President Trump is easily drawn in by celebrity, even when it comes to fighting terrorism, writes recently retired CIA counterterrorist manager Douglas London in Just Security.
London writes that when it comes to intelligence, Trump's focus remains on "celebrity, headlines, and immediate gratification" as opposed to "the most important threats." London and his team reportedly struggled to get Trump to look beyond name recognition. Instead, the president targeted well-known figures like Osama Bin Laden's son, Hamza, even though he was young, inexperienced, lacked a strong following, and was not seriously considered a possible successor to Ayman al-Zawahiri's Al Qaeda leadership.
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