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“Something very big has just happened!”
On Sunday morning, October 27, 2019, President Donald Trump announced the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in Idlib, Syria. Al-Baghdadi was tracked down by Delta Force and Army Rangers with army bomb sniffing dogs, and ran into an unfinished tunnel that culminated in a dead end. He ended his life – and that of three children whom he took with him – by detonating a suicide vest.
Speaker Pelosi was not pleased – “The House must be briefed on this raid,” she said, adding that “our military and allies deserve strong, smart and strategic leadership from Washington.”
President Trump said in a press conference that Pelosi and other Congressional leaders were not informed about the raid beforehand due to potential leaks that could imperil the operation. “We were going to notify them last night, but we decided not to do that because Washington leaks like I’ve never seen before,” Trump said. “There’s no country in the world that leaks like we do, and Washington is a leaking machine.” He added that leaks would have possibly cost American lives.
Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Trump’s worst critics should hail the announcement. “Last night the best of America confronted the worst of mankind and the good guys won,” Graham said in a press conference. “This is a moment where President Trump’s worst critics should say, ‘Well done.’”
Many questions that need answering: Ilana Freedman is a veteran intelligence analyst, political commentator and host. She is an author, her newest book, Hamas: CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood, The Plot to Destroy America. Col Jim Waurishuk is retired from USAF, he is a career senior intelligence and special missions officer, former Deputy Director of Intelligence at U.S. Central Command and served on the White House National Security Council staff as Intelligence Aide to the National Security Advisor.