The Sunday heading of the Washington Post announcing the death of the head of ISIS after a US military operation read as follows:
- Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, austere religious scholar at helm of Islamic State dies at 48
- This astonishing news wasn’t the headline, but a heading, in the “Obituaries” section.
Not to be outdone, Bloomberg Politics tweeted, “Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi transformed himself from a little-known teacher of Koranic recitation into the self-proclaimed ruler of an entity that covered swaths of Syria and Iraq.”
President Trump has ordered that all government subscriptions to the New York Times and the Washington Post be cancelled. The reporters and editors cannot be trusted to report the truth, such as these “religious” and “transforming” actions by Baghdadi:
- Masterminding large-scale operations, such as the August 28, 2011 mosque suicide bombing in Baghdad, bombing in the city of Hillah in May 2011 that resulted in 24 deaths and 72 injuries, and a wave of suicide attacks in Mosul that killed 70 people.
- Leading followers to commit the Pulse Night Club shooting, the Ariana Grande concert bombing, the San Bernardino shooting, the Paris suicide bombing (130 dead), and the Sri Lanka Easter suicide bombing (269 dead)
- Directing the enslaving and raping of thousands of Yazidi women, massacring captives, beheading aid workers and journalists, killing gays and broadcasting these atrocities through videos and photos.
One of his victims is humanitarian worker Kayla Mueller from Prescott, Arizona. She was kidnapped in 2013 by Baghdadi’s men in Syria after leaving a hospital run by Doctors Without Borders. Baghdadi held her for 15 months–repeatedly raping her, torturing her, and finally executing her. She was his “property.”
The President spoke of the nightmare Kayla endured and the mission to take out Baghdadi was named after her.
Fellow hostages say Kayla never surrendered hope, selflessly put the welfare of fellow captives above her own and even stood up to executioner “Jihadi John” to defend her Christian faith.
Parents Carl and Marsha Mueller say the FBI and Obama administration had blocked opportunities to help them ransom their daughter, but they are grateful for President Trump. Carl said “President Trump knows her story…and that’s important to me… I don’t think anything would have stopped him from getting this guy.”
Marsha believes that if the kidnapping had happened while Donald Trump was president, Kayla would have been released.
Military K-9 Hero
Eight or more military helicopters carried U.S. special forces to the compound in Idlib province in Syria Saturday evening. Baghdadi fled into a dead-end tunnel with three children, chased by military canines. According to President Trump, Baghdadi was “whimpering and crying and screaming” when he detonated a suicide vest killing himself and the three children.
Eleven other children were safely removed from the compound by American forces during the raid.
An on-site DNA test confirmed Baghdadi’s death.
Mission Kept from Pelosi, Schiff
The President’s team informed Russia, Turkey, Syria and Iraq that US military would be crossing through certain airspace–but they did not inform top lawmakers. In fact, only two lawmakers were advised, instead of the “Gang of Eight” intelligence committee members and Speaker Pelosi, Rep. Adam Schiff, or Sen. Chuck Schumer.
“I wanted to make sure this kept secret,” President Trump told reporters Sunday morning. “I don’t want to have men lost—and women. I don’t want to have people lost… Washington leaks like I’ve never seen before… A leak could have cost the death of all of them.”
- General Tony Thomas explained in 2017 how a leak to the New York Times foiled an earlier attempt to take out Baghdadi. His team was particularly close to Baghdadi after the 2015 raid that killed ISIS oil minister Abu Sayyaf. They had gained a wealth of intelligence and a very good lead. “Unfortunately, it was leaked in a prominent national newspaper about a week later and that lead went dead,” Thomas said.
- One day after Osama bin Laden was killed, Joe Biden publicly exposed the identities of the Navy Seal Team 6 who carried out the mission. The parents of Seal Aaron Vaughn say their son said the chatter increased, indicating Biden’s loose lips possibly put them all in danger. Three months later, on August 6, 2011, a catastrophic crash killed the Seal team. The details of the investigation of the crash were kept secret
Why this Matters: ISIS is like whack-a-mole, likely to pop up again. However, they lost all of their physical territory in July and President Trump claimed victory. Help was given by the Syrian Democratic Forces and a rival campaign waged by Syria/Iran/Russia.
President Trump was highly criticized for his earlier announcement to pull out 26-30 soldiers from the area. Possibly that announcement caused Baghdadi to drop his guard. The successful mission to remove Baghdadi speaks for itself, and the President said we will continue to eradicate terrorist leaders and totally defeat ISIS.
US forces will remain in Syria to combat ISIS and protect the oil fields—with the help of the Kurds—from Russia, the Assad regime, and ISIS.
How to Pray: Praise God for Kayla’s testimony and her great faith. Pray that her story will encourage others and that the gospel she preached will have a harvest even among radical Islamists.
Luke 10:2 – Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.
Rev. 14:15 – And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.
Praying Citizen 
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