Discussion of a joint military strike by the United States, the United Kingdom, and France began April 7, 2018 when the Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad presumably launched a chemical attack on its own civilians. This attack left at least 70 people, including babies and young children, dead. The Syrian government adamantly claimed it had nothing to do with the attack; however, anyone with even the acutest knowledge of Syria’s violent and evil history towards its people knows Assad and his government was completely behind the attack. President Donald Trump began to communicate with Prime Minister Theresa May of the UK and President Emmanuel Macron of France immediately after the deadly attack. The idea of a joint military strike was just a possibility last week – now, it is a reality. Despite widespread opposition, late on Friday, April 15, President Trump announced he had authorized strikes against Syrian military targets, along with the UK and France.

I believe that anyone who opposes the military strikes in Syria holds the naive opinion that what happens in the rest of the world does not affect us here in the United States. This is completely skewed logic, especially in the dangerous world we live in today. People can be in the United States in a matter of hours from anywhere in the world – and so can missiles from countries who hate us. Isolationism may have worked 100 years ago during the First World War, however, the world we live in today has become much smaller with the advancements made in technology.

Ponder something for me – just for a moment. Would you want to live in a city without a police department? Would you want to live in a city where you had no one to call when someone was breaking into your house or hurting you or someone you love? I seriously doubt this sounds like an ideal place to anyone – and it shouldn’t. It would be wildly dangerous and ridiculously terrifying – just like our world is this very second. We must be the police of this world because we are its leaders. The United States is the leader of the free world and we must protect the freedoms of other countries and of other people because no one else will. Our military is the strongest and most powerful in the world and it must be utilized in the face of evil.

We are not better than any other countries. There are brilliant and beautiful people in every corner and every crevice of the world. It is our duty as Americans to protect every innocent person and their basic human rights. We have the power to change the world. We can no longer ignore what is going on in Europe or Asia or the Middle East because we are no longer isolated. We must remember the Assad regime is much closer than we may think.

These military strikes are long overdue and should have been carried out during another presidency. It is entirely unfair to blame this on President Trump – whether you hate him or love him. President Barack Obama could have prevented this horrific tragedy along with multiple others if he had only followed through on his infamous 2012 “red line” in Syria. Obama made one thing crystal clear to the Assad regime during his presidency – a chemical attack by the Syrian government on its own people during the Syrian Civil War was crossing a red line and would be met with military action from the United States.

Then there was breaking news everywhere in the world. Everyone saw the pictures of the little boy covered in filth and blood. Everyone saw how evil and deranged the Syrian government was. The Syrian government had used chemical weapons on its own people. They murdered hundreds of innocent people and dozens of babies. What did then-President Obama do? Nothing. He was a coward and he continued to watch as Assad and his regime brutally killed newborns and young children and teenagers and young adults and adults and the elderly. He did nothing. President Trump is doing something and I could not be more proud of my country.