The terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001, were a wake-up call for America, and I sincerely hope it is not one we as a nation have forgotten. There are still folks out there who hate our freedoms and our way of life.
We are no longer protected by oceans and geographical distance from potential enemies. We must always remember we are a nation at risk and be prepared for the next attack. I do believe in peace through strength.
I was the Assistant Division Commander for the U.S. Army’s 4th Infantry Division on the 11th of September in 2001. I was in the middle of packing to head to the airport when my wife Sarah asked me to turn on the television. Those TV images are still etched in my mind today, even though the event occurred 24 years ago.
<div id="attachment_971107" style="width: 783px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-971107" class="size-large wp-image-971107" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-1374462-773x576.jpg" alt="NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 11: (JAPAN OUT) (VIDEO CAPTURE) (Series 1/4) Hijacked United Airlines flight 175 flies towards the south tower of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 in New York City. The plane is one of four hijacked that morning and is the second plane to be flown into the World Trade Center buildings. (Photo by CNN via Getty Images)" width="773" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-1374462-773x576.jpg 773w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-1374462-300x224.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-1374462-768x572.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-1374462.jpg 1024w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 773px) 100vw, 773px" />CNN via Getty Images</div>
In the past, I deployed to Desert Shield, Desert Storm, and Kosovo. Since the attacks on 9/11 I deployed to Iraq three times in varying capacities. And clearly, I am not alone. All uniformed military have had shared similar experiences. As I reflect back on that time, we went from a nation enjoying peace and prosperity to a nation at war.
In order to maintain our freedoms we need a strong military. We cannot afford to let the Department of Defense become a bill payer for programs not directly tied to our national security. We need to ensure all branches of our military are a ready fighting force — well equipped, well trained, and prepared to rapidly respond to any threat at a moment’s notice.
We also must actively support our nation’s veterans and their families because they sacrificed much to ensure we have the freedoms we enjoy today. Less than 1% of our country’s population serve in uniform at any one time, but we all enjoy the freedoms provided by that select few. Unfortunately, 76% of our population acknowledges that they have no idea what our veterans are going through because they just don’t know any veterans. That is wrong and must be addressed.
I remain concerned about the future of our great nation and want to ensure our kids and grandkids enjoy the freedoms that we enjoy today. As Ronald Reagan reminded us, freedom is only one generation removed from extinction. Let’s use today to reflect on those freedoms and commit to do everything we can to maintain them for generations to come.
* * *
Rick Lynch was privileged to serve 35 years in the U.S. Army, retiring as a Lieutenant General. During his time in the Army he commanded at all levels, from a platoon of 30 soldiers to a corps of 65,000. His last job in the Army was commanding all U.S. Army installations, with a workforce of 120,000. He now is the President of R. Lynch Enterprises, focused on building concerned, caring, adaptive leaders across our nation. He is the author of &#8220;Adapt or Die,&#8221; &#8220;Work Hard, Pray Hard,&#8221; and &#8220;We&#8217;re Not Robots.&#8221;
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
Correction: A previous version stated that the author had deployed to Desert Shield, Desert Storm, Kosovo after 9/11. Those conflicts took place before 9/11. The correction has been made.

World Trade Center Attacked

I Was An Army Commander On 9/11. I’m Still Concerned About America’s Readiness.

I Was An Army Commander On 9/11. I'm Still Concerned About America’s Readiness.

9/11

New York City

Pentagon

Radical Islamic Terror

U.S. Army

U.S. Military

President Donald Trump signed an order on Friday, changing the name of the Department of Defense back to the Department of War, arguing that the rebrand marks an important change in America&#8217;s view of foreign conflict.
Trump and renamed Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said in the Oval Office that the rebrand points back to an era in American history when U.S. forces focused on decisive victory. The War Department was established in 1789 after America won the War for Independence, but the name changed to the Department of Defense in 1949, following decades of victories, including in World War I and World War II.
Trump said that the change to Defense Department was evidence of the United States going &#8220;woke.&#8221;
&#8220;So we won the first World War, we won the second World War, we won everything before that and in between. And then we decided to go woke and we changed the name to Department of Defense. So, we&#8217;re going Department of War,&#8221; Trump said.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a>: &#8220;We won the first World War. We won the second World War. We won everything before that and in between — and then we decided to go woke and we changed the name to Department of Defense. So, we&#8217;re going Department of War.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/Vct6X3L9JU">pic.twitter.com/Vct6X3L9JU</a>
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1964063136643678641?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 5, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;I think it sends a message of victory,&#8221; Trump added of the name change. &#8220;I think it sends really a message of strength. We&#8217;re very strong. We&#8217;re much stronger than anyone would really understand.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a> on the message sent by bringing back the Department of War: &#8220;I think it sends a message of victory&#8230; really a message of strength — we&#8217;re very strong. We&#8217;re much stronger than anyone would really understand.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/v8q3Rzmbg3">pic.twitter.com/v8q3Rzmbg3</a>
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1964065397050679584?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 5, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Secretary of War Hegseth said that the United States has &#8220;not won a major war since&#8221; the Department of War changed to the Department of Defense.
&#8220;And that&#8217;s not to disparage our war fighters who, whether it&#8217;s the Korean War, the Vietnam War, or our generation of Iraq and Afghanistan,&#8221; Hegseth added. &#8220;That&#8217;s to recognize that this name change is not just about renaming — it&#8217;s about restoring. Words matter. It&#8217;s restoring, as you&#8217;ve guided us to, Mr. President, restoring the warrior ethos, restoring victory and clarity as an end state.&#8221;
Trump said that the U.S. military has always remained &#8220;very strong,&#8221; but added that in modern times, &#8220;We just never fought to win.&#8221;
&#8220;We didn&#8217;t lose anything, but we didn&#8217;t fight to win,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We could&#8217;ve won every one of those wars quickly, but they went a route that I think was probably politically correct, but not correct for our nation, so I think the Department of War sends a signal.&#8221;
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan &#8220;Razin&#8221; Caine, who was also by Trump&#8217;s side in the Oval Office, told the president, &#8220;The mission you and the secretary have given us is clear and unambiguous — to deliver peace through overwhelming strength. And I remind everyone that the U.S. military can reach any adversary at the time and place of our choosing.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan &#8220;Razin&#8221; Caine: &#8220;Mr. President&#8230; America&#8217;s military is the single most powerful fighting force in the world. The mission you and <a href="https://twitter.com/PeteHegseth?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PeteHegseth</a> have given us is clear and unambiguous — to deliver peace, through overwhelming STRENGTH.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/WQHeMNjghn">pic.twitter.com/WQHeMNjghn</a>
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1964063441594773557?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 5, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Donald Trump

