Issue Briefs
America’s B-1 Bomber Teaches Iran A Firepower Lesson (From Fox News)
By Rebecca Grant
On Friday, strikes by U.S. Air Force B-1 bombers demolished 85 aimpoints at four Iran proxy militia target areas in Syria and three in Iraq. And they did it launching from Texas. The White House has promised a multi-layered campaign against the militias backed by Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps. So far, President Biden and his team are relying on airpower to contain and punish Iran’s proxies. But let me assure you, Friday’s strikes were just a taste of what the B-1s can unleash. For the B-1 crews who flew Friday, those regions of Syria and Iraq are like their backyard. B-1s have flown combat missions for Central Command for years, pounding fixed targets, eliminating chemical weapons sites, and flying over friendly ground forces for hours, targeting ISIS insurgents one precision bomb at a time. I have written more on this subject here.
The opinions expressed in this article are solely the author’s.
Rebecca Grant is President of IRIS Independent Research and a Visiting Fellow of the Lexington Institute.