An Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) linked operative planned to assassinate former President George W. Bush in Dallas, according to a Tuesday report from <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2022/05/24/exclusive-isis-plotting-to-assassinate-george-w-bush-in-dallas/?sh=56804b1d180f">Forbes</a>.
An FBI search warrant application filed on March 23 and unsealed this week revealed that the alleged operative from Iraq took video at the former commander-in-chief’s home and the George W. Bush Institute. He also sought help from a team of compatriots he reportedly wanted to smuggle across the Mexican border.
The alleged plot occurs despite ISIS’ influence declining after a series of military defeats before resurging up into 2022. Former Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-iraq-islamicstate/iraq-declares-final-victory-over-islamic-state-idUSKBN1E30B9">declared victory</a> over the organization in December 2017, and ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi killed himself during a 2019 <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/us-forces-launch-operation-in-syria-targeting-isis-leader-baghdadi-officials-say/2019/10/27/081bc257-adf1-4db6-9a6a-9b820dd9e32d_story.html">raid</a> approved by former President Donald Trump.
“The FBI said it uncovered the scheme through the work of two confidential informants and surveillance of the alleged plotter’s account on the Meta-owned WhatsApp messaging platform,” Forbes reported. “The alleged ISIS operative, based in Columbus, Ohio, said he wanted to assassinate Bush because he felt the former president was responsible for killing many Iraqis and breaking apart the country after the 2003 U.S. military invasion, according to the warrant.&#8221;
Forbes added that the alleged operative had been in the United States since 2020 and had a pending asylum application. According to the warrant, the operative also asked one of the confidential sources how he could “obtain replica or fraudulent police and/or FBI identifications and badges” and investigated whether it was possible to help his compatriots escape back into Mexico after the killing.
“The alleged plotter claimed to be part of a unit called ‘Al-Raed,’ meaning ‘Thunder,’ that was led by a former Iraqi pilot for Saddam Hussein who had been based out of Qatar until his recent death, the warrant said,” Forbes continued. “As many as seven members of the group would be sent to the U.S. to kill President Bush, according to a conversation described in the warrant, and the suspect’s job was ‘to locate and conduct surveillance on former president Bush’s residences and/or offices and obtain firearms and vehicles to use in the assassination.’”
<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/25/world/middleeast/isis-syria.html">The New York Times</a> reported earlier this year that ISIS is quickly upping attacks in the Middle East.
“The evidence of a resurgence of the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq is mounting by the day, nearly three years after the militants lost the last patch of territory of their so-called caliphate, which once stretched across vast parts of the two countries,” the Times said in January. “The fact that ISIS was able to mount these coordinated and sophisticated attacks in recent days shows that what had been believed to be disparate sleeper cells are re-emerging as a more serious threat.”
The Times <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/mounting-by-the-day-isis-rapidly-regaining-territory-in-areas-where-trump-wiped-them-out-report-says">cited several incidents</a> that have occurred in the region, including a massive attack attempting to free ISIS prisoners in Syria, attacks on military forces in Iraq, and the circulation of a gruesome beheading video.
“It’s a wake-up call for regional players, for national players, that ISIS is not over, that the fight is not over,” Kawa Hassan, Middle East and North Africa director at the Stimson Center, told the outlet. “It shows the resilience of ISIS to strike back at the time and place of their choosing.”

President Bush Visits Camp Pendleton

ISIS Linked Operative Planned To Assassinate George W. Bush In Dallas, Hoped To Bring Help From Across The Mexican Border, FBI Alleges

ISIS Operative Allegedly Planned To Kill George W. Bush In Dallas, Hoped To Bring Help From Across The Mexican Border

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi

George W. Bush

Iraq

Iraq War

ISIS

&#8220;In both law and politics, I think the essential battle is the meta-battle of framing the narrative. As Sun Tzu said, every battle is won before it’s fought. It’s won by choosing the terrain on which it will be fought.&#8221; – Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) to The New Yorker&#8217;s Jeffrey Toobin, <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/06/30/the-absolutist-2">June 2014</a>
Although President Donald Trump no doubt prefers to vent his off-the-cuff frustrations in tweet threads and campaign rallies, it is the planned teleprompter format in which he most clearly excels. Since assuming office, Trump&#8217;s State of the Union addresses have consistently been visceral, evocative, rhetorically fine-tune affairs that make brilliant use of audience guests to drive home his substantive agenda.
Last night&#8217;s speech was <a href="https://theresurgent.com/2020/02/04/best-state-of-the-union-ever/">no exception</a>, and the president was tremendously successful in framing the 2020 election as a stark choice between two competing visions of American governance: The economic prosperity, domestic security, and &#8220;peace through strength&#8221; deterrence of the Right, and the socialism, lawlessness, and capitulatory foreign policy of the Left. To borrow from Cruz&#8217;s quoting of Sun Tzu, Trump has &#8220;cho[sen] the terrain on which&#8221; the 2020 election &#8220;will be fought.&#8221;
The president <a href="https://thefederalist.com/2020/02/05/president-trump-offers-a-sharp-rebuke-of-socialism-at-precisely-the-right-time/">spoke at length</a> about the revving American economic engine, thus placing on the defensive the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-aocs-squad-will-destroy-democrats-2020-josh-hammer">toxic brand of socialism</a> that has come to dominate the modern Democratic Party. The Democrats are a political party with a <a href="https://www.predictit.org/markets/detail/3633/Who-will-win-the-2020-Democratic-presidential-nomination">statistical frontrunner</a> of a presidential nominee who is a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-bernie-sanders-entire-worldview-grotesquely-josh-hammer">lifelong communist activist</a> — a man who literally honeymooned in the Soviet Union and infamously hung a hammer-and-sickle Soviet flag inside his Burlington, Vermont mayoral office. They are advancing that nominee (and so many others who now mimic his economic illiteracy) in the context of an American electorate that, according to reliable pollster Gallup, is the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/americans-are-more-optimistic-about-the-economy-than-they-have-been-in-decades">most optimistic</a> it has been about the economy in decades. Americans <a href="https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/president_trump_job_approval_economy-6182.html">currently approve</a> of Trump&#8217;s handling of the economy by over 17%, and Democrats&#8217; solution for that is to stage a presidential primary where one of the leading &#8220;intellectual&#8221; debates among the candidates is whether to literally abolish private health insurance in favor of a government monopoly.
Good luck with that.
The president also spoke about the gruesome horrors of sanctuary cities, the great majority of which are <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-why-no-one-pointing-out-sanctuary-cities-josh-hammer">clearly illegal</a> under a straightforward reading of <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/8/1373">8 U.S.C. § 1373(a)</a>: &#8220;Notwithstanding any other provision of Federal, State, or local law, a Federal, State, or local government entity or official may not prohibit, or in any way restrict, any government entity or official from sending to, or receiving from, the [Department of Homeland Security] information regarding the citizenship or immigration status, lawful or unlawful, of any individual.&#8221; The president masterfully provided gut-wrenching details of the crimes committed by illegal aliens mollycoddled by sanctuary jurisdictions — thus seemingly borrowing a tactic from Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, each of whom has at times provided vivid details of the underlying murders of those defendants whose capital punishment appeals reach the Court. Trump forced Democrats in the House chamber to retreat to the unenviable position of loudly booing his oratory assaults on criminal aliens and the sanctuary jurisdictions that harbor them. It was a remarkable sight to behold.
The president has thus successfully framed the 2020 election as a referendum about whether the nation will reject the Left&#8217;s two most profoundly ruinous current hobbyhorses: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-a-political-wish-for-2020-less-socialism-more-law-and-order">Socialism and lawlessness</a>. He also spoke directly to the heart and mind of the proverbial <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-who-will-stand-for-the-forgotten-american">forgotten American</a> — the tax-paying, church-attending, law-abiding American who still has an innate love and appreciation for what has always made America great. Say what one might about Trump, but one cannot plausibly deny that he is an &#8220;Americanist,&#8221; properly understood.
The American people will head to the ballot box this November with an exceedingly straightforward choice before them. Here is hoping they make the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-here-are-three-reasons-why-i-plan-vote-josh-hammer">right decision</a>.

