When Donald Trump was running for president, he crafted a unique foreign policy that talked tough on building up the military, but promised not in act too aggressively in areas where the United States was not heavily involved. Over the last week, the president has made foreign policy decisions that have left many scratching their heads.
Bomb dropping
One of the biggest talking points used by Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential election was that he would destroy the Islamic State (ISIS) starting from the day he got into office. No one really knew what to make of Trump's rhetoric, as he's been known to make comments but not always deliver with action.
Two weeks ago, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad launched a chemical attack that killed close to 100 of his own people, including dozens of innocent women and children. In response, Trump ordered the military to fire 59 tomahawk cruise missiles at a Syrian airbase, which has resulted in a mixed reaction from both critics and supporters. Just a week after the attack on Syria, the United States military dropped the largest non-nuclear bomb in history on a tunnel in Afghanistan that was being used by ISIS. As reported by Bloomberg on April 13, the president has broken his silence.
The military dropped a 21,000-pound bomb called the GBU-43B on the ISIS tunnel and complex located in the eastern part of Afghanistan on Thursday morning.
The bomb is also known under several other names, like "MOAB" or "Massive Ordnance Air Blast," but it's more popular nickname is the "Mother of all bombs." The bomb was first available to be used in 2003 during the start of the Iraq War under former President George W. Bush, as well as in later years by then President Barack Obama.
Both commanders in chief, however, declined to use the weapon.
BREAKING: U.S. military drops largest non-nuclear bomb in arsenal on ISIS tunnel in Afghanistan, @ckubeNBC reports
— NBC News (@NBCNews) April 13, 2017
Trump Speaks on Bomb Dropped in Afghanistan: ‘Very Successful Mission’ https://t.co/1GsbKnzKbk (VIDEO) pic.twitter.com/IjkTF37l7r
— Mediaite (@Mediaite) April 13, 2017
Trump's take
While addressing reporters in the White House on Thursday, Donald Trump praised the dropping of the bomb, while taking time to gloat over what took place.
Trump referred the action as a "very successful mission" and that he was "very proud of the military." When asked if he was the one who authorized the dropping of the bomb, the billionaire real estate mogul didn't give a straight answer, but simply replied, "Everybody knows exactly what happened." Trump's comments were similar to the vague nature of the remarks made earlier in the day by White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer who took questions from reporters during a press briefing.
