Ex-CIA officer warns that Trump prioritizes 'celebrity' killings over 'the most important threats'


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.
But despite intelligence pinpointing more dangerous figures, Trump was determined to go after Hamza bin Laden, and the U.S. was ultimately successful in doing so.
Subscribe to 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.
Another major name that caught Trump's interest was Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Iraq earlier this month. Unlike Hamza bin Laden, London didn't deny that Soleimani was a serious threat, but he argues Trump's desire to cause a stir and conduct the strike so overtly was detrimental to the U.S.'s broader strategic thinking and security. "Even with these dangers, Soleimani's very public removal was too great a headline to pass up for Trump, but there were other options," London writes. Read more at Just Security.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
SCOTUS greenlights mass DOE firings
Speed Read The Supreme Court will allow the Trump administration to further shrink the Education Department
-
Cuomo announces third-party run for NYC mayor
Speed Read He will go up against progressive Democratic powerhouse Zohran Mamdani and incumbent Mayor Eric Adams
-
Secret Service 'failures' on Trump shooting
Speed Read Two new reports detail security breakdowns that led to attempts on the president's life
-
Trump set to hit Canada with 35% tariffs
Speed Read The president accused Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney of failing to stop the cross-border flow of fentanyl
-
Mahmoud Khalil files $20M claim over ICE detention
Speed Read This is the 'first damages complaint' brought by an individual targeted by the Trump's administration's 'crackdown' on Gaza war protesters
-
Trump threatens Brazil with 50% tariffs
Speed Read He accused Brazil's current president of leading a 'witch hunt' against far-right former leader Jair Bolsonaro
-
AI scammer fakes Rubio messages to top officials
Speed Read The unknown individual mimicked Rubio in voice and text messages sent to multiple government officials
-
SCOTUS greenlights Trump's federal firings
speed read The Trump administration can conduct mass federal firings without Congress' permission, the Supreme Court ruled