And so it starts...

 

 

"Last night the 'War on Terror' entered a new chapter. Will this be the last chapter? Probably not..."

Last night, the battle was joined. Sort of. We set out to bomb up to 20 targets in Syria. Since we "telegraphed our punch" almost two weeks ago, we don't really know how much repositioning of assets ISIL was able to do. However even if they did, the military said they were able to hit 14 of the 20 targets identified. In any event, it is now "game on" for this latest group of thugs who threaten freedom loving people in the Middle East and beyond.

Many people from all over the political spectrum are giving the President "high fives" for finally pulling the trigger. I am also. Threats, letters, speeches mean nothing to the bad guys. 500 pound bombs raining down from above - that is a different story. So bravo Mr. President!

As the saying goes, now comes the "rest of the story". It was reported today in the newspaper that the bombing we have been doing for weeks Iraq has done basically nothing to degrade ISIL. They keep growing and their treachery remains unchecked. More Iraqi soldiers were recently slaughtered by this group. As predicted, random "pin point" bombing does not do the trick.

Last night we sent in a barrage of our finest cruise missiles from two different AEGIS Class Destroyers. I am assuming they did the job they were intended to do. If that is the case, that is the good news. The bad news is the projected replenishment of these highly effective missiles. A retired Navy expert was on the news last night and said he was very concerned about the future of this program. Next fiscal year there are only 100 Tomahawk Cruise Missiles slated to be built and delivered to the Navy. The following year the number is 0. As far as littoral or stand off warfare is concerned, cruise missiles have always proved to be an effective weapon. To have a greatly diminished inventory during time of war is concerning.

Another station last night had on a retired Army officer who fought in Desert Storm. He was somewhat non-impressed with the first salvo of the attack last night. His position is to really keep an enemy like ISIL off balance, you need over 100 sorties a day. Constant pounding. No let up. Bombs from F-18s, F-16s, F-22s, B-2s, drones and so on.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out in the next few days. We will be able to tell if ISIL has been degraded or not. Our Arab partners who have been helping with the air attack, need to understand this war will involve boots on the ground. Arab boots. Every nation which surrounds Syria (and Syrian forces) need to be involved in the ground war. That includes our NATO friend Turkey, who remains on the sidelines. Either Turkey lives up to it's NATO obligations, or it is out. Period. No more playing both sides.

I am sorry it had to come to this. War is an awful business and most people hate it. However, when evil doers start decapitating and crucifying innocent people (including children), they have crossed the line. They have given up the right to live with civilized people. In fact, they have just plain given up the right to live.