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US Military Releases Video of 'ISIS Island' Infestation Being Blown to Smithereens with 80,000 lbs of Airborne Explosives

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Qanus is an island on the Tigris River in Iraq, a haven for the Islamic State terror group, and, as of Tuesday morning, it had been bombed to smithereens by U.S. F-15 and F-35 fighter jets.

The bombing campaign employed approximately 80,000 lbs of bombs, pulverizing the island to “deny Daesh a safe haven,” according to U.S. Central Command.

Islamic State militants were believed to be using dense vegetation on the island to hide from coalition forces.

Even after the bombing, CENTCOM confirmed continued ground clearance operations to clean up any jihadists remaining on the island.

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According to the Air Force Times, Iraqi special operations forces are conducting that ground clearance in order to prevent the Islamic State terror group from turning the island into “a major transit hub” from Syria into Mosul, Makhmour and the Kirkuk region.

Maj. Gen. Eric T. Hill, Special Operations Joint Task Force — Operation Inherent Resolve commander, said, “We’re setting the conditions for our partner forces to continue bringing stability to the region.”

The island is near Qayyara West Airfield south of Mosul, Iraq, which was once controlled by coalition forces but lost to the Islamic State group after former President Barack Obama withdrew American forces from the region.

The withdrawal allowed the Islamic State terror group to gain its first real foothold and begin spreading a would-be caliphate across the region.

Obama characterized the Islamic State group as a “JV team,” implying that the quickly metastasizing terror organization wasn’t a severe threat.

Reality and the jihadists, however, belied Obama’s description as the Islamic State terror group quickly spread across the Levant.

Taking office in 2017, President Donald Trump quickly ordered the U.S. military to stamp out the “JV team,” and by 2018, BBC reported that according to the U.S.-led coalition, the Islamic State group had lost 98 percent of the territory it once controlled across Syria an Iraq.

While by all appearances the operation to cripple the Islamic State group on Qanus, if not obliterate the terror organization’s forces altogether, was successful, the Air Force Times reminded readers of Army Lt. Gen. Paul LaCamera’s statement in March as Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve commanding general.

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“Make no mistake, Daesh is preserving their force,” he said. “They have made calculated decisions to preserve what is left of their dwindling personnel and capabilities by taking their chances in camps for internally displaced persons and going to ground in remote areas. They are waiting for the right time to re-emerge.”

The 2020 election should be considered in terms of that warning.

The candidates currently fielded by the Democratic Party have given voters no reason to believe they understand the threat the Islamic State terror group poses to the Middle East and Western democracies.

As Lt. Gen. LaCamera said, the Islamic State group is “waiting for the right to re-emerge.” Based on history, that right time would be very soon if Democrats manage to take the White House in 2020.

The 2020 race isn’t just an “it’s the economy, stupid” election. It’s also a “the bad guys still want to kill us” election. And on both the economy and national security, Donald Trump is an infinitely better bet than whomever the Democrats produce.

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Josh Manning is deputy managing editor for assignment at The Western Journal. He holds a masters in public policy from Harvard University and has a background in higher education.
Josh Manning grew up outside of Memphis, TN and developed a love of history, politics, and government studies thanks to a life-changing history and civics teacher named Mr. McBride.

He holds an MPP from Harvard University and a BA from Lyon College, a small but distinguished liberal arts college where later in his career he served as an interim vice president.

While in school he did everything possible to confront, discomfit, and drive ivy league liberals to their knees.

After a number of years working in academe, he moved to digital journalism and opinion. Since that point, he has held various leadership positions at The Western Journal.

He's married to a gorgeous blonde who played in the 1998 NCAA women's basketball championship game, and he has two teens who hate doing dishes more than poison. He makes life possible for two boxers -- "Hank" Rearden Manning and "Tucker" Carlson Manning -- and a pitbull named Nikki Haley "Gracie" Manning.
Education
MPP from Harvard University, BA from Lyon College
Location
Phoenix, Arizona
Languages Spoken
English, tiny fragments of college French
Topics of Expertise
Writing, politics, Christianity, social media curation, higher education, firearms




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