President Trump Delivers State Of The Union Address

HAMMER: Trump Successfully Framed The Stark 2020 Election Choice During Last Night’s SOTU Address

2020 Election

Clarence Thomas

Communism

Democratic Party

Donald Trump

Economy

Law Enforcement

Qassem Soleimani

Radical Islam

President Donald Trump held an informal press conference on Monday where he introduced Conan, the hero dog that helped track down ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and announced that he had given an award for his efforts.
&#8220;We just gave him a medal and a plaque,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;I actually think Conan knew exactly what was going on — a dog that is very, very special. Maybe you can say something about the type of dog. They were going to put a muzzle on the dog and I thought that was a good idea … but the dog is incredible. Actually incredible. We spent some good time with it. So brilliant. So smart.&#8221;
&#8220;The dog is incredible,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;We&#8217;re very honored to have Conan here and have given Conan a certificate and an award that we are going to put up in the White House.
&#8220;Conan is really a hero,&#8221; Vice President Mike Pence said. &#8220;It&#8217;s really a joy to be able to help welcome him here to the White House.&#8221;
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
President <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@realDonaldTrump</a> introduces Conan, the ISIS killing Hero Dog to the world 🇺🇸 
FULL PRESS CONFERENCE <a href="https://t.co/VR0qDnrb18">pic.twitter.com/VR0qDnrb18</a>
&mdash; Benny (@bennyjohnson) <a href="https://twitter.com/bennyjohnson/status/1199028364117458950?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 25, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Rough transcript of the press conference:
President Trump:
<blockquote>He came over from the Middle East and just arrived with some of the great people from the special forces. It was a flawless attack. And al-Baghdadi is gone. That was a flawless attack and I guess they got quite a few of them. We just gave him a metal and a plaque. I think Conan knew exactly what was going on. But a dog that is very, very special. Maybe you can say something about the type of dog. They were going to put a muzzle on the dog and I thought that was a good idea, but then again, even more violence, but the dog is incredible. We spent some good time with it. So brilliant and so smart. The way it was with the special forces people that have worked with him, for obvious reasons that can’t be out in front of the media. They did a fantastic job and conan did a fantastic job. We are very honored to have Conan here and to have given Conan a certificate and an award.</blockquote>
Vice President Pence:
<blockquote>It’s great to be here, Mr. President, I know you just finished meeting with some of the very same special forces who completed the successful raid and it took down the leader of ISIS. But as I recall Mr. President, you made the decision right there in the White House. And it has been described to us about the fact that they had dogs that could go in, in the event that al-Baghdadi had on an explosive vest. You put the premium on the safety of our special forces, and this dog was there. He suffered some injury. We were able to complete the raid without any American casualty. I think having the special forces here today, who &#8230; can’t come out in the public, but also having this extraordinary dog here today is a reflection of our armed forces and the great job that they do. Conan is really here and it’s a real joy to help bring him to the White House.</blockquote>
President Trump:
<blockquote>Conan was very badly hurt, as you know. They thought maybe he was not [going] to recover. Recovered very quickly and has since gone on very important raids. As you know, we captured 100% of the ISIS caliphate. When I took office, we had almost nothing, as though they were just forming again and now, it’s 100%. And since we have had that raid, certain important things have happened. We have really done a good job. You’ve all done such a good job and this is a special time for Conan. I was told about the breed and I was told about Conan himself. Conan is a tough cookie. And nobody is going to mess with him. I asked one question. I got to see how fast Conan can move. I said what chance would a strongman have, a really tough fighter, what chance with this person have against Conan? Without the guns? What chance? And I guess the answer pretty much was known that, he would have no chance. So that’s amazing. And you yet see how beautiful and calm they are in situations like this. You’re lucky he’s not in a bad mood today, Jeff. I want to thank you all, thank you very much and it’s a great honor to have Conan here and a great honor to have the special forces here. Conan is not retiring yet, Conan is primetime. I asked them, about six years like an athlete. They start, they like to get them at one and a half or two years old and they go for about six years from that time. After that, it happens where it may the reflexes aren’t quite as good, you know, things like that happen. The dog’s prime time is six years after two, and they are very special dogs. They are very hard to get, this particular dog. This is the ultimate fighter, the ultimate everything. Ultimate in terms of sniffing drugs. We have — we spent a tremendous amount of money on drug equipment at the border. And so to the people I said, is there anything better than this equipment? No, sir. The only thing better is a dog, this type of dog. Because it’s a certain type of dog. It’s pretty amazing. We had a case where we had drugs in the cylinder of a car and it was undetectable by this very expensive machinery which is very amazing machinery but it was undetectable. The dog came in, jumped on the hood, pointing. It opened the hood and it knew exactly. It’s incredible, sense of smell or whatever it may be. They are incredible animals. Thank you all very much.</blockquote>
&nbsp;
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Trump Conan

WATCH: Trump Awards Hero Dog Conan For Role In Tracking ISIS Leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi

Islamic State (ISIS)

