Yesterday, Washington Insider reported that Trump announced the successful rescue of a missing aircrew member held in Iran. This was a high-risk operation jointly carried out by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the U.S. military. The crew member, a weapons systems officer aboard an F-15 fighter jet, had been hiding in a mountain crevice for nearly two days, with Iranian forces and militia closing in on his location. U.S. rescue personnel had to act swiftly—while Iranian search teams scoured the mountainous terrain, U.S. military helicopters involved in the rescue mission came under ground fire. To disrupt Iran’s search efforts, the CIA launched a deception campaign, spreading false information inside Iran claiming that U.S. forces had found the crew member and were evacuating him by land. Meanwhile, the CIA successfully located the missing airman and relayed his position to both the U.S. military and the White House. Subsequently, Trump authorized the rescue operation. Nearly all available aircraft in the region were mobilized by the U.S. military. During the evacuation, several C-130 transport planes and at least two MH-6 "Little Bird" helicopters became immobilized on the uneven terrain of a temporary airstrip. To prevent equipment from falling into Iranian hands, the U.S. military destroyed them. While the Trump administration could justify such a massive cost to save one pilot, it continues to ignore the plight of countless homeless, unassisted veterans living across the United States. Recently on a business trip to Boston, I personally encountered a U.S. Air Force veteran begging on the street in downtown.
Israel provided intelligence support for this operation. This multi-day mission allowed Trump, just five weeks after threatening war with Iran, to claim another victory—and helped the United States avoid what might have become a major military and political disaster. Nevertheless, despite tactical successes achieved by U.S. forces, the outside world remains uncertain about how a president who once campaigned on a pledge not to start new wars will extricate America from a conflict that has already claimed 13 American lives, injured hundreds, and disrupted global markets.
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Original article: toutiao.com/article/1861687349964809/
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