By Peter Galuszka
The stunning slaying of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the ultra-violent Islamic State terrorist leader, on Oct. 25 by U.S. Special Forces in northwestern Syria was the most spectacular such endeavor since Osama bin-Linden was dispatched in Pakistan in 2011.
President Donald Trump, under attack for withdrawing most American forces from war-torn Syria, got a big, temporary bump from the raid in which no U.S. service people were lost.
But one might ask the question of why the raid got its start by helicopters based in Iraq? They had to roar in at very low altitude under dangerous conditions on a flight that lasted more than an hour. They risked being shot down by Russia, Turkey or Syria.
Wouldn’t it have been easier if they were launched from an aircraft carrier sailing much closer in the Mediterranean?
One answer seems to be that many aircraft carriers just weren’t available. Six of them were stuck at port in Virginia undergoing maintenance or their construction had been delayed by unexpected problems. Continue reading
