Iranian proxy groups including the IRGC and Hezbollah have been attacking U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria for weeks now, with dozens of American military personnel being injured and at least one of our contractors dying. Pundits have been asking if or when Joe Biden was going to do something about it. This morning we received the answer. A pair of American F-16 Fighting Falcons unleashed precision munition strikes last night, taking out two munitions sites and an unknown number of personnel. No American losses were recorded during the strikes. Some may look at this as an “escalation” in the ongoing chaos in the Middle East, but a strong message was sent to the Mullahs who have, up until now, clearly felt that they could attack both Israeli and American forces with impunity.

The US military conducted airstrikes against Iranian proxy groups in Syria Thursday in response to a series of attacks against US troops and personnel in the region.

The “self-defense strikes” targeted two facilities in eastern Syria used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its affiliates and the offensive was authorized by President Biden, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement.

“These precision self-defense strikes are a response to a series of ongoing and mostly unsuccessful attacks against U.S. personnel in Iraq and Syria by Iranian-backed militia groups that began on October 17,” Austin said.

It’s a rare day when I get the opportunity to praise Joe Biden for much of anything, but this was definitely the right thing to do. I also haven’t been terribly impressed with Lloyd Austin’s performance as Defense Secretary, but we should also recognize that his hands are largely tied by the Commander in Chief. I won’t attempt to surmise how “with it” Joe Biden might have been when he gave the order to pull the trigger, particularly given the late hour, but at least it was given and some Iranian-sponsored offensive hardware and personnel were taken out.

Calling these “precision self-defense strikes” is mostly a public relations maneuver to deflect criticism from the doves. Make no mistake. This was an offensive military strike against legitimate Iranian military proxy targets that have already been attacking us. The strikes took place in Al Bukamal, Syria, just north of the Iraqi border, far from the Hezbollah strongholds too the southwest. So the attack was probably more of a direct response to Iran’s attacks against our troops in Iraq than the shots they’ve been taking at northern Israel.

This was a good start, but much remains to be done. It’s unlikely that one pair of strikes on a couple of outposts far from Iranian soil will make the Mullahs suddenly realize this was a bad idea, but they may at least begin taking us more seriously. The game is afoot and now the United States military is officially in the mix on the front lines. We should probably be taking out the Hezbollah forces and munitions in southern Syria, but that’s a bit harder to justify since we don’t have American troops for them to shoot at down there.

Still, there is more that needs to be done directly against Iran to show them that they can no longer attack America and our allies without consequences. It’s time to stop pretending that this isn’t a war or that it’s “somebody else’s war.” Iran is attacking the United States every bit as much as they are attacking Israel. There are sanctions in place that should prevent Iran from exporting the majority of the oil they ship to China and other adversaries. Until now, Joe Biden has ignored those sanctions. It’s time to start enforcing them again and we have the naval forces already in place to do it. The time is now. Turn back the Iranian oil tankers or sink them if they won’t comply. If Iran want’s to tangle with the big boys, it’s time for Joe Biden to put on his big boy pants and show them what they get when they do so.