President Donald Trump, in announcing the death of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi on Sunday, thanked Russia before he thanked the Kurds.
The response from Trump’s new national security adviser, Robert O’Brien: Don’t read anything into it.
“I don’t think you should read into that,” O’Brien said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” He applauded the president’s “courageous decision” and said the men and women in the armed forces and intelligence community “executed the mission flawlessly.”
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After teasing a major announcement the day before, Trump confirmed reports Sunday that Baghdadi had died in a raid by U.S. special forces — using vivid and gory detail to describe the self-declared caliph’s final moments.
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The president later gave his acknowledgments: “I want to thank the nations of Russia, Syria, Turkey and Iraq, and I also want to thank the Syrian Kurds for certain support they were able to give us.“
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“The Kurds played an important role in the operation, and we are grateful for the Kurds and the [Syrian Democratic Forces] and our allies there,” O’Brien said on NBC.
Later in the interview, he added that Russia still presents a “great danger” to the U.S. But sometimes, O’Brien said, American interests “overlap” with Russian interests — and there is no reason the two countries shouldn’t work together in those cases.
“Let me just make it very clear: Russia is not an ally of the United States. The president doesn’t believe that, I don’t believe that.”
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President Donald Trump thanked Russia before the Kurds in announcing the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. His national security adviser says don't read anything into it. https://t.co/ojyLJCJhFX
— POLITICO (@politico) October 27, 2019
Trump thanks for #Baghdadi operation:
Nations of:
1- Russia
2- Syria (Assad)
3- Iraq
4- TurkeyHe then thanks SDF for helping in operation. Then US intel and military.
— Joyce Karam (@Joyce_Karam) October 27, 2019
— Schooley (@Rschooley) October 27, 2019
How telling he thanks Russia first.
— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) October 27, 2019
“Let me just make it very clear: Russia is not an ally of the United States. The president doesn’t believe that, I don’t believe that.”
Yeah. Right.
Let's keep this simple: DoD & IC moved on Baghdadi now, after months of prepping the op, because they knew Trump's screw-the-Kurds pullout in Syria would make the kill impossible soon.
Trump's crude, creepy gloating obscures this essential truth. Don't let it.
— John Schindler (@20committee) October 27, 2019
The Kurds told the world where Baghdadi was — in *MARCH*. https://t.co/CVuuucLtLN
— Noah Shachtman (@NoahShachtman) October 27, 2019
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