Tag: ISIS

Trump Adviser Compares Climate Scientists To Nazis, ISIS

William Happer Credit: Screengrab

Trump is preparing a panel to attack climate science headed by William Happer, who has compared climate scientists to Nazis, mass murderers, and members of the terrorist group ISIS.

The Washington Post reports that Happer, who is already a senior director in Trump’s National Security Council, is preparing the panel to attack research that has determined climate change is a national security threat.

“The initiative represents the Trump administration’s most recent attempt to question the findings of federal scientists,” the Post notes.

View the complete February 20 article by Oliver Willis with The American Independent on the National Website here.

Experts warn of persistent ISIS threat after suicide bombing B

The suicide bombing in Syria this past week at a restaurant said to be popular among U.S. service members put into focus the persistent threat from the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), experts said.

The town in northern Syria where the bombing took place was considered a success story for stabilization after it was retaken from ISIS in 2016. As recently as July, U.S. senators toured the area without body armor.

But Wednesday’s blast in Manbij’s bustling city center shattered that perception at a time when President Trump has been touting the decimation of ISIS and plans to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria.

View the complete January 20 article by Rebecca Kheel on The Hill website here.

Pence Claims Credit For Defeating ISIS On Same Day ISIS Kills U.S. Troops

Yesterday, on the same day ISIS claimed credit for an attack that killed U.S. troops in Syria, Pence once again claimed the Trump administration had defeated ISIS. This administration’s distortion of reality is dangerous.

Today, ISIS claimed credit for an attack that killed U.S. troops in Syria.

CNN: “ISIS has claimed responsibility for a deadly explosion that killed US service members in the Syrian city of Manbij on Wednesday.”

Hours later, Pence once again claimed credit for defeating ISIS.

Pence: “The caliphate has crumbled, and ISIS has been defeated.”

Despite being told by military leaders on the ground in Syria that ISIS was not entirely defeated, Trump and his administration continues to lie to the American people.

CNN: “During his surprise visit to Iraq on December 26, Trump was warned by military commanders that — despite his claims — ISIS was not entirely defeated in Syria.”

U. S. envoy to coalition fighting ISIS resigns in protest of Trump’s Syria decision

In this June 7, 2017 photo, Brett McGurk, the U.S. envoy for the global coalition against the Islamic State, speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Embassy Baghdad. Credit: Hadi Mizban, AP

Brett McGurk, the U.S. envoy to the international coalition fighting the Islamic State, has resigned in protest of President Trump’s decision to abruptly withdraw U.S. troops from Syria.

His resignation, confirmed by a State Department official familiar with the matter, comes on the heels of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis’s announced departurebecause of differences with the White House over foreign policy, immediately following Trump’s announcement on Syria. Mattis said he would stay on until February to ensure a smooth transition.

Both Mattis and McGurk objected to what they saw as a shortsighted decision and a breach of faith with U.S. allies including the Syrian Kurds, who fought alongside U.S. forces in Syria and now face a dangerous and uncertain future.

View the complete December 22 article by John Hudson, Ellen Nakashima and Karen DeYoung on The Washington Post website here.

Fact-Checking Trump’s Claim on U.S. Attacking ISIS ‘Much Harder’

The following article by Sean McMinn was posted on the Roll Call website November 10, 2017:

As the terrorist group loses ground, there are fewer targets to attack

A U.S. Air Force munitions team member, seen here in 2016, uncases the laser-guided tip of a bomb used for airstrikes on ISIS targets at a base in the Persian Gulf region. (John Moore/Getty Images file photo)

U.S. and coalition strikes against the Islamic State terrorist group have fallen dramatically in the last month, despite President Donald Trump’s assertion last week that the military had hit the group “much harder” in response to a terrorist attack in New York City.

On Nov. 1 and 2, the days on which Trump said the military had stepped up attacks against ISIS, coalition forces launched 24 strikes in Iraq and Syria. That is less than half the two-day strike average for coalition forces since March 31, according to a Roll Call analysis of Defense Department news releases.

On Tuesday, Oct. 31, a man who expressed support for ISIS killed eight people by driving down a bike path in Manhattan. Days later, the president, in a Twitter post, promised retaliatory measures against the terrorist group. Continue reading “Fact-Checking Trump’s Claim on U.S. Attacking ISIS ‘Much Harder’”

Trump’s claim that he’s done more ‘by far’ than Obama in the fight against ISIS

The following article by Glenn Kessler was posted on the Washington Post website October 25, 2017:

ISIS is losing territory and Trump is claiming credit, but experts say not so fast. (Meg Kelly/The Washington Post)

“We’ve done more against ISIS in nine months than the previous administration has done during its whole administration — by far, by far.”
— President Trump, in remarks before the Value Voters Summit, Oct. 13, 2017

President Trump has made a variation of this claim repeatedly over the months, starting in July, when he proclaimed: “In five months we have done more against ISIS than anybody’s done since the beginning and we are having tremendous success with that.”

Every month since then, he has repeated the claim, simply updating the number of months. For instance, on Sept. 7, he said, “We have done better in eight months of my presidency than the previous eight years against ISIS.” (Never mind that the Islamic State terror group emerged as a significant force in Iraq and Syria in 2013, when it captured and raised its flag over Fallujah.) Continue reading “Trump’s claim that he’s done more ‘by far’ than Obama in the fight against ISIS”

Why ISIS, Al Qaeda, And Iran’s Mullahs All Love Donald Trump

The following article by Gene Lyons was posted on the National Memo website February 8, 2017:

Have Americans really become a nation of gullible cowards? Sometimes it looks that way. Take President Trump’s executive order banning travel from seven Middle Eastern and North African countries. If you think it has anything whatsoever to do with protecting against terrorist attacks, then you haven’t been paying attention.

The Trump administration’s policies are designed not to deal with real problems in the visible world, but to rile up partisan ignoramuses here in the USA. Also to stimulate nativism and fear of dark-skinned foreigners, and to make Democrats appear to be defending Muslims instead of the Constitution. Continue reading “Why ISIS, Al Qaeda, And Iran’s Mullahs All Love Donald Trump”