Breaking News: Tennessee called off the execution of Tony Carruthers, who was convicted in connection with three murders, after staff members were unable to find a vein to administer lethal injection drugs. https://t.co/LfyjRpJDKc
Sergeant First Class Thomas J. Grasso, part of two Special Forces teams outnumbered 60 to 1, held off 2,000 Taliban fighters in Kunduz, Afghanistan for 130 hours straight.
Yesterday, I sat before @SecWar, @TheJointStaff, and @HASCRepublicans, read his proposed citation into the record, and made the case that his Silver Star should be upgraded to a Medal of Honor.
I know every word of that citation to be true, because I was one of the teammates he rescued from a near and complex ambush, which is only one of 14 distinct and selfless acts of valor performed by SFC Grasso during that mission.
POTUS is laying out two courses of action—a negotiated settlement, or a major escalation.
There is a third option, and he should take it: recognize there is no way to force a positive outcome and simply leave.
The region is not ours to fix. President Reagan chose this path in Lebanon in ‘84, withdrawing U.S. forces after the Beirut barracks bombing once it became clear the mission’s stabilization goals could not be met, effectively ending direct American military involvement and avoiding a deeper quagmire and long-term entrenchment in the region.
A negotiated settlement is unlikely to work or be taken seriously by the Iranians unless we make concessions on the enrichment issue. As we saw yesterday in the SOH, the IRGC is empowered to act without the consent of the civilian leadership, so it’s likely they won’t honor any deal reached.
A major escalation will lead to a very destructive outcome for Iran, the region, and eventually the U.S. If POTUS chooses brute force and targets civilian infrastructure, we will create another generation of radicalized Iranians who will rally around the regime and escalate the war by any means possible.
If POTUS opts to strike the civilian infrastructure, declare victory, and then leave, we will only further erode our standing in the world, the petrodollar, and eventually our status as the world’s reserve currency holder. We need to get out now.
Don’t double down on failure. Avoid the sunken cost trap, leave now, and put America’s interests first.
BREAKING: A massacre has taken place in Nigeria against Christians by Islamists on Palm Sunday.
Bodies line the streets of their village.
Where is the outrage?