President Donald Trump reportedly wants to honor Conan the dog for his efforts in tracking down ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi last month in northern Syria during a raid by the U.S. military that resulted in al-Baghdadi’s death.
&#8220;Trump is intrigued by the historic possibility of presenting the Belgian Malinois with the revered medal, and is known for setting precedents, like his decision to appear at the Veterans Day Parade in Manhattan Monday, or his summit with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un,&#8221; The New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2019/11/09/trump-wants-to-award-purple-heart-to-dog-conan-injured-in-al-baghdadi-mission/">reported</a>.
&#8220;Department of Defense rules currently forbid military working dogs from receiving the Purple Heart. The regulation was put in place after a dog named Chips was given one in 1943 for heroic action in World War II,&#8221; The Post continued. &#8220;In the days since, multiple human veterans and Purple Heart recipients have come forward to insist that President Trump reverse the DoD rules, saying dogs like Conan are as important as any human soldier.&#8221;
“It is the president’s desire to honor the dog. They are working out the details,” a source close to the White House told The Post&#8217;s Jon Levine. “The dog is working, probably involved in missions and everyone wants to keep the dog safe. When there is an opportunity, we can honor him and his handlers and the president is most certainly interested in doing that.”
Following the military raid late last month, Trump tweeted a photograph of the dog, writing, &#8220;We have declassified a picture of the wonderful dog (name not declassified) that did such a GREAT JOB in capturing and killing the Leader of ISIS, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi!&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
We have declassified a picture of the wonderful dog (name not declassified) that did such a GREAT JOB in capturing and killing the Leader of ISIS, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi! <a href="https://t.co/PDMx9nZWvw">pic.twitter.com/PDMx9nZWvw</a>
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1188909031403900928?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 28, 2019</a></blockquote>
During his October 27 remarks on the operation, Trump <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-death-isis-leader-abu-bakr-al-baghdadi/">said</a> that Conan was &#8220;a beautiful dog, a talented dog.&#8221;
During a speech last week, Trump said, &#8220;I&#8217;ll say who the greatest hero was – forget about Trump. I&#8217;m not, he was – we did a lot of good work together. The dog was the great hero. Conan. Conan. He is coming to the White House very soon.&#8221;
Former Army Ranger Michael Bollinger, 26, who received a purple heart in 2017 <a href="https://nypost.com/2019/11/02/hero-dog-conan-injured-during-baghdadi-raid-deserves-purple-heart-vets/">told</a> The Post, &#8220;Do I believe Conan should receive a Purple Heart for actions on target? Absolutely. They’re out there with us every step of the way.”
James Knuppenburg, 33, who served in the U.S. military for nearly a decade in Afghanistan, told The Post, “I would love to see Conan presented a Purple Heart with a live ceremony. I think that the K9 is the most valuable asset on the ground. I don’t think that you can replicate through technology or any sort of weaponry what the K9 is capable of … Without a doubt I think that any award – including the medal of honor – should be able to be received by a K9.”
Conan is a Belgian Malinois, a highly intelligent and active dog breed that has seen its demand skyrocket in the days since Trump revealed the dog&#8217;s identity.
However, breeders warn that the dogs are not for everyone because they require a significant amount of attention and interaction with their owners.
&#8220;These dogs are too much for most people,&#8221; Irene Howcroft, owner of Ruidoso Malinois, <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/thousands-breed-hero-dog-al-baghdadi-raid-expert/story?id=66673182">told</a> ABC News. &#8220;But people want the new cool new &#8216;it&#8217; dog. Malinois have become the cool new &#8216;it&#8217; dog.&#8221;
&#8220;People think, &#8216;This will be a fun dog to have,&#8217; and it will, but only if you are the right family or person,&#8221; Howcroft added.

Conan dog

Trump Has Big Plans For Dog That Helped Track ISIS Leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, Report Says

It took a dog meme to reveal the full extent of the mainstream media’s decay. The saga began yesterday, when The Daily Wire posted a joke on our social media accounts that depicted President Trump awarding a bronze paw print medal on a two-dimensional blue ribbon to the dog who chased down Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. The caption read, “Please, @realDonaldTrump.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Please, <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@realDonaldTrump</a>. <a href="https://t.co/nYSJSGlJ8L">pic.twitter.com/nYSJSGlJ8L</a>
&mdash; The Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDailyWire/status/1189241705746386944?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 29, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The president apparently liked the joke and reposted it, tweeting, “AMERICAN HERO!” 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
AMERICAN HERO! <a href="https://t.co/XCCa2sGfsZ">pic.twitter.com/XCCa2sGfsZ</a>
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1189601417469841409?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 30, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&nbsp;
The exchange offered a pleasant moment of levity. Even in an age as politically divided as ours, at least we can still come together and laugh at a picture of a goofy-looking dog to celebrate a military victory.
Or so we thought, until the mainstream media decided to take the picture seriously. “A WH official said ‘the dog is not at the WH,’” tweeted CNN&#8217;s Jim Acosta.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
A WH official said &quot;the dog is not at the WH.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/eJLqBMyKna">https://t.co/eJLqBMyKna</a>
&mdash; Jim Acosta (@Acosta) <a href="https://twitter.com/Acosta/status/1189658623431102465?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 30, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Voice of America’s Steve Herman rushed to fill the gaps in Acosta’s groundbreaking report. “I’ve requested details from the @WhiteHouse on this photo,” he tweeted. “There was no such canine event on today’s @POTUS schedule but there is a Medal of Honor ceremony set here for later today for an active duty Green Beret.” 
USA Today also deemed the tweet newsworthy and described the meme as a “doctored image.” The New York Times assigned not one but two investigative reporters to cover the joke, which it described in its headline as a “faked photo.” Apple News users received a push notification using the same phrase.
<div id="attachment_59649" style="width: 289px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-59649" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-medium wp-image-59649" src="https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/IMG_2062-279x300.png" alt="" width="279" height="300" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2019/10/IMG_2062-279x300.png 279w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2019/10/IMG_2062-768x826.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2019/10/IMG_2062-953x1024.png 953w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2019/10/IMG_2062.png 1120w" sizes="(max-width: 279px) 100vw, 279px" />(Apple News/Screenshot)</div>
“Fine, just the president of the United States disseminating a doctored image created by a right-wing propaganda site,” wrote S.V. Date of HuffPost, a left-wing propaganda site.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Fine, just the president of the United States disseminating a doctored image created by a right-wing propaganda site. <a href="https://t.co/Ky26zdDaXe">pic.twitter.com/Ky26zdDaXe</a>
&mdash; S.V. Dáte (@svdate) <a href="https://twitter.com/svdate/status/1189602652511965187?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 30, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Then The Washington Post published the pièce de résistance. “Trump tweeted a photo of a Medal of Honor recipient — who was edited out and replaced by Conan the dog,” read the headline. 
The Post’s story marked the media’s third distinct attack of the day. The first round of reporting about the dog meme wondered if the image had been an act of deception — fake news from The Daily Wire. The next narrative suggested Trump had unwittingly spread an intentional joke. Neither attack gained traction beyond the widespread mockery of normal people stunned by the humorless press. So The Washington Post settled on the third and strongest charge: Trump had somehow disrespected the actual Medal of Honor recipient in the photograph by mashing up the image with the hero pup.
That attack too fell flat because the hero from the original photo found the dog meme funny. The Washington Post tried and failed to track down 73-year-old Medal of Honor recipient James McCloughlan, but the Times managed to reach him by phone. McCloughlan laughed, assured the reporters he did not take offense, and even applauded public recognition of the dog. “This recognized the dog is part of that team of brave people,” he explained. “They are very courageous.” So much for that angle.
Undeterred, the Post continued to insinuate wrongdoing on the part of the meme-makers. “Jeremy Boreing, the chief operating officer at The Daily Wire, dismissed emailed questions about whether the altered photo originated from his publication,” reported the Post. 
In fact, Jeremy responded directly to reporter Alex Horton’s request that he confirm The Daily Wire had “digitally removed Medal of Honor recipient James McCloughan and replaced him with a dog.”
“Alex,” wrote the Daily Wire COO. “On the record: You’ve got to be f***ing joking. Please quote me on that.” The Post was not joking, and it did not publish Jeremy&#8217;s response.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
So, WaPo asked my business partner, <a href="https://twitter.com/JeremyDBoreing?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@jeremydboreing</a>, about our Medal of Honor dog meme. His glorious response is screencapped below. Their report then suggested Jeremy refused to answer questions about the picture. Um, no. We just think you’re being f***ing insane. <a href="https://t.co/pEyOH96hEr">pic.twitter.com/pEyOH96hEr</a>
&mdash; Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) <a href="https://twitter.com/benshapiro/status/1189757002408267776?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 31, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The most dishonest headline of the day came from the Sun: “Donald Trump baffles internet with bizarre Photoshopped pic of him giving medal to hero dog ‘Conan.’”
 Trump didn’t baffle the Internet. He didn’t baffle anyone — other than the mainstream press, which has become so consumed with hatred of the president and his supporters that it can’t recognize an obvious joke.
You can tell fanatics by their lack of a sense of humor, which requires a sense of proportion and reality. An image of a dog receiving a presidential medal is a funny joke. But it&#8217;s not as funny a joke as the fanatical leftists in the press who took it seriously.