Trump Makes Department Of War Rebrand Official, Explains Why He’s Reverting To Old Name

Department of Defense

Department of War

Executive

Pete Hegseth

Politics

President Donald Trump announced Tuesday afternoon that American forces had taken out a “drug-carrying boat” coming out of Venezuela.
Trump made the comments during a press conference from the White House announcing that Space Command will be moving its headquarters from Colorado to Alabama. He said that the Joint Chiefs of Staff had briefed him just before the press conference.
“When you come out and when you leave the room, you’ll see that we just, over the last few minutes literally, shot out a boat, a drug-carrying boat, a lot of drugs in that boat. And you’ll be seeing that, and you’ll be reading about that,” Trump said.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
🚨 <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a>: We just, over the last few minutes, shot out a drug-carrying boat&#8230; and there&#8217;s more where that came from&#8230; These came out of Venezuela. <a href="https://t.co/JlurCZWBpG">pic.twitter.com/JlurCZWBpG</a>
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1962955342523879613?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 2, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
“It just happened moments ago and our great general, head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who has been so incredible, including what took place in Iran knocking out potential nuclear power for a long time to come … he gave us a little bit of a briefing. And you’ll see. There&#8217;s more where that came from. We have a lot of drugs pouring into our country. Coming in for a long time,” he added.
He said that the boat came out of Venezuela. “We took it out and you’ll get to see that after this meeting is over,” Trump said.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed the strike in a post on X.
“As [Trump] just announced moments ago, today the U.S. military conducted a lethal strike in the southern Caribbean against a drug vessel which had departed from Venezuela and was being operated by a designated narco-terrorist organization,” Rubio posted on X.
The strike comes as <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/maduro-accuses-u-s-of-seeking-a-regime-change-after-trump-deploys-military-to-south-caribbean">tensions have been rising</a> between Trump and Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro. Last month, Trump directed the Pentagon to deploy U.S. troops and warships to address “threats to U.S. national security from specially designated narco-terrorist organizations in the region,” according to Reuters.
The Trump administration has accused Maduro and his government of taking part in massive drug trafficking operations that smuggle narcotics into the United States. The government recently increased the bounty on Maduro to $50 million, citing his alleged ties to transnational gangs and drug cartels.

President Trump Makes Announcement In The Oval Office Of The White House

Trump Says Military Took Out Venezuelan Boat Carrying ‘A Lot Of Drugs’

Drug Cartels

Global Politics

Marco Rubio

Nicolas Maduro

Venezuela

World

U.S. air and naval forces are set to deploy to the Southern Caribbean Sea following President Donald Trump&#8217;s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-greenlights-military-force-to-take-down-latin-american-drug-cartels">directive</a> for the Pentagon to use the military for operations against Latin American drug cartels, Reuters <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us-military-deploying-forces-southern-caribbean-against-drug-groups-2025-08-14/">reported</a> on Thursday.
Sources briefed on the move told Reuters that after Trump&#8217;s order, the Defense Department has begun deploying U.S. troops to address &#8220;threats to U.S. national security from specially designated narco-terrorist organizations in the region.&#8221; Last week, Trump quietly signed an order to deploy U.S. troops to conduct anti-cartel operations in foreign countries, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/08/us/trump-military-drug-cartels.html?smtyp=cur&amp;smid=tw-nytimesworld">according</a> to The New York Times.
It remains unknown which specific cartels the president is targeting in his directive. After Trump was sworn into office, the United States designated seven drug cartels and two international criminal gangs as foreign terrorist organizations. Most of those cartels primarily operate in Mexico, but the reported deployment of troops to the South Caribbean Sea suggests that the operation will focus more on Central and South America.
Venezuela, whose northern coastline sits on the South Caribbean Sea, has been a recent subject of the Trump administration&#8217;s scrutiny. Shortly after the president took office, the State Department designated the Venezuelan international criminal gang, Tren de Aragua (TdA), as a foreign terrorist organization, and most recently added the Venezuelan Cartel de los Soles to its terrorist organization list.
Trump has also ramped up pressure on Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-hikes-bounty-on-venezuelas-maduro-to-50m">raising</a> the bounty on him to $50 million and pointing to his ties to transnational gangs and drug cartels. Attorney General Pam Bondi also accused Maduro of using the powerful Mexican drug cartel, Sinaloa, &#8220;to bring deadly drugs and violence into our country.&#8221;
&#8220;To date, the DEA has seized 30 tons of cocaine linked to Maduro and his associates with nearly seven tons linked to Maduro himself,” Bondi said earlier this month.
After Trump greenlit military operations against drug cartels, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/mexican-president-says-u-s-military-will-not-fight-drug-cartels-on-its-soil">said</a> that U.S. troops would not be entering her country to fight cartels. Sheinbaum said last week that U.S. officials gave her a heads-up that Trump&#8217;s directive &#8220;was coming,&#8221; adding that an American troop deployment to Mexico was &#8220;absolutely ruled out.&#8221;
&#8220;It is not part of any agreement, far from it. When it has been brought up, we have always said no,&#8221; Sheinbaum said.
Trump has already been using the military along the U.S.-Mexico border to help clamp down on illegal immigration and drug trafficking. The U.S. military has also increased its aerial surveillance of Mexican drug cartels, collecting intelligence on the traffickers responsible for shipping deadly drugs, such as fentanyl, into the United States.

