Warren Finds Fault In Use Of Massive Bomb Against ISIS
"... we're just not hearing it."
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. frowned upon the United States’ use of its largest non-nuclear bomb Thursday as she said the number of civilians killed and the Trump administration’s strategy needs to be learned before an evaluation can be made of the weapon’s use.
Afghan and American officials on Friday said no civilians were killed in the attack.
“You know, I want to hear more from the generals out in the field about why they thought this was the right bomb and this was the right moment,” Warren said after a town hall event in Salem, Mass.
However, earlier Thursday, Gen. John Nicholson, commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, said the attack targeted an ISIS “tunnel complex” and that “this is the right munition to reduce these obstacles and maintain the momentum of our offensive.”
Warren also said she needed to know the Trump administration’s end game.
“As is the case with every part of Trump’s foreign policy, we’re all trying to understand what is the strategy? What is our overall purpose here and so far, we’re just not hearing it,” she said.
Afghanistan’s ambassador to the United States Hamdullah Mohib said the use of the bomb came after intense fighting between ISIS and U.S. Special Forces fighting alongside Afghan troops.
“The United States takes the fight against ISIS very seriously and in order to defeat the group we must deny them operational space, which we did,” White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Thursday. The strike “targeted a system of tunnels and caves that ISIS fighters use to move around freely.”
Warren was asked Thursday night if the use of the bomb sent a message to North Korea.
“You know, if we can’t figure out what it means, it’s sort of hard to make that a message,” she replied.
Warren also said the number of civilian deaths is an important factor.
“That’s the real question of our future safety,” Warren said. “Who is going to be out there fighting us in the future?”
Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., offered a similar concern.
“President Trump said that he was quite proud of the proportionality of the strike in Syria — that it minimized civilian deaths,” he said. “The question I have, is: was there the same commitment to proportionality in using such a lethal weapon. I’m going to be asking the questions about how many civilians were killed, because if it’s a large number that could be used as a recruiting tool by ISIS.”
Jeremy Adler, a spokesman for America Rising Squared, said Warren’s comments “reveal her blind opposition to anything President Trump does, even if it means opposing a strike that took out some 36 ISIS fighters.”
“For once, it’d be nice if Elizabeth Warren checked politics at the door and credited this administration for their smart, tactical decision to bring the fight to America’s enemies,” he said in a statement.
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