Baghdadi Raid Dog

KNOWLES: Democracy Dies In Barkness

Dogs

Media

Media Bias

Military

Syria

On Tuesday’s episode of “The Michael Knowles Show,” Knowles talks about Trump’s use of canine imagery in Sunday’s press conference, in which he announced the killing of ISIS founder Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Video and partial transcript below: 
Three reasons why this picture of the soldier is so terrific: [it] doesn&#8217;t put soldiers in harm&#8217;s way, it gives us some details on the raid and satisfies that desire we have to know about it — to kind of picture the justice that&#8217;s being exacted. The third reason is the strategic reason, which is that the dog serves special significance here, carries real importance. 
You&#8217;ll remember in Trump&#8217;s announcement on Sunday, President Trump invoked a lot of dog imagery — not just the imagery of the dog hunting down Baghdadi, but the imagery of Baghdadi dying like a dog. Here&#8217;s President Trump: 
<blockquote>TRUMP: He died after running into a dead-end tunnel, whimpering and crying and screaming all the way &#8230;
The thug who tried so hard to intimidate others spent his last moments in utter fear, in total panic and dread, terrified of the American forces bearing down on him &#8230;
Baghdadi was vicious, and violent, and he died in a vicious and violent way, as a coward, running and crying. He died like a dog, he died like a coward. The world is now a much safer place. </blockquote>
He died like a dog. Trump has reiterated this time and time again. There is a contradiction here, because on the one hand, we&#8217;re exalting the heroism of this very, very, good dog who hunted down Baghdadi. Then, we&#8217;re hearing about the cowardice of dogs. But what is permeating all of the narrative is this canine imagery. I don&#8217;t think this is just a coincidence.
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You know, Trump actually does choose his words carefully. I know he gets assailed all the time for using loose words and he does. He exaggerates, he talks like a New Yorker, but he actually uses very precise words. He doesn&#8217;t use words elegantly, but he does use words carefully. That is how Trump has been a successful communicator for 40 years, that&#8217;s how he&#8217;s been successful on TV, and in the tabloids, and in the press, and in politics. 
You saw this in his letter to Turkey, when he wrote that letter to Turkey, which said [paraphrased] “We should have a good deal. Don&#8217;t be so stupid. People will look at you like the Devil if you make a bad deal. But if you work with us, you&#8217;ll make a good deal.” That letter to Turkey was written in a very elementary style, using small words and simple concepts. That was to communicate to a broad audience. 
You see it in the nicknames. Trump doesn&#8217;t just choose random arbitrary words for his political opponents — he hones in on that perfect nickname that sticks with them forever. So “Crooked Hillary,” he tried out a few others. He tried “Low Stamina Hillary,” [but] that was no good. There have been other nicknames for Hillary in her 40 years in politics, [but] crooked just sticks like glue. 
“Sleepy Joe,” he didn&#8217;t go for creepy Joe, [which] was the obvious choice because when he gave him the nickname Joe was doing all those shoulder massages. He used a word that rhymes with Creepy Joe, so it invokes it, but it&#8217;s sleepy to show that Joe doesn&#8217;t have any endurance, that Joe is falling apart, that he&#8217;s old, that he&#8217;s past his prime. And that has actually been the enduring attack on his campaign. You saw it with “Little Marco” and “Low-energy Jeb.” These are very careful words, and you&#8217;re seeing it here in the imagery about the dogs. 
Why? Because in Islamic culture, dogs are considered filthy. Dogs are impure, dogs are evil in the modern Islamic conception of them — ritually impure. The mere sight of a dog during prayer can be considered to negate the prayer of the faithful in Islam. Why is this? Because historically, in Islam, dogs would eat the trash in the cities. This is true in many cities, but especially true as Islam moved out of the desert and moved into the great big cities of the Islamic world. The dogs were relied on to eat the trash and keep people safe. However, as the connection between the proximity to garbage and filth and trash became associated with the spread of disease, dogs were looked on as filthy because they were the ones eating all the trash. 
So what Trump is doing here is in his initial statement, he&#8217;s saying Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi did not die as a great martyr. He didn&#8217;t die courageously, he died like a dog — like the filthiest thing you could possibly imagine. And then when he releases the photo, it&#8217;s almost worse than releasing a photo of Baghdadi&#8217;s blown up body, because if he releases the photo of the dog, he says your great terrorist leader was run down and chomped on by a dog.
<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-michael-knowles-show/id1266577963?mt=2">Listen to full episodes of “The Michael Knowles Show” on iTunes. </a>
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/show/the-michael-knowles-show">Watch “The Michael Knowles Show” on-demand!</a>

