During an interview aired on Monday’s broadcast of Comedy Central’s “Daily Show,” 2020 presidential candidate former Representative Beto O’Rourke (D-TX) stated that there is a “very compelling” case that the raid that killed ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi succeeded “despite” President Trump.
O’Rourke said, “I think it would make sense for the president to congratulate those service members and the canine…but also, some have made the case, and it’s very compelling to me, that this raid was successful in spite of, or despite the president, not because of him. To turn his back on those Kurdish fighters, whose intelligence and help located al-Baghdadi in the first place and made sure that we were successful, his precipitous withdrawal, that created a void that Turkey and Russia, Iran and ISIS and Assad have all come into. It is really a miracle that we were able to do this, but it is really owing to our allies, our friends, our partners on the ground, and those brave service members who put their lives on the line to ensure that there was justice for this country.”
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