airstrike was called in to destroy the aircraft to prevent terrorist getting their hands on technologically advanced U.S. military equipment.
A senior al-Qaeda leader was killed during the attack and the raid resulted in the gathering of Intel that will assist U.S. security outlets in preventing any future terror plots at home or abroad.
Trump has shown the world that he is serious about defeating the terrorist threat across the world by directly issuing orders for this operation in a clear military operational policy change from the Obama administration. Obama failed to bring ISIS and al-Qaeda under any sort of control during his two terms and Trump’s early success is sure to give U.S. military officials renewed optimism in the fight against Islamic terror.