Peace through strength… I can’t recall when I first heard that phrase or who said it. Perhaps it was Ronald Reagan in the early Eighties. Regardless of its original derivation, it was something in which my three-war, Marine Hero, Medal of Honor recipient father-in-law, Ray Davis, firmly believed.
He reminded me that bullies prey on weakness, and that America, as the leader of the free world, could never appear weak. And, having served the Corps in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam, he often said that “freedom is not free.” In fact, that phrase is engraved into the wall of the magnificent Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.
As I sit at my computer composing this blog post for July, I couldn’t be more proud of our military and commander-in-chief. Less than twenty-four hours ago, CentCom, under the direction of President Trump and Joint Chiefs chairman, General Dan “Razin” Caine, planned, conducted, and successfully completed one of the most audacious precision attacks ever planned.
After years of ineffective diplomacy to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, Trump made the decision to physically destroy their capability to do so. In a highly secretive and complex plan involving both the Air Force and the Navy, seven pairs of “bunker buster bombs” dropped from seven B-2 bombers and nearly thirty cruise missiles launched from a submarine four-hundred miles away apparently destroyed the multiple sites in which Iran was working to enrich uranium and build a bomb to destroy Israel and threaten the U.S.
For once, we had complete operational secrecy and the element of surprise. None of our forces even came under attack. Members of Congress, of course, were angry that they weren’t consulted in advance, but when has Congress ever kept a secret? “Loose lips sink ships,” right Senator “Leaky Leahy?”
As our nation prepares to celebrate its 250th Anniversary, I earnestly pray that we as a people can set aside our political differences long enough to take pride in being Americans. We owe an enormous debt of gratitude to our military and our many veterans who serve and have served this nation to ensure “peace through strength.” We do truly live in the “home of the brave and the land of the free.”
“Freedom isn’t Free“
General Raymond G. Davis, USMC
