RUTHFULLY YOURS

A United States Special Forces team undertook a risky operation on Saturday night in Syria’s northwest Idlib province to track down and kill Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of one of the world’s most notorious terrorist organizations. Baghdadi was the lead commander of the infamous Islamic State, aka ISIS, the group responsible for mass genocide, torture and rapes throughout much of Iraq and Syria, and the beheadings of several Westerners including U.S. citizens. ISIS was formed in 2013 in the shadow of Obama’s order to withdraw U.S. forces from Iraq and at its zenith, controlled an area the size of Ohio.

The operation was approved by President Trump a week prior. On Saturday, at 9:23 p.m., he cryptically tweeted, “Something very big has just happened!” Trump was referencing the success of the mission. Baghdadi, who had a $25 million price tag on his head, had been liquidated.

During the nighttime raid, U.S. Special Forces stormed a compound confirmed by intelligence sources to be his hideout. A firefight erupted and several of Baghdadi’s men were either killed or surrendered. Baghdadi then ran into a tunnel, taking three of his family members with him. The SF team and its specially trained canines pursued Baghdadi. Once realizing that he was trapped with no chance of escape, Baghdadi detonated a suicide vest, which also took the lives of the three who accompanied him. Eleven women and children were safely evacuated by the team, which remained in the compound for two hours gathering valuable intelligence on ISIS operatives and operations. Forensic tests conducted on what remained of Baghdadi’s body confirmed his identity. Two of Baghdadi’s wives, who donned suicide vests, were shot before they had a chance to detonate. There were no U.S. casualties, though a dog which chased Baghdadi into the tunnel was unfortunately injured by the blast.

The operation was undertaken by the 1^st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta, a special mission unit under the Joint Special Operations Command. The Central Intelligence Agency assisted in the operation and may have provided intelligence crucial to the success of the mission.

Already reeling from the loss of its so-called Caliphate and thousands of its members killed or captured, the killing of Baghdadi represents a severe blow to ISIS and its ability to reconstitute. It also represents a major military and foreign policy achievement for the Trump administration, which had made the defeat of ISIS a cornerstone of its foreign policy and national security objectives.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated Trump on a job well done as did other world leaders, including France’s Macron. Messages of thanks also came from Diane Foley, the mother of murdered war correspondent James Foley. James was beheaded by ISIS operatives in 2014 after being held by the group under torturous conditions for nearly two years. Predictably, the Iranians referred to the operation “as no big deal,” and called Baghdadi “a creature of the U.S.”

Curiously, despite the victory for America, not all Americans were happy. Not a single top Democratic contender for the presidency offered congratulatory praise for the nation’s commander-in-chief. This stands in marked contrast to the manner in which past U.S. military successes were greeted with bipartisan accolades. This includes the 2011 Obama-sanctioned operation to kill al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden.

Some of the president’s well-known political critics actually took the opportunity to attack him on social media, prompting commentator Pierce Morgan to dryly note, “If your first thought about the death of a terror leader who burned people alive, beheaded aid workers & threw gay people off buildings, is to attack President Trump – you probably need to stay off Twitter today.”

It appears that nothing Trump can say or do will satiate the appetites of those wishing to destroy his presidency. Rather than focusing on issues that matter to the country, Adam Schiff, Gerald Nadler, Nancy Pelosi and their allies continue to be besotted by the prospect of impeaching Trump. Their myopia undercuts their credibility and only serves to harm the interests of the nation.

So while Democrats are busy convening secret hearings and selectively leaking cherry-picked portions of those sham hearings to their obsequious allies in the establishment media, Trump continues to protect the interests of the United States by killing its enemies, and in keeping with campaign pledges, drawing down U.S. forces from areas where they are no longer needed.

Democrats (and some Republicans) were quick to pounce on Trump’s decision to withdraw U.S. forces from northern Syria, alleging that the redeployment would cause a resurgence in ISIS activity. But the administration’s latest action in Idlib demonstrates beyond any doubt that there will be no letup in the fight against ISIS and no quarter given to America’s enemies. As Trump noted in his Sunday morning address to the nation; “terrorists…should never sleep soundly, knowing that we will completely destroy them.”

Under Obama’s tenure, ISIS morphed into a juggernaut. Obama ignored intelligence assessments that the group posed a serious threat to regional stability and blithely referred to them as the “JV team.” When he finally took military action, it was too little too late and took the form of pathetic pinprick strikes which had little tactical impact on the group’s ability to operate.

Trump, who campaigned on a promise to crush ISIS, unshackled the U.S. military and accomplished what his predecessor could not; he defeated ISIS and destroyed its caliphate. Now, he’s taken their leader. Democrats who relentlessly criticize Trump with alacrity should give him credit where credit is due. Their failure to do so in this instance plainly demonstrates their naked partisanship and that will haunt them in 2020.