op-ed: I’ve spoken with multiple senior Pentagon officials and others indirectly involved in the Maduro raid. Two things stand out. First: the operation was far more impressive than the public realizes. Second: in my assessment as an observer, the decisive factor behind its speed and success was set months earlier at Quantico when Trump and Hegseth delivered a blunt message directly to ALL the generals and admirals: “You can take more risk because we have your back.” I see no hard, on-the-record evidence that the Rules of Engagement were formally loosened in the Maduro raid (maybe they were, maybe they weren’t). What I do see is overwhelming evidence that the units involved internalized that message. Historically, ROEs are drafted by senior JAGs, tightened by senior administrators, then tightened again at every level down the chain until, in some cases, platoon commanders can barely return fire while under attack. This time, more trust was placed in officers closer to the fight. This administration trusts warfighters. It trusts that well-trained men and women on the front lines have the judgment and ethical compass to make real-time decisions to protect themselves and civilians in complex combat environments. Ironically, that trust reduces civilian casualties and the risk of war crimes because enemy fighters are stopped before they can use civilians, including children, as shields. This isn’t a new problem. My father, a medic in Vietnam, talked about it often. Civilians brought to him with horrific wounds by soldiers who saw the enemy coming but weren’t allowed to fire. Angry, frustrated troops. An enemy soldier burned alive because base security was authorized only to fire warning flares as he crossed the wire. This is one reason we’ve struggled in wars since Korea, a conflict that ended in a draw largely because every time we gained overwhelming advantage, negotiations followed and ROEs were tightened. Tightened by our own generals pursuing peace without learning that you can’t negotiate in good faith with communists. How many have suffered in North Korea because our forces were restrained while they were winning? We have struggled in wars since Korea except the Gulf War where Powell and Schwarzkopf told the American public they wanted an unfair fight. To be clear: I don’t have hard, on-the-record proof. But after covering many failed missions where overly rigid ROEs were the most common complaint, slowing operations and endangering both warfighters and civilians, this is one complaint I’m simply not hearing from anyone today. The Maduro raid is what the American military is capable of when Admirals and Generals let the warfighter do their job.