This is not a warning; it is a threat - Dave Ball

​
by Dave Ball

This ain't Benghazi, folks.

Liberals, and Democrats in particular, are great at creating false equivalencies. Their latest attempt at this is to equate the heinous 2012 attack on U.S. facilities in Benghazi, Libya and the feckless response of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama with the recent attack on the U.S. embassy in Baghdad and President Trump's no-nonsense response.

Without replaying the whole sordid Benghazi event, suffice it to say that a coordinated, orchestrated, and deadly attack against two U.S. facilities in Benghazi claimed the lives of four U.S. personnel, including a U.S. ambassador. The response before, during, and after the attack was shameful. No additional security was provided to the sites prior to the attacks despite repeated pleas from the ambassador, no help was forthcoming during the attack, and there was no response after the attack other than a disgraceful press tour.

Contrast this with President Trump's defense of Americans. On Friday, an Iranian-backed militia attacked a U.S. base and killed an American contractor and wounded many others. On Sunday, U.S. fighter jets attacked and demolished five militia bases in Iraq and Syria, killing 25 people.

Now large numbers of Iraqi militants are attacking the American embassy in Baghdad. One of those reportedly leading the attack, Hadi al-Ameri, former head of the Hashd al-Shaabi militia, was a guest of President Obama at the White House in 2011. 

President Trump, unlike President Obama, is not sitting on his hands and calling endless meetings. Apache helicopters showed up almost immediately and began firing flares as a warning. Apaches also carry a large and lethal load of rockets, Hellfire missiles, and automatic 30mm cannon, and the militants know that. Additionally, 500 paratroopers from the Immediate Response Force are already on route. Defense secretary Mark Esper is quoted in the Los Angeles Times as saying, "The United States will protect our people and interests anywhere they are found around the world."

Progressive groups are trying to call the Baghdad attack President Trump's Benghazi. That is disingenuous at best. There is no equivalence at all. There are indeed significant differences. President Trump provided immediate assistance, and no one, most assuredly not the ambassador, has been murdered and dragged through the streets. The president and his administration have not sought to blame the violence on some nonsensical event like an obscure video, but rather placed the blame squarely on those who perpetrated the act and their supporters. The president is not running from pillar to post holding meetings and press conferences. He has mobilized a huge response force and let the identified belligerents know that if they keep it up, they will meet this force personally. Said the president, "This is not a warning. It is a threat." 

That is how a leader keeps Americans safe and protects American interests. 


Dave Ball

Source: https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2020/01/this_is_not_a_warning_it_is_a_threat.html

Follow Middle East and Terrorism on Twitter