House Leader Nancy Pelosi is unhappy with President Trump for failing to notify her about the raid against ISIS leader Bakr al-Baghdadi on Saturday night.
The evil leader of ISIS was killed overnight near the Syrian-Turkish border.
President Trump told the press on Sunday morning that Congressional leaders, including Pelosi, were not notified about the attack due to their constant leaks.
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Reporter: “Did you notify Speaker Pelosi?”
President Trump: “No I didn’t. I wanted to make sure this was kept secret. I don’t want to have men lost and women. I don’t want to have people lost.”
Foxnews.com reports: In a national address on Sunday morning, Trump described a daring nighttime airborne raid by American special operations forces in Syria’s northwestern Idlib province and said they flew over heavily militarized territory controlled by multiple nations and forces. No U.S. troops were killed or injured in the operation, Trump said.
As U.S. troops bore down on al-Baghdadi, he fled into a “dead-end” tunnel with three of his children, Trump said, and detonated a suicide vest. “He was a sick and depraved man, and now he’s gone,” Trump said. “He died like a dog, he died like a coward.” Al-Baghdadi’s identity was positively confirmed by a DNA test conducted onsite, Trump said.
Pelosi, in a statement released shortly after the president’s address, thanked the U.S. Special Operations forces for carrying out the raid – praising “the heroism, dedication and skill of our military and our intelligence professionals” – but questioned why the Trump administration choose to notify other nations of the raid and not congressional lawmakers.
“The House must be briefed on this raid, which the Russians but not top Congressional Leadership were notified of in advance, and on the Administration’s overall strategy in the region,” she said. “Our military and allies deserve strong, smart and strategic leadership from Washington.”
The eight U.S. helicopters involved in the raid flew through air space controlled jointly by Russia and Turkey. The Turkish official said in a written statement Sunday that there has been “close coordination” among relevant parties and the Turkish military had advanced knowledge of the raid.
Trump on Sunday said that he had notified some congressional lawmakers before the raid, but not Pelosi because he did not want the information leaking to the public before it took place.
“No, I didn’t. I didn’t do that. I wanted to make sure this kept secret,” Trump said. “I don’t want to have people lost.”
Vice President Mike Pence, however, downplayed Trump’s decision to keep Pelosi in the dark in an appearance on “Fox News Sunday” immediately following Trump’s address. The vice president claimed that Trump did not mean to say he did not trust the House Speaker.
“I don’t think that was the implication at all,” Pence said. When pressed on the issue, the vice president said, “We maintain the tightest possible security here,” and focused on Trump’s goal, which was to bring al-Baghdadi to justice.
