One week ago today, two American soldiers and a civilian translator were killed in an ambush attack in Syria, presumably perpetrated by an ISIS terrorist, according to intelligence reports. President Donald Trump promised “serious retaliation.” Yesterday afternoon, we found out exactly what that meant. At 4 p.m. Eastern on Friday, December 19, US Central Command launched Operation Hawkeye Strike. A combination of fighter jets, attack helicopters, and artillery bombarded more than 70 targets at multiple locations across central Syria, targeting known ISIS infrastructure and weapon sites.
The response is classic Trump, and though we didn’t know the specifics beforehand, those who have paid attention since the Shayrat missile strike of 2017 likely weren’t far off in their guesses.
A Strike, Not War
“This is not the beginning of a war – it is a declaration of vengeance,” Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said on social media. “The United States of America, under President Trump’s leadership, will never hesitate and never relent to defend our people.”
During a speech in North Carolina Friday evening, President Trump called the operation a “massive strike” that took out the “ISIS thugs in Syria who were trying to regroup.”
“All terrorists who are evil enough to attack Americans are hereby warned – YOU WILL BE HIT HARDER THAN YOU HAVE EVER BEEN HIT BEFORE IF YOU, IN ANY WAY, ATTACK OR THREATEN THE U.S.A.,” Trump posted to social media.
The attack involved F-15 Eagle jets, A-10 Thunderbolt ground attack jets, and AH-64 Apache helicopters, as well as F-16s and HIMARS rocket artillery out of Jordan, according to officials.
Syrian state-owned news reported that the US strike hit targets in rural areas of Deir ez-Zor and Raqqa, as well as in the Jabal al-Amour area near historic Palmyra, where last week’s attack took place. The targets included “weapons storage sites and headquarters used by ISIS at launching points for its operations in the region,” the report detailed.
US and Syria Unite Against ISIS
Last week’s ambush took the lives of Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar, 25, and Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard, 29, both of the Iowa National Guard, and civilian interpreter Ayad Mansoor Sakat of Macomb, Michigan. Another three Americans were injured, as were several Syrian partner troops. ISIS didn’t openly claim credit for that attack, but it has admitted to two other attacks on Syrian security forces since, one of which killed four Syrian soldiers in the Idlib province.
Ahmed al-Sharaa, the new president of Syria, has been supportive of this strike and was quick to point out immediately after the Saturday ambush that US and Syrian forces were working together. On that note, a statement by the Air Force reveals that US and partner forces have since conducted ten operations in Syria and Iraq, resulting in the death or detention of 23 terrorist operatives, and that there have been more than 80 such operations in the last six months to eliminate terrorists working out of Syria.
Right on Brand for Trump
When the Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad allegedly used chemical weapons on his own people during a civil war, Trump delivered action, not empty threats. Barack Obama was quick to deliver ultimatums and virtue signal about "red lines" without following through. But that isn't Trump's style. Instead, just before 5 a.m. local time on Friday, April 7, 2017, 59 American cruise missiles flew from two naval destroyers in the Mediterranean and pummeled Syria’s Shayrat Airbase.
As both the 45th and 47th president, Trump has been quick to drop warnings on social media and in comments to the press – but he has also followed through on them. He doesn’t mince words or waste time on polite attempts at diplomacy or empty threats when America’s foes cross the line – red or otherwise.