U.S. Navy Helicopter

U.S. Deploys Forces To Take On Latin American Drug Cartels In The Southern Caribbean

U.S. Deploys Forces To Southern Caribbean To Take On Latin American Drug Cartels

Mexico

Trump Administration

U.S. Air Force

U.S. Navy

Two more military academies agreed to permanently end race-based admissions, the Justice Department announced Tuesday.
In a new settlement, the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and the Air Force Academy will abandon DEI in favor of merit, Attorney General Pam Bondi <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-settles-lawsuits-challenging-race-based-admissions-west-point-and-air">said</a>. The settlement will lead to the dismissal of two lawsuits against the academies brought by the group Students for Fair Admissions.
“This Department is committed to eliminating DEI practices throughout the federal government,” Bondi said. “We are proud to partner with the Department of Defense to permanently end race-based admissions at West Point and the Air Force Academy — admission to these prestigious military institutions should be based exclusively on merit.”
Students for Fair Admission, the group whose suit led to the end of affirmative action at universities across the country, argued that race-based admissions policies at the military academies violated the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution.
The terms of agreement in the settlement stipulate that merit will be the only factor leading to admission at either West Point or the Air Force Academy.
“America is the land of equal opportunity, in spirit and in law,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton for the Southern District of New York. “Today’s agreement ensures that our future military leaders will carry on the greatness that is born of opportunity, effort, and a level playing field.”
Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon also praised the settlement.
“Congrats to our [DOJ Civil] Division for their hard work in restoring merit-based admissions to some of our top military academies!” she posted on X.
In June, a similar settlement <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/naval-academy-promises-to-permanently-end-race-based-admissions">was announced</a> between Students for Fair Admissions and the U.S. Naval Academy.
That came after President Donald Trump signed an <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/restoring-americas-fighting-force/">executive order</a> on January 27 that said that no one within the military should be given any advantage based on gender or race.
“Unfortunately, in recent years civilian and uniformed leadership alike have implemented Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs and their attendant race and sex preferences within the Armed Forces,” Trump wrote in an executive order. “These actions undermine leadership, merit, and unit cohesion, thereby eroding lethality and force readiness.  They also violate Americans’ consciences by engaging in invidious race and sex discrimination.”

Washington DC Celebrates Army’s 250th Anniversary With Parade And Festivities

Two More Military Academies Agree To ‘Permanently’ Drop Race-Based Admissions

Affirmative Action

Air Force

Department of Justice

Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI)

Military

U.S.

West Point

The following is an edited excerpt from a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/mrn-250810-member-exclusive?elementPosition=3&amp;row=3&amp;rowHeadline=Morning+Wire&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Episodes+Carousel">Morning Wire Weekend Edition interview</a> where Daily Wire Executive Editor John Bickley sat down with U.S. Navy retired Rear Admiral Mark Montgomery of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. They discussed his recent trip to Taiwan, where he had meetings with senior officials, including the president and senior military leadership. Here are five key takeaways. 

