“And what did we gain by destroying these cities?”
Rid of ISIS.
Genocide, Slavery, World Conquest, Terrorist directing against the West ISIS. Remember how their “Inspire” publication issued instructions on bomb-making and terrorist attacks, like “How to make a bomb in the kitchen of your Mom.” That was the pressure cooker bomb design used by the Boston Marathon bombers. Remember the terrorists attacks in American cities, where they carried ISIS flags in their pockets (San Bernadino, Pulse Night Club and others), not to mention cities in Europe and around the world.
Conventional military operations through cities was the cost of rooting out ISIS, after it had been allowed to grow into a virtual terrorist Nation State, governing millions of people and a Major City, and expanding to other continents (e.g. Libya, Nigeria, The Philippines).
Thank God that brave men were willing to step up and take on these monsters, and do what needed to be done.
I salute those who had the balls.
Don’t mistake my distaste for our government sending good men and women to chase down those thugs as a lack of respect for the soldiers.
If we hadn’t sent all the guns from Libya to Syria, we would not have gotten in that mess. And what do we have to show for it? A bigger mess.