Wagging the Dog: Today's News for April 14th

The Daily Beast:

U.S. Unleashes ‘Mother of All Bombs’—and a Press Release

U.S. Special Operations Forces dropped one of the world’s most powerful non-nuclear bombs on ISIS fighters in eastern Afghanistan on April 13, defense officials told The Daily Beast on Thursday.

The bombing could mark a shocking escalation of America's war in Afghanistan—one that places more civilians in greater danger than ever before, though military officials insist they wouldn't have acted if they had spotted civilians nearby.

Because it isn't like the U.S. military has already killed thousands of innocent Muslim civilians around the world.

End sarcasm, and continue story:

American forces were trying to root out deeply entrenched ISIS fighters when a U.S. Air Force MC-130 commando transport dropped the Massive Ordinance Air Blast munition in Achin district in Nangarhar province in eastern Afghanistan at 7:32 in the evening, local time.

ISIS has an estimated 600 to 800 fighters in Afghanistan, many of them in Achin, according to Pentagon spokesman Adam Stump, who said the strike was aimed at limiting their freedom of movement. 

Basically, this was a successful operation. But the timing of this announcement is curious:

Los Angeles Times:

U.S. military says misdirected airstrike in northern Syria killed 18 allied fighters

The U.S. military says a misdirected airstrike this week killed 18 friendly fighters battling Islamic State alongside the international coalition in northern Syria. 

U.S. Central Command said Thursday that coalition aircraft were given the wrong coordinates by the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces for a strike intended to target militants south of their stronghold in Tabqa.

Oops.

Also:

CNN:

US sending 'dozens' more troops to Somalia

The US is sending "dozens" of additional troops to Somalia to train and equip the Somali National Army and the forces participating in the African Union Mission in Somalia there, a US military official confirmed Thursday. 

They will join the US forces already there providing counterterrorism support to local forces battling the al Qaeda affiliate al Shabaab.

In other words, this 16 year long "war on terror" has been no more successful than our millennia-long war on ants.

For every success we have in the war on terror, we have more evidence of failure. The big bomb being dropped is just another example of the tail wagging the dog in this news cycle. We should be asking why this war is still going on, instead of marveling at the big explosion.