Raqqa, Syria was liberated from ISIS this week, but the victory has been buried in the news. Rep. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) suggests that's because it would force the press to credit the Trump administration with its tactical changes in the region.
"I agree that it’s a story that’s enormously important, and nobody’s picking up on it," Sullivan told radio host Hugh Hewitt Thursday.
The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces announced Tuesday that the 3-year struggle was over - a struggle which reduced Raqqa to rubble. Under ISIS's "barbaric reign," Syrians were witness to public executions for minor offenses like smoking.
Sullivan said that unlike the previous administration, which denied that troops were in combat in the region, Trump and Defense Secretary James Mattis have proven there is a new sheriff in town.
"You remember during the Obama years, if you were a truck driver delivering oil or fuel for ISIS, you had a free pass," Sullivan recalled. "Nobody was going to touch you. Trust me, right now, with the new tactics, particularly implemented by Secretary Mattis and General Dunford, mostly Mattis, if you were driving any kind of vehicle that was delivering oil or any kind of refinery that ISIS was in control of, and by the way, that’s tens of millions of dollars to finance their terrorist operations."
The administration certainly deserves credit for Raqqa's liberation, Sullivan said. Yet, even more deserving of our praise are the men and women who were on the ground fighting for freedom.
"But you know who really, really deserves the credit is our troops on the front lines risking their lives in combat, yes, they’re in combat, and they’ve done a phenomenal job with good Pentagon leadership," Sullivan noted. "And I think every American should be proud."