Hero Dog

KNOWLES: The Strategic Reason That Makes Hero Dog So Special

An obviously photoshopped meme of President Trump giving a Medal of Honor to the military canine injured in the U.S. special forces raid on Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi&#8217;s compound has sparked outrage from the perpetually outraged media and has inspired a number of urgent tweets and reports, including some heavy-hitting journalism from The New York Times and The Washington Post.
But when the Times contacted the war hero edited out of the original photo, retired Army medic James C. McCloughan, the paper found that he didn&#8217;t have quite the response that Trump&#8217;s critics probably hoped he&#8217;d have.
On Wednesday, President Trump tweeted out a humorous and painfully obvious photoshop job — first tweeted by The Daily Wire&#8217;s social media team — along with the all-caps caption declaring, &#8220;AMERICAN HERO!&#8221;
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AMERICAN HERO! <a href="https://t.co/XCCa2sGfsZ">pic.twitter.com/XCCa2sGfsZ</a>
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1189601417469841409?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 30, 2019</a></blockquote>
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As <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/journalists-are-scolding-trump-for-a-photoshopped-image-of-him-pinning-medal-of-honor-on-hero-dog">The Daily Wire</a> reported earlier, one intrepid reporter sprang to action to get to the bottom of the Trump-tweeted, Daily Wire-produced meme.
&#8220;I&#8217;ve requested details from the [White House] on this photo,&#8221; tweeted Voice of America&#8217;s Steven Herman. &#8220;There was no such canine event on today&#8217;s [POTUS] schedule but there is a Medal of Honor ceremony set here for later today for an active duty Green Beret.&#8221;
Soon, Herman&#8217;s very serious investigative cause was picked up by The New York Times. &#8220;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/30/us/politics/trump-dog.html">Trump Tweets Faked Photo of Hero Dog Getting a Medal</a>,&#8221; the Times declared Wednesday in its hard-charging report, produced by two equally serious Times journalists.
&#8220;President Trump on Wednesday shared an altered photograph of himself placing a medal around the neck of the dog injured in the raid last weekend that led to <a class="css-1g7m0tk" title="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/27/world/middleeast/al-baghdadi-dead.html?module=inline">the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi</a>, the Islamic State’s leader,&#8221; the Times reports.
&#8220;The image, which bears a watermark for a social media account for the conservative news site The Daily Wire, appeared to be an altered version of a 2017 Associated Press photograph,&#8221; the Times explains. &#8220;In the original, Mr. Trump is seen awarding a Medal of Honor to James C. McCloughan, a retired Army medic who is <a class="css-1g7m0tk" title="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/31/us/politics/medal-of-honor-trump-james-mccloughan.html?module=inline">credited with saving the lives of 10 men</a> during the war in Vietnam.&#8221;
Despite the serious tone of the piece, when the Times reached out to McCloughan by phone Wednesday for his response to Trump&#8217;s joking tweet, the paper found that the Medal of Honor recipient was &#8220;not offended&#8221; at all — in fact, he &#8220;laughed when he compared the two images.&#8221;
&#8220;In a phone interview on Wednesday, Mr. McCloughan, 73, who had not seen the image before a reporter sent it to him, said that he interpreted it as Mr. Trump recognizing the dog’s heroism,&#8221; the paper reports. &#8220;He certainly was not offended and laughed when he compared the two images.&#8221;
Noting that Medal of Honor recipients accept the award on behalf of their teams, McCloughan said canines have often been key to successful missions.
&#8220;This recognizes the dog is part of that team of brave people,&#8221; said McCloughan, emphasizing that military canines &#8220;are very courageous.&#8221;
Not to be outdone by the Times, The Washington Post also made sure the truth about the meme wouldn&#8217;t die in the darkness, issuing its own big report and a tweet trembling with indignation: &#8220;Trump tweeted a photo of a Medal of Honor recipient — who was edited out and replaced by a dog.&#8221;
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Trump tweeted a photo of a Medal of Honor recipient — who was edited out and replaced by a dog <a href="https://t.co/O3VWxMTt9E">https://t.co/O3VWxMTt9E</a>
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) <a href="https://twitter.com/washingtonpost/status/1189637263405264903?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 30, 2019</a></blockquote>
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James C. McCloughan Donald Trump

War Hero Edited Out Of Trump’s Dog Meme Laughs When NYT Calls For Comment: ‘Not Offended’

It often seems that there is no opportunity to bash President Trump that journalists in the mainstream media will not take, no matter how ridiculous it may be.
On Wednesday, President Trump tweeted out an obviously photoshopped image — which The Daily Wire&#8217;s own Twitter account initially created — of himself pinning the Medal of Honor on the much-beloved hero dog from the now-famous al-Baghdadi raid in Syria. The dog had quickly become an Internet sensation. Take a look:
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AMERICAN HERO! <a href="https://t.co/XCCa2sGfsZ">pic.twitter.com/XCCa2sGfsZ</a>
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1189601417469841409?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 30, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Naturally, the meme had its share of haters and trolls, many of whom took issue with the photo being an obvious forgery. They were all outdone, however, when Steve Herman, the White House Bureau Chief of Voice for America, actually tried to turn it into some sort of alleged scandal.
&#8220;I&#8217;ve requested details from the [White House] on this photo. There was no such canine event on today&#8217;s [POTUS] schedule but there is a Medal of Honor ceremony set here for later today for an active duty Green Beret,&#8221; tweeted Herman.
After Twitter users scolded Herman for his hot take on the meme, he then took issue with the photoshopping itself, suggesting it was disrespectful to the original recipient of that Medal of Honor.
&#8220;Photoshopped from the first Medal of Honor [Donald Trump] awarded (to James McCloughan of the [U.S. Army] for conspicuous gallantry during the Vietnam War),&#8221; he tweeted in response to another journalist&#8217;s assertion that the photo disrespected McCloughan.
Herman was not alone in using this photo to bash President Trump. S.V. Date of HuffPost <a href="https://twitter.com/svdate/status/1189602652511965187">also tweeted</a>: &#8220;Fine, just the president of the United States disseminating a doctored image created by a right-wing propaganda site.&#8221;
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I&#39;ve requested details from the <a href="https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@WhiteHouse</a> on this photo. There was no such canine event on today&#39;s <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a> schedule but there is a Medal of Honor ceremony set here for later today for an active duty Green Beret. <a href="https://t.co/NESINT9J4b">https://t.co/NESINT9J4b</a>
&mdash; Steve Herman (@W7VOA) <a href="https://twitter.com/W7VOA/status/1189603619391320065?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 30, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Photoshopped from the first Medal of Honor <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@realDonaldTrump</a> awarded (to James McCloughan of the <a href="https://twitter.com/USArmy?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@USArmy</a> for conspicuous gallantry during the Vietnam War). <a href="https://t.co/PHEUCZd6B0">https://t.co/PHEUCZd6B0</a>
&mdash; Steve Herman (@W7VOA) <a href="https://twitter.com/W7VOA/status/1189612710515937281?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 30, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Herman&#8217;s &#8220;journalism&#8221; was immediately met with a barrage of scorn and mockery.
&#8220;Not only did you take the picture way too seriously in posting this garbage, you actually felt it necessary to add [six] additional sub-tweets to truly put on display how pathetic you are &#8230; &#8216;journalist&#8217; and &#8216;reporter&#8217; have been replaced with &#8216;lazy hack&#8217; thanks to people like you,&#8221; responded one Twitter user.
&#8220;This is clearly an attempt by the White House to shut out the press from reporting on the details of the Al-Baghdadi raid. Steve, please keep the pressure on them. Keen reporters like you are true Patriots and what this country needs,&#8221; another user jokingly stated.
&#8220;Steve. Really? You had to ask for comment from the WH on this? It&#8217;s for FUN, Steve! Lighten the hell up, even if for just a quick second to smile at a poorly photoshopped pic of the Hero Doggo getting her rightly deserved Doggie Medal. Good lord. Y&#8217;all are exhausting,&#8221; posted another.
Though ridiculous in its own right, Herman&#8217;s obvious case of &#8220;Trump derangement syndrome&#8221; comes nowhere as close to the madness displayed by Max Boot earlier this week. Boot openly scolded Trump for calling al-Baghdadi a coward due to the terrorist&#8217;s ultimate death by suicide.
&#8220;He was a sick and depraved man, and now he’s gone,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;He died like a dog, he died like a coward.&#8221;
In response to that, Max Boot had <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/washington-post-columnist-deletes-sentence-he-says-unintentionally-made-baghdadi-looked-courageous">this to say</a>: &#8220;The assertion that Baghdadi died as a coward was, in any case, contradicted by the fact that rather than be captured, he blew himself up.&#8221;
After enough backlash, Boot deleted the sentence, saying people misinterpreted it as defending al-Baghdadi&#8217;s honor.
&#8220;An earlier version of this column included a sentence questioning whether Trump was right to call Baghdadi a coward because he blew himself up. The line was removed because it unintentionally conveyed the impression that I considered Baghdadi courageous,&#8221; Boot later wrote.