* * *
<h3>1. America Is Taiwan’s Primary Key Ally</h3>
First, they&#8217;re very appreciative of the United States. They understand the United States is their key ally and they make that very clear. No one else sells them weapons. No one else stands by them when they&#8217;re threatened by the Chinese. That doesn&#8217;t mean they don&#8217;t get some rhetorical support from the Australians or the Japanese on occasion or from European countries. But when it comes to ship movements, aircraft movements, it&#8217;s us. So number one, they get that.
<h3>2. Taiwan Will Increase Defense Spending — But Only Buys From America</h3>
Number two, Taiwan understands that we expect them to spend more on their defense. So they&#8217;re taking their defense spending from about 2.5% this year to 3% next year. Then, I think, they&#8217;ll go to 4% and eventually 5%. The irony is, to get the spending up that high, they can only buy the weapons from us. We&#8217;re the only country who sells to them.
<iframe style="width: 100%; max-width: 660px; overflow: hidden; border-radius: 10px;" src="https://embed.podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-threats-we-face-how-we-win/id1576594336?i=1000721366067" height="175" frameborder="0" sandbox="allow-forms allow-popups allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-storage-access-by-user-activation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation"></iframe>
<h3>3. America’s Foreign Military Sales Program Is A “Dumpster Fire”</h3>
I say this gently, our foreign military sales program is a dumpster fire. As a result, it takes seven years to get them javelin missiles; eight years to get them stinger, man-portable air missiles. These should take two, three years. So, part of the problem is U.S. foreign military sales and delivery. But the Taiwanese are going to do everything they can to get themselves to three, four, and eventually 5% [Defense spending] by the end of the Trump administration. So that&#8217;s a big deal. 
<h3>4. It Could Take Nine Years For American Weapons To Arrive In Taiwan</h3>
Our foreign military sales overseas are hampered by a bureaucratic process inside the Department of Defense and Department of State. They have to work together. They don&#8217;t do a great job. It&#8217;s also hampered by how we integrate with the weapons providers, like Raytheon or Lockheed Martin, and the back and forth with the host country. For example, we recently did a harpoon sale with Taiwan, an anti-ship cruise missile that&#8217;s really critical to the fight. The sale was locked and first approved in 2020. And I&#8217;d say the delivery is going to be completed by 2029, if we&#8217;re lucky. That should take two, three, four years max — not nine years. So, for military sales, we have a backed up docket with Taiwan alone of $12 billion – it was $18 billion just four years ago. This is way too much. Countries cannot rely on us for timely delivery of weapons if it takes five, seven, or nine years to get weapons.
<div id="attachment_960047" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-960047" class="size-large wp-image-960047" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/GettyImages-2224992177-864x576.jpg" alt="KAOHSIUNG, TAIWAN - JULY 14: Taiwan President, Lai Ching-te, inspects the Han Kuang 41 exercise - Naval defensive mine-laying drill on July 14, 2025 in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Taiwan. Taiwan’s annual Han Kuang military exercise kicked off July 9 as the island steps up preparations against a potential invasion by China. Touted as the largest and longest iteration to date, this year’s drill will span around 10 days—roughly double the length of last year’s exercise. (Photo by Annabelle Chih/Getty Images)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/GettyImages-2224992177-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/GettyImages-2224992177-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/GettyImages-2224992177-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/GettyImages-2224992177.jpg 1024w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Annabelle Chih/Getty Images</div>
<h3>5. Taiwan Must Prepare For Non-Military Attacks</h3>
Taiwan really understands that, in addition to preparing for the most likely, most dangerous scenario of a cross-strait invasion, they also have to prepare for another most likely scenario  — China attacking their societal resilience, their financial systems, their communication systems, their energy systems with diplomatic, economic, cyber and influence operations, not military attacks. While the CCP would hope to break the societal resilience of Taiwan. Taiwan has to fight that. They need to make a lot of investments in that kind of domestic resilience. And then the United States can help as well.
* * *
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/mrn-250810-member-exclusive?elementPosition=3&amp;row=3&amp;rowHeadline=Morning+Wire&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Episodes+Carousel">Catch the full interview with retired Rear Admiral Mark Montgomery on Morning Wire.</a></h3>

Taiwan Holds Defense Drills

‘Nine Years To Get Weapons’: An American Admiral On Defending Taiwan From China

'Nine Years To Get Weapons': An American Admiral On Defending Taiwan From China

China

interview

Military Weapons

Morning Wire

Taiwan

President Donald Trump quietly signed a directive ordering the Pentagon to begin using military force against Latin American drug cartels that the administration has labeled as terrorist organizations, The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/08/us/trump-military-drug-cartels.html?smtyp=cur&amp;smid=tw-nytimesworld">reported</a> Friday morning.
The order includes an official basis for the United States military to conduct anti-cartel operations in foreign countries, and military officials have already begun drafting plans for going after certain groups, the Times reported, citing &#8220;people familiar with the conversations.&#8221; It was not immediately clear which specific gangs or drug cartels Trump&#8217;s new directive greenlights military operations against.
Under Trump, the United States has <a href="https://www.state.gov/designation-of-international-cartels">designated</a> seven drug cartels and two international criminal gangs as foreign terrorist organizations: Tren de Aragua (TdA), Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), Cártel de Sinaloa, Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), Cártel del Noreste (CDN), La Nueva Familia Michoacana (LNFM), Cártel de Golfo (CDG), and Cárteles Unidos (CU). The Trump administration recently added the Venezuelan Cartel de los Soles to its list, saying that it is operated by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and other high-ranking government officials, according to the Times. On Thursday, the United States upped the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-hikes-bounty-on-venezuelas-maduro-to-50m">bounty</a> on Maduro to $50 million, pointing to his ties to transnational gangs and drug cartels.
&#8220;Maduro uses foreign terrorist organizations like TDA, Sinaloa, and Cartel of the Suns to bring deadly drugs and violence into our country. To date, the DEA has seized 30 tons of cocaine linked to Maduro and his associates with nearly seven tons linked to Maduro himself,&#8221; said Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Most of the cartels designated by the Trump administration as terrorist organizations operate in Mexico, while TdA&#8217;s roots are in Venezuela, and MS-13 originated in Los Angeles as a Salvadoran street gang. Both TdA and MS-13 also have cells operating in Central America, according to the State Department.
Trump&#8217;s order is among the most significant steps he has taken to fulfill his promise to &#8220;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCGjPpNG4xA">wage war</a>&#8221; on cartels that have trafficked fentanyl and other drugs into the United States, leading to the deaths of tens of thousands of Americans. In May, President Trump said he offered Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum a deal that would send U.S. troops into Mexico to fight drug cartels.
&#8220;They are horrible people that have been killing people left and right. They&#8217;ve made a fortune on selling drugs and destroying our people,&#8221; Trump <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/video/us/politics/100000010147246/trump-offers-us-military-to-fight-mexican-cartels.html">told</a> reporters aboard Air Force One. &#8220;If Mexico wanted help with the cartels, we would be honored to go in and do it.&#8221;
Sheinbaum <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/sheinbaum-says-she-rejected-trumps-offer-send-troops-mexico-2025-05-03/">rejected</a> Trump&#8217;s proposal, saying, &#8220;Sovereignty is not for sale. Sovereignty is loved and defended.&#8221;
&#8220;We will never accept the presence of the United States military in our territory,&#8221; she added.

