CBS: Strike Targets Likely Dodged Strikes Because Biden Telegraphed Strikes, That Was ‘Intentional’

During CBS’s coverage of Friday’s American strikes in response to the fatal drone attack on U.S. soldiers, CBS News National Security Correspondent David Martin stated that because the Biden administration “has done such a job of telegraphing this strike” it’s likely that “all” of the people the U.S. was looking to hit have hidden from the strikes and “we’re not probably going to get the individuals this time,” and Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent and “Face the Nation” host Margaret Brennan reported, “a lot of those IRGC Quds Force trainers have left Iraq and Syria knowing this was coming, and that is also intentional by the United States.”

Martin stated, “The administration has done such a job of telegraphing this strike ever since Monday, when President Biden said he had decided on a response, that you have to assume that all of the personnel that the U.S. might be looking for have gone to ground, either having left the country entirely or having surrounded themselves with women and children, which is usually a pretty good safeguard against getting hit by a U.S. bomb. So, we’re not probably going to get the individuals this time, but there are going to be a lot of locations that are damaged or destroyed.”

Host Norah O’Donnell then asked Brennan, “There has been some criticism of this administration that the President telegraphed that strikes were coming. There has been some reporting that a number of these Iranian intelligence and military officials who perhaps were in Syria and Iraq assisting those militias there have already fled, what do we know about that?”

Brennan responded, “That’s exactly right, David put his finger on that. And sources in the region told me as much, that a lot of those IRGC Quds Force trainers have left Iraq and Syria knowing this was coming, and that is also intentional by the United States. The U.S. has not assessed that Tehran directed this attack. But President Biden did say he holds Iran responsible for providing the weapons and the assistance to the militias that did. So, they are drawing a distinction there, and part of this attempt is to avoid a direct conflict with the State of Iran, instead taking on these proxy forces.”

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