Donald Trump Awards Medal Of Honor To Vietnam War Veteran James C. McCloughan

Journalists Are Scolding Trump For A Photoshopped Image Of Him Pinning Medal Of Honor On Hero Dog

According to a new report, an integral factor in the successful elimination by U.S. special forces of the most wanted man in the world, mass murdering Islamic State leader Abu Baker al-Baghdadi, was &#8220;an extraordinarily well-placed informant.&#8221; The informant was reportedly a defector of the terrorist group who worked from inside the compound where Baghdadi was cornered and ultimately killed himself and some of his children by detonating a suicide vest.
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&#8220;U.S. commandos zeroed in on Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s final hideout with the help of an extraordinarily well-placed informant, an Islamic State operative who facilitated the terrorist leader’s movements around Syria and even helped oversee construction work on his Syrian safe house, according to U.S. and Middle East-based officials knowledgeable about the operation,&#8221; <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/islamic-state-turncoat-inside-baghdadis-hideout-critical-to-success-of-raid-officials-say/2019/10/29/e702c2fa-fa86-11e9-ac8c-8eced29ca6ef_story.html">The Washington Post</a> reported Tuesday.
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The defector reportedly provided the U.S. military a detailed, &#8220;room-by-room layout&#8221; of the compound where the terrorist&#8217;s reign finally came to an inglorious end on Oct. 26.
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&#8220;The informant was present during the assault on Baghdadi’s compound in the Syrian province of Idlib, and he was exfiltrated from the region two days later with his family,&#8221; the Post reports. &#8220;The man, whose nationality had not been revealed, is expected to receive some or all of the $25 million U.S. bounty that had been placed on Baghdadi’s head, according to the officials.&#8221;
The Post notes that an unnamed official described the informant as a Sunni Arab who defected after the terrorist group killed one of his relatives.
In a nationally televised statement Sunday morning, President Trump announced the death of Baghdadi and made a point of underscoring his heinous actions as the leader of the barbaric group as well as his shameful death, which took the lives of three of his own children.
&#8220;Last night, the United States brought the world’s No. 1 terrorist leader to justice,&#8221; Trump told the nation Sunday. &#8220;Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is dead. He was the founder and leader of ISIS, the most ruthless and violent terror organization anywhere in the world. The United States has been searching for Baghdadi for many years. Capturing or killing Baghdadi has been the top national security priority of my administration. U.S. Special Operations forces executed a dangerous and daring nighttime raid in northwestern Syria and accomplished their mission in grand style.
&#8220;He died after running into a dead-end tunnel, whimpering and crying and screaming all the way,&#8221; said Trump. &#8220;The compound had been cleared by this time, with people either surrendering or being shot and killed. Eleven young children were moved out of the house uninjured. The only ones remaining were Baghdadi in the tunnel, and he had dragged three of his young children with him. They were led to certain death.&#8221;
&#8220;He reached the end of the tunnel, as our dogs chased him down,&#8221; Trump continued. &#8220;He ignited his vest, killing himself and the three children. His body was mutilated by the blast, the tunnel had caved in on it in addition, but test results gave certain, immediate and totally positive identification it was him.&#8221;
&#8220;The thug who tried so hard to intimidate others spent his last moments in utter fear, in total panic and dread — terrified of the American forces bearing down on him,&#8221; said the president. &#8220;We were in the compound for approximately two hours, and after the mission was accomplished, we took highly sensitive material and information from the raid, much having to do with ISIS, origins, future plans, things that we very much want. Baghdadi’s demise demonstrates America’s relentless pursuit of terrorist leaders, and our commitment to the enduring and total defeat of ISIS and other terrorist organizations.&#8221;
Below is the full <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/27/us/trump-transcript-isis-al-baghdadi.html">transcript</a> of Trump&#8217;s remarks
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Last night, the United States brought the world’s No. 1 terrorist leader to justice. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is dead. He was the founder and leader of ISIS, the most ruthless and violent terror organization anywhere in the world. The United States has been searching for Baghdadi for many years. Capturing or killing Baghdadi has been the top national security priority of my administration. U.S. Special Operations forces executed a dangerous and daring nighttime raid in northwestern Syria and accomplished their mission in grand style.
The U.S. personnel were incredible. I got to watch much of it. No personnel were lost in the operation, while a large number of Baghdadi’s fighters and companions were killed with him. He died after running into a dead-end tunnel, whimpering and crying and screaming all the way. The compound had been cleared by this time, with people either surrendering or being shot and killed.
Eleven young children were moved out of the house uninjured. The only ones remaining were Baghdadi in the tunnel, and he had dragged three of his young children with him. They were led to certain death. He reached the end of the tunnel, as our dogs chased him down. He ignited his vest, killing himself and the three children. His body was mutilated by the blast, the tunnel had caved in on it in addition, but test results gave certain, immediate and totally positive identification it was him.
The thug who tried so hard to intimidate others spent his last moments in utter fear, in total panic and dread — terrified of the American forces bearing down on him. We were in the compound for approximately two hours, and after the mission was accomplished, we took highly sensitive material and information from the raid, much having to do with ISIS, origins, future plans, things that we very much want.
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Baghdadi’s demise demonstrates America’s relentless pursuit of terrorist leaders, and our commitment to the enduring and total defeat of ISIS and other terrorist organizations. Our reach is very long. As you know, last month we announced that we recently killed Hamza bin Laden, the very violent son of Osama bin Laden, who was saying very bad things about people, about our country, about the world.
He was the heir apparent to Al Qaeda. Terrorists who oppress and murder innocent people should never sleep soundly, knowing that we will completely destroy them. These savage monsters will not escape their fate — and they will not escape the final judgment of God.
Baghdadi has been on the run for many years, long before I took office. But at my direction, as commander-in-chief of the United States, we obliterated his caliphate, 100 percent, in March of this year. Today’s events are another reminder that we will continue to pursue the remaining ISIS terrorists to their brutal end. That also goes for other terrorist organizations. They are likewise in our sights.
Baghdadi and the losers who worked with him — and losers they are — they had no idea what they were getting into. In some cases they were very frightened puppies, in other cases they were hard-core killers. But they killed many, many people. Their murder of innocent Americans James Foley, Steven Sotloff, Peter Kassig and Kayla Mueller were especially heinous. The shocking publicized murder of Jordanian pilot — a wonderful young man, spoke to the king of Jordan, they all knew him, they all loved him — who was burned alive in a cage for all to see, and the execution of Christians in Libya and Egypt, as well as the genocidal mass murder of Yazidis, rank ISIS among the most depraved organizations in the history of our world.
The forced religious conversions, the orange suits prior to so many beheadings, all of which were openly displayed for the world to see — this was all that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi — this is what he wanted, this is what he was proud of. He was a sick and depraved man. And now he’s gone. Baghdadi was vicious and violent, and he died in a vicious and violent way, as a coward, running and crying. This raid was impeccable, and could only have taken place with the acknowledgment and help of certain other nations and people.
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I want to thank the nations of Russia, Turkey, Syria and Iraq, and I also want to thank the Syrian Kurds for certain support they were able to give us. This was a very, very dangerous mission. Thank you as well to the great intelligence professionals who helped make this very successful journey possible.
I want to thank the soldiers and sailors, airmen and Marines involved in last night’s operation. You are the very best there is anywhere in the world, no matter where you go there is nobody even close. I want to thank Gen. Mark Milley and our Joint Chiefs of Staff, and I also want to thank our professionals who work in other agencies of the United States government and were critical to the mission’s unbelievable success.
Last night was a great night for the United States and for the world. A brutal killer, one who has caused so much hardship and death, has violently been eliminated — he will never again harm another innocent man, woman or child. He died like a dog. He died like a coward. The world is now a much safer place.
God bless America, thank you.
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Al-Baghdadi

