President Trump went into great detail describing what happened during the raid that led to the demise of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, but some current and former U.S. officials told NBC News they were wincing as he spoke.
Trump discussed the "K-9, as they call it, I call it a dog" that went after Baghdadi and was injured when he detonated a suicide vest, and revealed that "highly sensitive material and information" was seized from Baghdadi's compound. Not everything was accurate though, the officials said. For instance, Trump declared that Baghdadi was "crying and screaming" while being chased by U.S. forces, but officials told NBC News they didn't hear any such sounds.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
There are concerns that Trump, by revealing both highly classified and sensitive information, tipped off terrorist groups, giving them valuable insight into how the U.S. gathers intelligence. By saying that the U.S. now has documents outlining ISIS's plans for the future, it makes it harder for the military to carry out operations against militants, the officials said. Trump talked about how the helicopters landed at Baghdadi's compound, that the U.S. knew there were dead-end tunnels underground, and that there was a robot on hand to assist the special forces — tactical information that terrorist groups shouldn't know. Read more at NBC News.
-
The twists and turns in the fight against HIVThe Explainer Scientific advances offer hopes of a cure but ‘devastating’ foreign aid cuts leave countries battling Aids without funds
-
Storyteller: a ‘fitting tribute’ to Robert Louis StevensonThe Week Recommends Leo Damrosch’s ‘valuable’ biography of the man behind Treasure Island
-
Is Europe finally taking the war to Russia?Today's Big Question As Moscow’s drone buzzes and cyberattacks increase, European leaders are taking a more openly aggressive stance
-
GOP wins tight House race in red Tennessee districtSpeed Read Republicans maintained their advantage in the House
-
Trump targets ‘garbage’ Somalis ahead of ICE raidsSpeed Read The Department of Homeland Security will launch an immigration operation targeting Somali immigrants in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area
-
Hegseth blames ‘fog of war’ for potential war crimespeed read ‘I did not personally see survivors,’ Hegseth said at a Cabinet meeting
-
Canada joins EU’s $170B SAFE defense fundspeed read This makes it the first non-European Union country in the Security Action for Europe (SAFE) initiative
-
Appeals court disqualifies US Attorney Alina HabbaSpeed Read The former personal attorney to President Donald Trump has been unlawfully serving as US attorney for New Jersey, the ruling says
-
White House says admiral ordered potential war crimeSpeed Read The Trump administration claims Navy Vice Adm. Frank ‘Mitch’ Bradley ordered a follow-up strike on an alleged drug-smuggling boat, not Pete Hegseth
-
Honduras votes amid Trump push, pardon vowspeed read President Trump said he will pardon former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández, who is serving 45 years for drug trafficking
-
Congress seeks answers in ‘kill everybody’ strike reportSpeed Read Lawmakers suggest the Trump administration’s follow-up boat strike may be a war crime