Trump Greenlights Military Force To Take Down Latin American Drug Cartels

Central America

MS-13

Tren De Aragua

American forces killed a senior ISIS leader and two of his adult sons in Syria early Friday morning, the U.S. military announced. 
U.S. Central Command said that senior ISIS leader Dhiya’ Zawba Muslih al-Hardani was killed during a raid in al-Bab, Syria. All-Hardani “posed a threat” to American and coalition forces as well as the new Syrian government, CENTCOM said. 
“We will continue to relentlessly pursue ISIS terrorists wherever they operate. ISIS terrorists are not safe where they sleep, where they operate, and where they hide,” <a href="https://www.centcom.mil/MEDIA/PRESS-RELEASES/Press-Release-View/Article/4255485/centcom-forces-kill-senior-isis-leader-in-al-bab-syria/">said</a> CENTCOM Commander Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla. “Alongside our partners and allies, U.S. Central Command is committed to the enduring defeat of ISIS terrorists that threaten the region, our allies, and our homeland.”
Two of al-Hardani’s adult sons, Abdallah Dhiya and Abd al-Rahman Dhiya Zawba, were killed in the raid. CENTCOM said that both were affiliated with ISIS. Three women and three children present at the location were unharmed. 
There were no American casualties during the raid, which took place about 29 miles northwest of Aleppo.
In recent months, the Trump administration shifted American policy on Syria, dropping sanctions and moving to relax export restrictions. The move came as President Donald Trump has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-lauds-syrian-president-as-attractive-and-tough-after-vowing-to-remove-sanctions">been friendly</a> with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who overthrew Bashar al-Assad in December 2024. 
During a May meeting with al-Sharaa, Trump called him a “young, attractive guy. Tough guy. Strong past. Very strong past. Fighter.”
Al-Sharaa, who has portrayed himself as a moderate, has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/syrias-jihadist-president-calls-for-peace-as-his-forces-slaughter-political-and-ethnic-minorities">previously been tied to</a> various terrorist groups like Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and Al-Qaeda. Trump pushed him during their meeting to help the United States target ISIS.
In recent days, the Trump administration has also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/rubio-calls-on-syrian-muslims-to-end-attacks-on-druze-rape-and-slaughter-must-end?author=Tim+Pearce&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Rubio+Calls+On+Syrian+Muslims+To+End+Attacks+On+Druze%3A+‘Rape+And+Slaughter+…+Must+End’">pressed</a> al-Sharaa to crack down on terror groups attacking religious minorities in the country. 
U.S. forces have continued to target ISIS operatives throughout the Middle East. In March, an American strike <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/his-miserable-life-was-terminated-trump-announces-top-isis-leader-dead-after-u-s-strike">took out</a> Abu Khadijah, a top ISIS leader who was hiding in Iraq. Khadijah was the chief of global operations and the delegated committee emir for ISIS and, officially, the second-in-command for the Islamic terrorist organization.

TOPSHOT-IRAQ-CONFLICT-MOSUL

U.S. Forces Take Out Top ISIS Leader In Syria

Centcom

ISIS

Syria

Terrorism

President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are on the cusp of striking a &#8220;mega deal&#8221; that would send battle-tested Ukrainian drones to the United States in exchange for Kyiv receiving another batch of weapons from Washington, the New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/07/17/us-news/trump-zelensky-discuss-drone-mega-deal-for-us-to-buy-battle-ready-ukraine-uavs/">reported</a> on Thursday.
Zelensky revealed the potential deal in a discussion with the Post, saying, &#8220;The people of America need this [drone] technology, and you need to have it in your arsenal.&#8221; If a deal is struck, Ukraine also promised to share information with the United States on what it has learned about modern warfare during the conflict with Russia, according to Zelensky.
“I think this is really a mega deal, a win-win, as they say,” he said.
The White House did not respond to The Daily Wire&#8217;s request to comment.
Throughout the war, Ukraine&#8217;s drone fleet has proved to be vital in defending the country from Russia&#8217;s aerial assaults. Kyiv&#8217;s drones have also been used to launch attacks on Russia. Last month, Ukraine smuggled 117 drones into Russia, which were used for a massive assault on Russian air bases, taking out 41 Russian aircraft, including roughly one-third of Russia’s strategic cruise missile carriers, The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/how-ukraine-pulled-off-its-massive-drone-strike-inside-russia">reported</a>.
The United States military has fallen behind its adversaries, including Russia and China, in producing drones and training troops to use them in battle, according to a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/13/business/drones-us-military-manufacturing-lags.html">report</a> earlier this week from The New York Times. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth acknowledged that the United States must catch up on drone warfare technology and <a href="https://media.defense.gov/2025/Jul/10/2003752117/-1/-1/1/UNLEASHING-U.S.-MILITARY-DRONE-DOMINANCE.PDF">moved</a> last week to rescind “restrictive policies” and &#8220;red tape&#8221; getting in the way &#8220;of American manufacturing and warfighter ingenuity.&#8221;
“So while our adversaries have produced millions of cheap drones before us, we were mired in bureaucratic red tape. Not anymore,” Hegseth said in a video filmed alongside U.S. military members outside the Pentagon.
&#8220;In June, President Trump issued an executive order unleashing American drone dominance to bolster our drone industry and arm our warfighters because that&#8217;s what we&#8217;re all about,&#8221; he added.
Hegseth said that the move includes bolstering &#8220;the nascent U.S. drone manufacturing base by approving hundreds of American products for purchase by our military.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Unleashing U.S. Military Drone Dominance <a href="https://twitter.com/DOGE?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DOGE</a> <a href="https://t.co/esaQtswwDb">pic.twitter.com/esaQtswwDb</a>
&mdash; Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (@SecDef) <a href="https://twitter.com/SecDef/status/1943748870993064004?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 11, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Trump&#8217;s relationship with Zelensky has grown warmer in recent weeks after the Ukrainian president was blasted in the Oval Office in February for his continued requests for American assistance. Earlier this month, Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/we-have-to-trump-to-send-ukraine-more-defensive-weapons?author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=%E2%80%98We+Have+To%E2%80%99%3A+Trump+To+Send+Ukraine+More+Defensive+Weapons">vowed</a> to send Ukraine more defensive weapons as Moscow ratchets up attacks on Ukrainian cities.
“They are getting hit very hard. … We’re gonna have to send more weapons,&#8221; Trump said, adding, “I’m disappointed, frankly, that President Putin hasn’t stopped.”

Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky

Trump Considering ‘Mega Deal’ To Exchange Drones, Weapons With Zelensky

Drones

Ukraine

Ukraine-Russia War

Volodymyr Zelensky

As the United States prepares to celebrate her 249th birthday, a growing number of Americans say they’ve noticed a marked decline in patriotism.
More specifically, 44% of respondents in an <a href="https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/5379913-44-percent-say-us-becoming-less-patriotic-survey/">Economist/YouGov survey</a> published this week said they believe the U.S. is becoming less patriotic. In comparison, a much smaller 14% said they think the nation is becoming more so.
Jesse Parks, a former U.S. Army Sergeant who served in Afghanistan, has noticed this shift in attitude.
“[Seeing] flags being burnt and seeing protests being more frequent,” Parks told the Daily Wire, “it tears down the country.”
Born into a military family, Parks said he was inspired to follow in the footsteps of those who came before him.
“All my uncles, dad, older brother, served. Everybody,” he said.
Parks initially applied to serve in the United States Marine Corps, but his application was rejected. Undeterred, he enlisted later in the United States Army, where he was accepted and rose through the ranks.
When asked why he enlisted, Parks said, “I think you join the military to fight for your country. It opens up a lot of doors, but in the end, you fight.”
He was deployed to Afghanistan in December 2010, where he said his unit’s primary mission was to train and advise the Afghan National Army Basic Training Command Teams, alongside the British and French Armies. He later became an infantry fire team leader.
Parks said that patriotism was a major factor in his decision to join the armed forces. He described it as “a love of your country put into action, whether that&#8217;s military, that&#8217;s political, or that&#8217;s civil service.”
But what is “patriotism” anyway?
“Patriotism” <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/patriotism">is often defined</a> as a “love for or devotion to one’s country.”
Yet, a growing number of Americans say they don’t see a shared sense of admiration for the country they call home. Lightning rod political issues ranging from abortion to illegal immigration, along with a major political realignment that has seen the Democratic Party lurch harder to the left and the Republican Party lurch harder to the right, have revealed a simmering disunity.
“[Patriotism is] a big part of what allows us to progress,” Parks said. “It is what kind of helps us progress as a society. We don&#8217;t all have to have the same views, but as long as we have patriotism, which is different than nationalism, as long as it&#8217;s there, it allows us to progress.”
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While Parks has an expressed love of country, his may not be a shared passion: only 67% of people claim to be extremely or very proud to be American, down from 91% in 2004, according to a 2024 <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/646655/american-pride-remains-near-record-low.aspx">Gallup</a> survey.
A separate <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/646655/american-pride-remains-near-record-low.aspx">Marist</a> poll likewise found a majority of Americans have noticed this shift, with 52% of respondents stating that the country seems less patriotic than it was just a few years ago.
The disunity and decline may feel all the more evident with the recent riots and attacks on first responders.
“[T]here has been a perversion of patriotism,” Parks told the Daily Wire.
“Groups like Antifa seem like they don&#8217;t care about this country and want to tear it down,” he said. “January 6 was similar; it was a movement to dismantle the country. It is seen on both sides.” 
Rather than being complicit in this division, Parks said, groups such as Antifa should “consider the opportunity they have in this time in history to affect the country’s direction, and to act accordingly in a constructive manner.”
Despite all of this, the Army veteran sees hope for the future.
“There is a lot of talk about division in the country at the moment, but I don’t think that is anything new,” Parks said. “I hope people will get involved over the issues they think are important.”
Participation “will increase their sense of pride and reignite a love for their country.”
* * *
Simon Olech is a reporter studying journalism at the National Journalism Center in Washington, D.C.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Hands holding American flag in a wheat field at sunset. Independence Day, 4th of July.

