OCTOBER 27, 2019
WASHINGTON, DC
MORNING
The president of the United States is feeling a surge of satisfaction.
“Last night, the United States brought the world’s terrorist leader to justice.” Speaking in the White House Diplomatic Reception Room, Donald Trump wears a dark suit and red tie. His voice is somber. Reporters and television cameras fill the spacious oval room. This morning’s address has been delayed thirty minutes so the president can put final touches on his speech.
“Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is dead.”
This accomplishment is sorely needed good news for the Trump administration. The president is on the verge of being impeached for allegedly soliciting foreign assistance from Ukraine in his reelection bid. Trump’s relationship with Russian leader Vladimir Putin is the subject of another controversy. And Turkish president Recep Erdoğan boldly ordered President Trump to remove American troops from northern Syria earlier this month—a demand with which the usually defiant US president complied.
So just as the Osama bin Laden commando operation boosted the Obama administration, President Trump hopes that the al-Baghdadi raid will do the same for him. He chose not to break the news last night, knowing many Americans would be distracted on a Saturday. Instead, he has chosen Sunday morning, a time when the nation tunes in for morning network news shows as well as football pregame programs.
Donald Trump also hopes to downplay his predecessor’s bin Laden accomplishment, stating that al-Baghdadi was a much bigger threat. Knowing the power of visual imagery, the president has ordered that a photo be released of himself and his top officials taken in the Situation Room shortly after the raid.
For Donald Trump, the death of al-Baghdadi is a personal triumph. He has long loathed all the jihadists. He still remembers 9/11 vividly.
“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. US Special Operations Forces executed a dangerous and daring nighttime raid in northwestern Syria and accomplished their mission in grand style,” the president says.
“The US 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.”
Mr. Trump speaks for ten minutes, his voice rising as his contempt for al-Baghdadi grows more theatrical.
“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.”
With that, the scripted speech is over. When President Obama announced the bin Laden killing, he gave a simple address to the nation, then turned around and departed.
But Donald Trump owns the airwaves right now. America is watching. This opportunity cannot be ignored. So, the president begins taking questions.
As commander in chief, a role Donald Trump relishes, he has the authority to frame the antiterror action in Syria any way he wants.
“From the first day I came to office—and now we’re getting close to three years—I would say, ‘Where’s al-Baghdadi? I want al-Baghdadi.’ And we would kill terrorist leaders, but they were names I never heard of. They were names that weren’t recognizable and they weren’t the big names. Some good ones, some important ones, but they weren’t the big names. I kept saying, ‘Where’s al-Baghdadi?’ And a couple of weeks ago, they were able to scope him out …
“And that’s why he died like a dog, he died like a coward. He was whimpering, screaming, and crying. And, frankly, I think it’s something that should be brought out so that his followers and all of these young kids that want to leave various countries, including the United States, they should see how he died. He didn’t die a hero. He died a coward—crying, whimpering, screaming, and bringing three kids with him to die a certain death. And he knew the tunnel had no end. I mean, it was a—it was a closed-end—they call it a closed-end tunnel. Not a good place to be.”
The number of children killed and the type of tunnel are inaccurate. But the president’s message is clear. He believes al-Baghdadi is a more important target than Osama bin Laden. So he continues to put forth that narrative.
“Was he being chased?” a reporter asks, referring to al-Baghdadi.
“These people, they were moving—they were chasing, yeah. They were chasing. But again, because of the suicide vest, you can’t get too close,” answers the president.
“Again, one of the reasons with the wives is if they have a suicide vest, you know, you have to be very, very careful. These vests are brutal. Brutal. And they go for a long distance.”
The reporter follows up: “Have you spoken or will you speak to the families, like the Foley family?”
“I’m calling the families now. It will be a pleasure to do that. The Foley family, who I know. We’ll be calling Kayla’s family. What—what he did to her was incredible. It’s a well-known story, and I’m not going to say it, but you know that. He kept her in captivity for a long period of time. He kept her in his captivity, his personal captivity. She was a beautiful woman, beautiful young woman. Helped people. She was there to help people. And he saw her and he thought she was beautiful, and he brought her into captivity for a long period of time and then he killed her. He was an animal.”
