Let's talk about Trump's wars on Christmas.... - Belle of the Ranch

Well, howdy there Internet people. It's Belle again. So, today we're going to talk about Trump's war on Christmas.

Trump, who has consistently lobbied for a Nobel Peace Prize for himself, at least until he received the esteemed FIFA Peace Prize, has started another round of operations in at least two more countries during the period around Christmas. Trump took to social media on Christmas night to announce it in true Trump fashion. The media ran with his statement as fact. Reminder, Trump is flexible with accuracy and isn't really a solid source. Trump's version of events was pretty simple, "Tonight, at my direction as commander-in-chief, the United States launched a powerful and deadly strike."

It goes on in typical Trump fashion from there with all of the extreme adjectives you would expect. But the gist is that the US struck at IS targets in Nigeria. It's worth noting that while Trump has blamed the Nigerian government recently and his social media post made no mention of the government there, probably to bolster his tough guy persona domestically.

US Africa command statement varied from Trump's in a pretty big detail. The initial statement reportedly said, "AFRICOM conducted a strike at the request of Nigerian authorities." However, that statement appears to now be deleted. Whether it was deleted because it was inaccurate or because it undermined Trump's domestic posturing is up for debate. My gut tells me that it wasn't AFRICOM that got it wrong, but I guess it's possible. Later statements indicate coordination with the local government, but not a request.

There are already questions about Trump's ability to authorize these strikes. But once it's all charted, given the targeted group, there is unlikely to be too much push back.

Now, the part of this that isn't getting much coverage, probably because it doesn't fit with Trump's narrative, is that recently the US has been repeatedly hitting the same group and affiliates in Somalia as well. It appears that Trump is trying to use the pretext of protecting Christians in Nigeria as a way of laundering continued strikes against a group he once claimed he defeated. This is also connected through the same group to the strikes in Syria recently.

As Trump fumbles the US into what appears to be multiple counterinsurgency campaigns in multiple countries it's important to remember that air strikes alone do not work in these campaigns. Neither does measuring the land occupied by non-state opposition forces. If Trump continues to push the US towards war, he will either have to coordinate closely with host nations or put troops on the ground and commit the US to what would likely be a yearslong campaign the American public is unlikely to support. This whole situation is probably well outside Trump's area of expertise. It's important to remember that less than a year ago, Trump was planning to dismantle the command he now has engaging in campaigns in multiple countries.

In other news, on a different potential war from the president of peace, multiple KC 135 refueling planes flew south toward the Venezuela area of operation along with an AWACS. For the uninitiated, these are air assets you would need if you planned on an air campaign. It's not a good sign for deescalation with Venezuela.

Anyway, it's just a thought. Y'all have a good day.