Americans Say Patriotism Is Fading. One Army Veteran Is Pushing Back With Steely-Eyed Optimism

4th of July

Fourth of July

Opinion

United States

President Trump’s strike on Iran is a seminal turning point for American foreign policy.
For years and years and years, we have been boxed into the idea that every war is the Iraq War.
Critics of President Trump — of “Peace through Strength,” going all the way back to World War II, particularly on the Left but now on the horseshoe theory Right as well — have suggested that people who do advocate for American military action liken everything to the lead-up to World War II, to Neville Chamberlain and Munich. They say not everything is World War II. Not every war is the Iraq War.
You might notice that the vast bevy of people who keep complaining about President Trump&#8217;s strike on the Iranian nuclear facilities keep comparing this to the Iraq War. That’s crazy.
These people who keep saying that a one-off strike on a nuclear facility — which is significantly more like killing Osama Bin Laden or killing Qasem Soleimani or killing Anwar al-Awlaki — is somehow more akin to the Iraq War: a full-scale, hundreds of thousands of troops ground invasion of a country in the Middle East, followed by a 20-year effort to rebuild the country and remold the government.
You have to be empty-headed to make that comparison.
But there is an Iraq War syndrome that has set in the American body politic that suggests that every military action is like the Iraq War. It&#8217;s very much like the Vietnam War syndrome that set in after the end of the Vietnam War, when every military action was supposed to be exactly what America did in Vietnam. It took Ronald Reagan breaking the Soviet Union in order for that to begin to end, and it truly ended when George H. W. Bush helped win the first Gulf War.
The lesson of Vietnam and Iraq is not: “Military power, or the threat of its use by the United States is bad,” or even worse, “The United States itself is bad,” which is an argument that is being made all the time by the horseshoe theory Left and the horseshoe theory Right.
The real lesson here is that victory is a possibility. Victory can be achieved if the commitment is clear and if the goal is defined.
President Trump had a goal. He defined that goal. He made a commitment to that goal. And then he pursued an action in pursuit of that goal.
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-2223-trump-s-masterstroke-what-comes-next?elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowHeadline=The+Ben+Shapiro+Show&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Carousel">WATCH: The Ben Shapiro Show</a></h3>
The same people who are suggesting that President Trump is wrong to bomb the nuclear facilities are the same people who suggest that the United States was wrong to use the atomic bomb to end World War II, or that America has been historically evil over the course of decades. The Howard Zinn Left and the Tucker Carlson Right shake hands on this particular prospect.
But that perspective is wrong. And it is not just wrong, it is a nefariously bad perspective, because it damages America.
The world is better off because of American power — properly used. Of course power can be misused; anyone can misuse their power. We&#8217;re the most powerful country in the history of the world, with the most powerful military in the history of the world.
But — when you use your power properly, you can effectuate good things happening.
President Trump is not George W. Bush. He ran against George W. Bush’s foreign policy. President Trump has never engaged in a long-term nation building project, nor will he. He defined this mission specifically.
<div id="attachment_938485" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-938485" class="size-large wp-image-938485" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/GettyImages-2220648176-864x576.jpg" alt="US Vice President JD Vance, from left, US President Donald Trump, Marco Rubio, US secretary of state, and Pete Hegseth, US secretary of defense, during an address to the nation in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Saturday, June 21, 2025. Trump said the US military struck three sites in Iran on Saturday, marking the first American involvement in direct attacks against Iranian nuclear assets in its conflict with Israel. Photographer: Carlos Barria/Reuters/Bloomberg via Getty Images" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/GettyImages-2220648176-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/GettyImages-2220648176-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/GettyImages-2220648176-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/GettyImages-2220648176.jpg 1024w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Carlos Barria/Reuters/Bloomberg via Getty Images</div>
I do not actually think that the people warning about a “quagmire” are saying something understandable. I think they are saying something dishonest. I think they are lying to you.
Israel and the United States are not talking about regime change. When President Trump says that there may be regime change in Iran, he means from the Iranian people. That&#8217;s the same thing that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said. Do you think Netanyahu, from a country of 9.7 million people, two million of whom are Arabs and two million of whom are ultra-Orthodox Jews, that tiny country is going to deploy hundreds of thousands of troops to Iran to engage in nation-building? Do you think the United States is going to do that?
If Iranians don&#8217;t overthrow the regime, that&#8217;s their prerogative. But that does not mean that you allow that regime to go nuclear.
All of this raises a question. What exactly is the opposition? What is the opposition here? What is the case against the strike on Iran?
You can basically make three cases: the constitutional, the pragmatic, and the ideological. I think there are a lot of people who are making the constitutional and pragmatic arguments who secretly want to make the ideological argument.
The ideological argument is that America is bad, that when America involves itself in foreign policy, we are doing something evil and immoral, that our enemies, our geopolitical opponents, never have their own philosophy or their own interests. They are always, in every case, driven by American blowback. The only reason people are bad in the world is because America did a bad thing to them, and then those people turn bad.
That, of course, is ignorant. It is stupid. It is wrong. Civilizations have different interests. Countries have different interests. Those countries are driven by interests that are not always about America. Iran pursued regional domination in spite of what America was doing, not because America was a threat to Iran.
Iran decided that it wanted to obliterate Israel, wanted to wipe Saudi Arabia from the map, and wanted to take control of Yemen, not because of America, but because that is the Iranian goal. Russia is invading Ukraine because that has been their longstanding policy, not because Ukraine was moving in a more pro-American direction. Russia decided it wanted to invade Ukraine because it has been Russian policy since the 1990s to reunify with Ukraine, or at least turn it into a proxy regime.
Countries have their own rationales. The ideological case, a Howard Zinn-America-Hating-First case, has been adopted by many on the horseshoe theory Right.
Then there are people masquerading as constitutionalists who are interested in the constitutionality of what Trump is doing. This idea that the War Powers Act (War Powers Resolution) somehow prevents the president of the United States from engaging in a one-off strike is absolute sheer nonsense. It is not true. First of all, there&#8217;s serious doubt as to whether the War Powers Resolution, passed by Congress in 1973, is even constitutional. It may, in fact, violate the Article II prerogatives of the President of the United States. Article II, Section II of the Constitution says, “The president shall be commander in chief of the army and navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several states.” The president is the Commander-In-Chief.
Only Congress has the power to declare war under Article I, Section VIII, Clause XI.
But did we declare war against Iran? Is there a war against Iran? One-off airstrikes do not mean a full-scale war against a country. They don&#8217;t. If that&#8217;s true, then we&#8217;ve been at war many, many, many, many times since World War II, all across the globe. But that is not what war constitutes. The Supreme Court has said so.
The War Powers Resolution states: “In the absence of the declaration of war, the president must report to Congress within 48 hours after introducing U.S. military forces in hostilities, which must end within 60 days unless Congress permits otherwise.”
There&#8217;s only one problem. Do you think the United States is engaging in 60 days of on-the-ground hostilities with Iran? We barely engaged in 37 hours of hostilities with Iran. Does this amount to a War Powers Resolution violation?
Then there are those people “deeply worried” about the pragmatic effect of this, who were not worried a few years ago when President Trump killed Qasem Soleimani, and who didn&#8217;t seem particularly worried five minutes ago, before this all happened, when Iran had terror cells throughout the West, but now they&#8217;re very, very worried.
Iran has been pursuing terror attacks, including an attempted assassination of the current President of the United States, for decades. At this point, they have planted terror cells all throughout the world. If the idea is that planting terror cells buys Iran impunity and Iran can now act with complete impunity all over the globe, pursuing nuclear weapons, and that means you can&#8217;t do anything about it, then what is the purpose of American foreign policy? What is the purpose?
I&#8217;m not saying there isn’t a risk when you take action. I&#8217;m saying that the greater risk would be a nuclear-armed Iran with terrorist cells all across the West. That&#8217;s the bigger risk.
This “pragmatic concern” is, in reality, something else.
It is a belief that America&#8217;s foreign policy is inherently bad, that America is the nefarious actor in the world. It&#8217;s wrong and it&#8217;s stupid.
President Trump knew exactly what he was doing when he ordered the strike on Iran. 
And he was absolutely correct.

