John Bickley

An early report from a Syria monitoring group said that at least five ISIS terrorists were killed.

That number could climb, but even if that's all, the destruction of ISIS infrastructure was extensive.

That includes munitions, supplies, hideouts.

And as a reminder, this was because a gunman killed two US service members and one American civilian translator last week.

So was it proportional?

Probably not.

But the underlying message from the administration is that proportionality isn't the point.

Rather, the point is that anyone who wants to attack an American should be prepared to suffer drastic consequences.

Despite the scope of the retaliation, War Secretary Pete Hegseth tamped down fears that this could lead to a wider conflict.

Hegseth said on X, quote, This is not the beginning of a war.

It is a declaration of vengeance.

The United States of America, under President Trump's leadership, will never hesitate and never relent to defend our people.

Now, Syria's president and President Trump had been attempting to normalize relations.

He had just visited the president at the White House.

What does this attack mean for that relationship?

Yeah, Trump made it a point on Truth Social on Friday that Syrian President Ahmed al-Shara is still OK with the White House.

Trump said, quote, the government of Syria, led by a man who is working very hard to bring greatness back to Syria, is fully in support.

The Syrian government released its own statement on Saturday that reaffirmed the government's support for stamping out ISIS and that it invites the United States to support these efforts in a manner that contributes to the protection of civilians and the restoration of security and stability in the region.

But there are also a lot of complications in this region that are worth noting, such as

al-Sharra's background is riddled with its own connections to terrorism.