Politico | How Donald Trump gabbed too much about the raid that killed Isis leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi
- President went into unusual detail about Syria mission, talking about tactics, number of helicopters used and route troops took back to base
- Information Trump revealed could help terrorists piece together how US forces gather intelligence and execute such dangerous missions
This story is published in a content partnership with POLITICO. It was originally reported by Wesley Morgan on politico.com on October 27, 2019.
US President Donald Trump’s announcement of the death of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi revealed a slew of sensitive details about the secret military operation that could imperil future raids, special operations and intelligence, veterans fear.
Trump, who spoke for a full 48 minutes and took a series of questions at the White House, went into unusual detail about the mission inside hostile territory in Syria that he said he watched in real time “as though you were watching a movie”.
Among the most striking were his descriptions of how US Army Delta Force was inserted into the heavily fortified compound, breached its walls to avoid booby-trapped doors and pursued the terrorist kingpin into a network of tunnels, where he detonated his suicide vest, killing himself and three children.
But considered especially egregious was his remarks about the number and route of the commando’s helicopters.
“I always get a little bit nervous when people without knowledge of operations start describing operations,” said Michael Nagata, a retired US Army lieutenant general who was the senior special operations commander in the Middle East during the early stages of the anti-Isis campaign.