With the hate-Trump American media dominant, the speech as well as the Q&A is almost instantly denigrated.
“The episode became another pointed illustration of the perils of the president’s confrontational style of governing and the bitter partisanship into which the US has descended,” notes the British Broadcasting Corporation. “It stood in contrast to Barack Obama’s solemn evening announcement of Osama Bin Laden’s death, although that should not be surprising at this point. Mr. Trump has said that his conduct is ‘modern-day presidential’—and his blunt, frequently casual language is part of that package.”
Dozens of newspapers compare the two speeches, many preferring Obama’s low-key approach to Trump’s taunting. The New York Times takes a different angle, speaking to high-level officials who fear President Trump’s rhetoric will have a long-term negative effect on the terror war. The newspaper quotes Juliette Kayyem, a former assistant secretary of homeland security under President Obama: “In other words, the impact of his gloating is more harmful to us … and takes a winning moment that our allies needed and our enemies should fear and turns it into a question of credibility.”
Lost in the partisan coverage of al-Baghdadi’s demise is an objective look at geopolitics with ISIS weakened. Also missing: an analysis of the methodical effectiveness of the American military and intelligence apparatus.
Neither President Obama nor his predecessor, President George W. Bush, issues a statement about the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. It is widely known that both men despise Donald Trump.
The global response to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s death, however, is overwhelmingly positive. British defense secretary Ben Wallace notes that “the world will not miss al-Baghdadi.”
French president Emmanuel Macron notes that the fight must continue: “Al-Baghdadi’s death is a hard blow against Islamic State. But it is just a stage. With our partners in the international coalition, the fight continues to finally defeat this terrorist organization. It is our priority in the Middle East.”
Even Russia applauds the death of the ISIS leader.
In Arizona, Kayla Mueller’s parents finally know that their daughter’s killer has been brought to justice. “I’m glad that evil person is gone,” Mueller’s father says on NBC’s Today show. “If you were a parent, and this man did what he did to Kayla to your child, and then they got him, how would you feel?”
“That was just an amazing gift for Kayla,” her mother adds. “I know Kayla; Kayla would say this was for all of us. This is for all the hostages.”
But in Iran, General Qasem Soleimani is not impressed. The general directs his secretary of information to tweet: “Not a big deal. You just killed your creature,” implying that the United States is the reason ISIS exists in the first place.
As for the terrorist organization itself, it refuses to even acknowledge that al-Baghdadi is dead. However, two months after the raid, the West African branch of ISIS—a group of thugs and rapists known as Boko Haram—kills eleven Christian hostages, claiming their executions are revenge for the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
President Trump basks in the public praise but seethes over some media criticism. Game 5 of the World Series is being played in Nationals Park, a stadium not far from the White House. In his youth, the president was a decent ballplayer and once even pondered making the game his profession. He now sits in a luxury box with his wife, Melania, and several Republican dignitaries. Red, white, and blue bunting lines the railings. The spectators largely wear red and white, the colors of the Washington team.
A stadium camera pans over the crowd, settling on the face of Mr. Trump. Even at a ball game, he wears a coat and tie.
Many in the stadium applaud enthusiastically at the sight of the president. Patriotism is in the air tonight, and the killing of al-Baghdadi elicits chants of “USA! USA!”
Then come some boos.
During their terms in office, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, Richard Nixon, and both Bushes were booed while attending baseball games. Such is the fickle nature of the American populace.
A chant soon arises from the crowd, loud enough to be heard clearly over the buzz of a packed stadium. These are words referring to Donald Trump’s ongoing impeachment issues, a taunt that he originated against political rival Hillary Clinton during the 2016 presidential race: “Lock him up.”
A short while later, the president and his wife leave the stadium before the game is over.
The takedown of al-Baghdadi generally helps the Trump administration. But it is not a complete victory. The bitter partisanship that has consumed America soon blocks out the ISIS raid. The Democratic Party is invested in playing down all accomplishments of Donald Trump’s, but the truth is that ISIS has been severely degraded and is no longer the top terror threat against America. That description now belongs to Iran and its ferocious military leader, General Qasem Soleimani. President Trump knows this, and because of Soleimani’s public insults, America’s leader has another score to settle.
And the endgame is now underway.