President Trump Returns To White House From New Jersey

Trump’s Strike On Iran: A Vital Turning Point In American Foreign Policy

Ben Shapiro

Foreign Policy

Iran

Iran Nuclear

Israel

Israel Defense Forces (IDF)

Middle East

President Trump

Iran said on Friday that it has rejected &#8220;several&#8221; calls for negotiations from the United States after President Donald Trump gave a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-to-decide-on-iran-strike-before-july-4?author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Trump+To+Decide+On+Iran+Strike+Before+July+4">two-week deadline</a> for his decision on possibly striking the Islamic Republic, leaving the door open for talks with Tehran.
Iran Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said in an address on state television, “Americans want to negotiate and have sent messages several times, but we clearly said that as long as this aggression doesn’t stop, there’s no place for talk of dialogue,” the New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/06/20/world-news/iran-rejects-us-talks-after-trump-gives-two-week-deadline-to-allow-for-negotiations/">reported</a>. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran&#8217;s supreme leader, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-iran-missile-attacks-nuclear-news-tehran-trump-06-18-2025-c6c90028dc340e2716724412fcec2cf0">rejected</a> Trump&#8217;s call for the country to surrender on Wednesday as Israel continues to pound Iranian nuclear facilities and missile launchers from the sky and take out the regime&#8217;s military leaders.
“Wise individuals who know Iran, its people and its history never speak to this nation with the language of threats, because the Iranian nation is not one to surrender,” Khamenei said.
“Americans should know that any military involvement by the U.S. will undoubtedly result in irreparable damage to them,” he added.
Iran <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/crossing-of-a-red-line-iran-hits-major-israeli-hospital-with-direct-strike">escalated</a> the conflict with Israel on Thursday morning, striking a major Israeli hospital. President Trump said on Thursday that he would decide whether to attack Iran “within the next two weeks.”
“Based on the fact that there’s a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks,” the president said in a statement shared by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/PressSec?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PressSec</a> shares a message from President Trump: &quot;Based on the fact that there&#39;s a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/r3yVnbZHAC">pic.twitter.com/r3yVnbZHAC</a>
&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1935753412856967261?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 19, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
While Trump gave a two-week timeline for a decision on Iran, an Israeli official <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/pm-israel-will-hit-all-nuclear-facilities-has-destroyed-half-of-irans-launchers/">told</a> The Times of Israel that the U.S. ally expects Trump to decide on striking Iran within 24 to 48 hours. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, said that it&#8217;s &#8220;entirely&#8221; up to Trump to decide if the United States &#8220;wants to join or not,&#8221; adding that he speaks to Trump &#8220;almost daily.&#8221;
“He’ll do what’s good for the United States, and I’ll do what’s good for the State of Israel,” Netanyahu continued.
If the United States joins Israel in direct strikes on Iran, <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2025/06/18/bunker-buster-bomb-israel-iran-conflict/84257733007/">reports</a> suggest that it could be to drop the massive &#8220;bunker buster&#8221; bomb, which can only be carried by America&#8217;s B-2 Bombers. The &#8220;bunker buster&#8221; would likely target Iran&#8217;s Fordow nuclear site, which is built approximately 300 feet underground.
Trump also said earlier this week that the United States knows &#8220;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/he-is-an-easy-target-trump-says-he-knows-exactly-where-the-ayatollah-is-hiding">exactly</a>&#8221; where Ayatollah Khamenei is hiding, adding, “He is an easy target, but is safe there — We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now.&#8221;

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

Iran Refuses To Negotiate With U.S. After Trump Sets 2-Week Deadline

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