Several months ago, the US press and military had a field day with Donald Trump's suggestion to send the heavy equipment to Syria and Iraq and "carpet bomb" the Islamic State. In February, Army Lt. Gen. Sean MacFarland, who directs the coalition fighting ISIS in Iraq and Syria, butchered the idea and detailed why it's militarily unacceptable. "Indiscriminate bombing where we don't care if we are killing innocents or combatants is just inconsistent with our values," he said in response to a question from CNN on the possibility of using carpet bombing.
"We are the United States of America, and you know we have a set of guiding principles and those affect the way we, as professional soldiers, airmen, sailors marines conduct ourselves on the battlefield,"
Fast forward just two months later, and it appears Trump may have been on to something.
According to Reuters, for the first time in 25 years, the U.S. Air Force deployed B-52 bombers to Qatar on Saturday to join the fight against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. This is the first time the B-52 has been based in the Middle East since the end of the Gulf War in 1991.
U.S. Air Forces Central Command said it last flew the long-range bombers operationally in the region in May 2006 as part of the war in Afghanistan, and during a U.S.-led military exercise in Jordan in May 2015.
"The B-52 demonstrates our continued resolve to apply persistent pressure on Daesh and defend the region in any future contingency," said Air Force Lieutenant General Charles Brown, commander of U.S. Air Forces Central Command.
And, since the B-52's core competency is bombing, usually with the "carpet" adverb before it, one may wonder if it wasn't Trump's suggestion to unleash hell on ISIS that prompted the US military to make this move.
Lieutenant Colonel Chris Karns, spokesman for the Central Command, said he could not provide the exact number of B-52 bombers to be based at Al Udeid Air Basein Qatar due to "operational security reasons."
Washington's decision to deploy its powerful B-52 bombers to Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar came as the U.S. military stepped up the fight against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
Brown said the bombers would be able to deliver precision weapons and carry out a range of missions, including strategic attack, close-air support, air interdiction, and maritime operations.
To be sure, it was important to make it seems that Trump is not who prompted the ideas, which is why Karns said the bombers would enable U.S. forces to drop one or two munitions in an area, rather than use carpet bombing.
And then the following disclaimer: "Accuracy is critically important in this war," he said. "Carpet-bombing would not be effective for the operation we're in because Daesh doesn't mass as large groups. Often, they blend into population centers. We always look to minimize civilian casualties."
Which probably does not explain why 90% of the people killed in recent US drone strikes were not the target.
As for the B-52s about to unleash carpet precision bombing in Syria, for the sake of any Doctors without Borders locations on the ground, our advice: run and hide.