Report: ISIS Defector Inside Baghdadi’s Compound Was Key To U.S. Getting Terrorist Leader

Trump Administration

Washington Post

If you want to know how horribly and disgustingly partisan America has become in the days of Trump Derangement Syndrome, look no further than what occurred over the weekend.
The president ordered the U.S. military to take out the worst terrorist in the world. The special outfit known as Delta Force stormed into Syria, tracked down Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and cornered him in a tunnel. The coward blew himself up with a suicide vest.
America and the world are now safer. That’s a good thing, right?
Wrong.
It’s a terrible thing because Donald Trump is president.
When Barack Obama ordered the mission that took out Osama bin Laden, the heinous terrorist who led the September 11 terrorist attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people, Americans cheered — as they should.
What did they do this time? They booed. Literally.
Hours after detailing the mission at the White House, Trump attended a World Series game in Washington. When his image came up on the jumbo screen, boos were heard throughout Nationals Park.
The cesspool that is D.C. was weirdly unified over the upstart team, which in May had a 0.1% chance of making the playoffs. Not any more. The mere image of the president, along with First Lady Melania Trump, brought jeers from the rafters.
But let’s back up. Trump was mocked Sunday when he said “bin Laden was a big thing, but this is the biggest there is. This is the worst ever.” Worse than bin Laden? You bet. Here’s why.
Al-Baghdadi was the scum of the earth. As founder and leader of the Islamic State, he was seeking to set up a global caliphate under Islamic law.
“His followers burned victims alive in cages or slowly drowned them. They threw gay people off rooftops, and beheaded others on videos they then broadcast online,” the Daily Mail reported. “They executed 13 teenage boys in Iraq with machine guns because they were watching a football match on TV. They shot, suicide-bombed and massacred any rival Shia Muslims they could find in a relentless frenzied attempt to ethnically cleanse them off the face of the planet.”
During his reign of terror, ISIS was responsible for the attack on the French magazine Charlie Hebdo, as well as massacres at a soccer stadium, European cafes, a festival in France and an Ariana Grande pop concert in England. ISIS killed hundreds in the attacks and injured many more.
But the U.S. media couldn’t give Trump even a modicum of credit.
“Face the Nation” put on James Winnefeld, Barack Obama’s deputy chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who ripped Trump for “piling humiliation” on ISIS after the mission. “If you look back at the bin Laden raid, we treated his body with respect that is due under Islam.” (For the record, they photographed his dead body then dumped him in the sea.)
Nick Paton Walsh, an international correspondent for CNN, said Trump’s statement was reminiscent of ISIS, saying the “explicit details” he gave “echoed, frankly, the crudeness you would often expect to hear maybe from ISIS.”
The Washington Post went so far as to claim al-Baghdadi was courageous in death.
“The assertion that Baghdadi died as a coward was, in any case, contradicted by the fact that rather than be captured, he blew himself up,” columnist Max Boot wrote. Another columnist, Greg Sargent, said Trump’s detailed account of what happened on the raid featured “deeply sick and twisted” rhetoric. (After public shaming, Boot deleted the line.)
And, of course, The Washington Post wrote in a headline Sunday referring to al-Baghdadi as an “austere religious scholar.” Not “world’s worst terrorist.”
Tim Graham, director of media analysis for the Media Research Center, a conservative press watchdog, summed up the MSM’s reaction.
“What a fascinating glimpse into the mind of the liberal media. They have developed such an aversion to covering the president favorably that they cannot even bear to celebrate an American special-forces victory over ISIS,” he told The Washington Times.
That’s where we are today. The mainstream (read: liberal) media cannot even deliver straight news coverage on a major event that made America and the world safer.
And it’s all about to get worse, with impeachment and the 2020 election.
Brace yourselves.
*Joseph Curl ran the Drudge Report from 2010 to 2014 and covered the White House for a dozen years. He can be reached at josephcurl@gmail.com and on Twitter at @JosephCurl. A version of this article ran previously in The Washington Times.

Donald Trump Holds Campaign Rally In Las Vegas

CURL: Liberals Blast Trump For Taking Out World’s Worst Terrorist. Seriously.

