During his successful election campaign last year, Donald Trump repeatedly promised that, once back in the White House, he would end all wars–some, within 24 hours of his inauguration. However, things turned out quite differently.
In just a few months, the MAGA leader has overseen almost as many airstrikes as Joe Biden launched during his four years in office. During the Trump administration, there have already been 529 raids, just under the 555 carried out by the Democratic leader’s administration.
According to data from ACLED (Armed Conflict Location and Event Data), Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and Somalia had already been targeted during the Biden administration, but Trump opened a new front by attacking Iran’s nuclear program and intensifying raids in these countries. “The US military is moving faster, hitting harder, and doing so with fewer constraints,” said Professor Clionadh Raleigh, CEO of ACLED.
Trump himself has spoken of this strategy, with which he intends to achieve “peace through strength.” “We will measure our success not only by the battles we win, but also by the wars we end and, perhaps most importantly, the wars we never get into. It’s called peace through strength,” the US leader explained.
However, the controversial strategy has generated tensions and divisions within the MAGA movement itself. Last month key supporters of the president, including Tucker Carlson, complained that attacking Iran went against the isolationist promises of his “America First” agenda.
Marjorie Taylor Greene, another Trump supporter, said there is a “very big divide” among MAGA loyalists because of various military interventions abroad.
Most of the attacks ordered by Trump took place in Yemen, where in March he dramatically intensified the US air campaign against Iran-backed Houthi militants who threaten trade in the Red Sea. The president also intensified raids in Somalia, where US forces targeted Islamic State militants and al-Shabaab. In March, the White House announced that it had eliminated a key ISIS strategist.
Trump’s attacks have focused mainly on the Middle East and the Horn of Africa, culminating in last month’s raids on Iran. There, B-2 stealth bombers dropped the latest GBU-57 A/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator “bunker buster” bombs, specifically designed to attack reinforced, deep underground tunnels.
