Last night, Jimmy Kimmel compared Barack Obama’s announcement of the killing of Osama Bin Ladin with Trump’s announcement of the killing of Al Baghdadi. Obama took 9 minutes. Trump took 48. As you can imagine, the comparison is jaw dropping.
The Russians aren’t backing Trump on his story of getting Al Baghdadi, calling his announcement “propaganda”. The Russian defense ministry says that Russia was not involved and even doubted that the raid killed the actual Al Baghdadi saying that Syria has claimed several times to have already killed him. The shifting stories between the Pentagon, the White House, and His Orangeness’ mouth has added a lot of doubt to whether the entire tale is actually true or not.
Typical in Trumpland – nothing is clear, and everything is loud.
You knew it was going to happen – after wrecking millions of Americans’ quiet Sunday morning with an almost hour long display of boasting and lying, the truth about the raid is coming out. The truth is that the Pentagon has been planning a raid to kill the ISIS leader since last summer after the Kurds had captured one of his wives and a courier who talked. Those detailed plans were completely disrupted with Trump’s sudden pullout of Kurdish territory allowing Turkey, Russia, and Assad’s forces to rush in.
Rather than wait and risk Trump stupidly pulling everyone else out, a risky night raid by Delta Force was hurriedly put together. Also, in spite of Trump abandoning the Kurds, they continued to assist US forces prepare for the raid. They got lucky and got Al Baghdadi in spite of Trump’s incompetence, not because of his leadership. Oh, and all the dramatic account of hearing Baghdadi’s screaming and crying that he heard on the feed? That’s a lie, too. No other person has confirmed that, and, as JJ pointed out, Trump was on the golf course during the raid, not in the situation room.
Are we great yet?
If you work hard enough, you can make almost anything funny.
Astros win!
Ok, seriously…two Giuliani associates, Ukraine born Lev Parma, and Belarusian born Igor Fruman were arrested last night trying to board a flight out of the country at Dulles airport after having lunch earlier in the day with…wait for it…Rudy Giuliani. And guess where they had lunch…that’s right, the Trump International Hotel. They’re now charged with funneling foreign money (including from a Russian oligarch) into pro-Trump PACs to influence US politicians including our own Pete Sessions, former congressvarmit. Sessions has been exposed for pushing the State Department to fire former US Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yavanovich; Parma and Fruman have been implicated in that ousting. Why was she ousted, you ask? For being “anti-Trump”.
Also, Trump unilaterally announced the withdrawl of support of longstanding allies, the Kurds of Northern Syria. Recall that the Kurds led the way in ousting ISIS from Syria, and for holding 50,000 former ISIS fighters in prison. All those bets are off, and some Republicans, including Lindsey Graham have actually learned to stand without spines against Trump’s rashness.
Meanwhile, Jared and Ivanka have reported $82 million in income during 2018 while serving in the White House, 4 more White House staff are reported to have blown the whistle on Trump’s shakedown of Zelensky, and Trump continues spouting bullshit in Hitleresque political rallies.
Oh, and Rick Perry’s been subpoenaed to testify before the impeachment inquiry about his involvement in shaking down Ukraine to get them to manufacture dirt on a political rival.
But, please…let’s talk about Biden.
Today in DC, even among the Senate Invertebrates, backlash was swift and loud after Trump announced that he was unilaterally pulling out of Syria and handing it over to the Turks, Assad, and, of course, the Russians. Even Little Lindsey Graham found his voice.
Responding to the uproar, Trump tweets:
“In my great and unmatched wisdom…” Yes, he really said that. Who the hell talks like that. It’s bad enough that he unilaterally decides, against ALL advice, to hand Syria over to the bad guys, and bad enough that he threatens to “totally destroy and obliterate” the Turkish economy; but he actually used the words “great and unmatched wisdom”? It’s like he’s hired Kim Jong Un’s speech writer.
Hey, Moscow Mitch, are we DONE yet?