The following is satirical.
Media pundits seem to be discovering the hidden charms of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Ever since President Donald Trump arranged for the erasure of the ISIS leader, press anti-Trumpers seem to be asking themselves: If Trump ordered him killed, can he really have been so bad?
The Washington Post, where Democracy dies strangling on hatred after taking a heavy dose of mindless venom, called the terrorist leader an “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/58280">austere religious scholar</a>,” and blamed the United States invasion of Iraq for distracting this “academic” from his intention to live a “quiet life as a professor of Islamic law.”
Never Trumper Max Boot, meanwhile, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/10/28/al-baghdadis-death-could-have-been-trumps-finest-hour-he-messed-it-up-anyway/">objected</a> to President Trump calling the austere scholar a coward saying, after all, the terrorist had been brave enough to blow himself and three children to smithereens.
I’ve prayed God would allow me to wake up in a world where I’m making all that up, but so far no dice. I haven’t even gotten to the satire part yet.
We can now look forward to articles from, say, The New York Times, a former newspaper, praising al-Baghdadi for his wistful appreciation of female beauty, and maybe Chuck Todd will chime in on al-Baghdadi’s artistic camera work as he made videos of innocent people being beheaded in order to recruit more austere scholars to his cause of slaughtering everybody in sight.
There was, of course, also al-Baghdadi’s fabulous fashion sense which led MSNBC to offer him a hosting spot on their new show &#8220;Muslim Eye for the Christian Guy,&#8221; which has now unfortunately been canceled due to Trump’s brutal indifference to fostering really good TV.
Meanwhile, McCarthyite Congressman Adam Schiff is whining because Trump didn’t inform him of the operation ahead of time. Trump said he worried Schiff would leak the mission to the press. But Schiff said that was absurd, according to anonymous sources on the Intelligence Committee who spoke with the Times.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/58280">Washington Post Changes Headline About Terrorist Leader’s Death, Calling Him An ‘Austere Religious Scholar’</a>

Media Asks: If Trump Had Al-Baghdadi Killed, Can He Really Have Been So Bad? [Satire]

Chuck Todd

MSNBC

New York Times

Satire

On Sunday night, &#8220;Halloween&#8221; actress Jamie Lee Curtis took a shot at President Donald Trump by defending the murderous leader of the Islamic State, Abū Bakr al-Baghdadi.
&#8220;He may have died a coward,&#8221; Curtis said of Baghdadi, &#8220;[Donald Trump,] but ALL living things suffer when they are blown up.&#8221;
&#8220;Anyone who has experienced warfare, unlike yourself, would know that. War is brutal,&#8221; she continued. (It&#8217;s unclear if Curtis has secretly served in combat herself, as she seems to suggest here.)
The 60-year-old then bizarrely added: &#8220;Dogs are brave, bold, loyal, loving, and healing.&#8221;
The actress deleted the tweet by Monday morning, but The Daily Wire was able to grab a screenshot of the post, as seen below:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Here’s <a href="https://twitter.com/jamieleecurtis?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@jamieleecurtis</a>’ insane, now-deleted tweet on ISIS leader Baghdadi’s death: <a href="https://t.co/Ub3jlp6Dip">pic.twitter.com/Ub3jlp6Dip</a>
&mdash; Amanda Prestigiacomo (@AmandaPresto) <a href="https://twitter.com/AmandaPresto/status/1189184885052735490?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 29, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Donald Trump Jr., the president&#8217;s eldest son, responded to Curtis&#8217; insanity on Monday.
&#8220;Thanks for your contribution to the Trump 2020 Campaign,&#8221; the Trump son snarked. &#8220;This is the Leftist Hollywood take folks, remember that next November.&#8221;
&#8220;Imagine hating [Donald Trump] or frankly anything so much that you become an ISIS sympathizer?!?&#8221; he illustrated.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Thanks for your contribution to the Trump 2020 Campaign.
This is the Leftist Hollywood take folks, remember that next November. Imagine hating <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@realDonaldTrump</a> or frankly anything so much that you become an ISIS sympathizer?!? <a href="https://t.co/THbkR3DYDG">https://t.co/THbkR3DYDG</a>
&mdash; Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) <a href="https://twitter.com/DonaldJTrumpJr/status/1188840002316390401?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 28, 2019</a></blockquote>
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&nbsp;
Curtis was not the only one on the Left to sympathize with or lionize Baghdadi out of Trump disdain. Anti-Trump Washington Post columnist Max Boot described the murderous terrorist as courageous for blowing himself up and killing nearby children to evade capture by U.S. Military forces.
&#8220;The assertion that Baghdadi died as a coward was, in any case, contradicted by the fact that rather than be captured, he blew himself up,&#8221; wrote Boot, attempting to &#8220;debunk&#8221; President Trump calling Baghdadi cowardly.
Unlike his opponents, President Trump expressed zero sympathy for the leading terrorist. When he announced Baghdadi&#8217;s death on Sunday, Trump noted that he &#8220;died like a dog, he died like a coward, he was whimpering, screaming and crying.”
As noted by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/operation-to-take-down-baghdadi-named-after-isis-victim-whose-parents-condemned-obamas-inaction">The Daily Wire</a>, the operation that killed Baghdadi was named after Kayla Mueller, an American aid worker who was kidnapped by ISIS in 2013 and was reportedly <a href="https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1849890/murdered-us-hostage-kayla-mueller-raped-repeatedly-islamic-state-leader">raped</a> by Baghdadi before she was reportedly killed two years later.
“The chairman of the joint chiefs of staff named the operation that took down al-Baghdadi after Kayla Mueller, after what she had suffered,” White House national security adviser Robert O’Brien <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/27/politics/kayla-mueller-parents-reaction-to-baghdadi-death/">told</a> NBC News’ “Meet the Press” on Sunday.
“We were grateful that they didn’t mess around and went right in,” said Marsha Mueller, Kayla&#8217;s mother, of the operation. “I just want to say how grateful we are to this administration, to the military, and to the special forces that went in. My hope is that this will help us get answers to what really happened to Kayla and get her home.”
Mrs. Mueller also told <a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2019/10/27/dead-isis-leader-abu-bakr-al-baghdadi-held-arizona-kayla-mueller-hostage/2478713001/">The Arizona Republic</a> that her daughter might still be alive today &#8220;if Obama had been as decisive as President Trump.
“For me what matters most, I’m hoping now we will finally get the answers we have been asking for all along. I think this administration truly might help us. I don’t think they are as closed about what happened,&#8221; she added.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/operation-to-take-down-baghdadi-named-after-isis-victim-whose-parents-condemned-obamas-inaction">Operation To Take Down Baghdadi Named After ISIS Victim Whose Parents Condemned Obama’s Inaction</a>

Jamie Lee Curtis

Jamie Lee Curtis Defends Killed ISIS Leader Baghdadi; Don Jr. Nukes Her

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