
<p>Immediately following the deaths of three soldiers and the serious injury to scores, President Biden said, in the strongest terms, that America will respond “appropriately.” ; Those who were responsible for the heinous act would not go unpunished. ; He has now attacked more than 85 sites in Syria and Iraq – and another 35 in Yemen. ; But was it again an example of Biden’s too little/too late policies? ; It came only after Iran-sponsored terrorist organizations have attacked American military personnel and assets more than 160 times over a four-month period before killing the three soldiers.</p>



<p>Keep in mind that it did not take long after Biden’s promise of a tough response against ALL those responsible that he promised Iran – the sponsor of the attack – there would be no military action against the rogue government in Tehran. ; ; That was similar to Biden’s assurance to Putin that America would not take military action against his invasion of Ukraine. ;</p>



<p>The Biden administration took more than a week to think about a response – but always with caveat that there would be no attack on Iran. ; In what can only be described as diplomatic poppycock, Biden &; Co. said that Iran is responsible, but since they did not directly kill the American soldiers, they would not be held accountable. ; Responsible but not accountable. ; Really?</p>



<p>I am troubled by the delay in the response. ; From my every experience with such situations – and I had some during my days in Washington &#8212; the folks at the Pentagon develop contingency plans for almost every possible event imaginable. ; They do that so they can be ready with a plan to respond instantly.</p>



<p>Instead, the administration took a week to “analyze” the situation – to ponder all the possible options. ; If they had a contingency plan, why wasn’t it invoked quickly? ; If they did not, why not? ; They already knew who was attacking American military sites in the Middle East. ; They knew the launch locations. ; They knew who gave them the weapons.</p>



<p>With Iran being excluded from a meaningful response, there was no doubt that our only possible response would be to attack the terrorist-controlled sites and assets in Syria and Iraq. ; We knew that, and so did the terrorists. ; Biden allowed time for civilians to leave areas to be attacked to avoid civilian casualties. ; That was also Biden policy in Ukraine and Gaza. ; That sounds noble, but &#8230; that also alerts the terrorists and gives them time to prepare or scram. ; Biden was telegraphing our plans to the enemy – and that is a huge no-no in times of war. ; Oh &#8230; I forgot. ; This is not a war according to the White House. ; All this shooting and killing is to AVOID a war.</p>



<p>Biden appears to have been fiddling while the terrorist moved personnel and equipment to alternative locations. ; ; In fact, BBC reported that many of the sites Biden attacked were &#8230; evacuated, abandoned, empty.  ;So, far there has been no official assessment as to what has been destroyed and how many terrorist leaders and combatants have been killed. ;</p>



<p>National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, appearing on CNN, was asked about the outcome – specifically how may enemy combatants were killed. ; He hedged. ; They are still assessing the situation. ; He was asked what goals were achieved. ; He hedged again. ; Sullivan did refer to the American response as a “strong message.” ; Another diplomatic weasel word that does not suggest a victory.</p>



<p>What Biden launched was without a doubt a spectacular display of American firepower. But how effective was it? We still do not know. In terms of “the other side,” the Houthi terrorist organization – a primary target of the American response – said they would meet the American action by escalating their attacks. That does not should like we have “degraded” their abilities, as we were told – or that they got the “message.”.</p>



<p>We have been told that the purpose was to “degrade” the terrorist’s ability to mount such attacks. “Degrade” sounds like something less than defeat &#8230; destroy &#8230; and the ability to attack in the future. It goes along with “sending a message” &#8212; another goal short of victory.</p>



<p>Biden and his people have repeatedly assured the world that the United States does not want to escalate the war. Hell, they will not even say it is a war. They do not want to cause a broader regional conflict. They say those things despite Iran and its surrogates have been engaged and escalating and broadening the conflict since October 7, 2023. The Biden strategy so far has not degraded the ability of terrorists to attack – or discouraged their desire to attack. It has not stopped Iran’s involvement. It has not produced “peace in our time.”</p>



<p>When will Biden understand that the repeated mantra “Death to America” is a matter of policy for Iran and their terrorist network &#8212; and tragically, they just implemented a small piece of that strategy. ; And &#8230; until we replace “appropriate action” with “effective action,” nothing is likely to change.</p>



<p>So, there ‘tis.</p>

Biden response to military deaths too little/too late … as usual
