memeorandum: Baghdadi's Death ... and That Presidential Speech (Daniel Byman/Lawfare)

6:00 PM ET, October 27, 2019

Top Items:

C.I.A. Got Tip on al-Baghdadi's Location From Arrest of a Wife and a Courier — President Trump's abrupt decision to pull forces from northern Syria disrupted planning for the raid and forced the Pentagon to press ahead with a risky night operation, military officials said.

Discussion: Mother Jones, Washington Post, New York Post, Political Wire, Raw Story, Mediaite and Townhall

Joby Warrick / Washington Post:

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, austere religious scholar at helm of Islamic State, dies at 48 — When Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi took the reins of the Islamic State of Iraq in 2010, few had heard of the organization or its new leader, an austere religious scholar with wire-frame glasses and no known aptitude for fighting and killing.

Daniel Byman / Lawfare:

Baghdadi's Death ... and That Presidential Speech — The reported killing of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi during a special operations forces raid is an important milestone in the war against the Islamic State—and, more generally, in the struggle against terrorism President Trump …

Discussion: Washington Post and Contemptor

Speaker Nancy Pelosi:

Pelosi Statement on Al-Baghdadi Raid — Washington, D.C. - Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued this statement after ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was killed in a U.S. military raid: — “Americans salute the heroism, dedication and skill of our military and our intelligence professionals …

Discussion: The Hill, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Guardian, HuffPost, The New Neo, Raw Story, republicanleader.senate.gov, Breitbart, The Gateway Pundit, Mediaite and Twitchy

Newsweek:

U.S. strikes kill ISIS spokesperson one day after Baghdadi's death in Syria raid — The CIA has targeted Islamic State militant group (ISIS) spokesperson Abu al-Hassan al-Muhajir in a new operation that comes one day after the organization's leader was killed in a Joint Special Operations Command raid, Newsweek has learned.

Discussion: Townhall, Political Wire, Foreign Policy, Breitbart, The Gateway Pundit, UPI, Axios and Task & Purpose

Graeme Wood / The Atlantic:

Baghdadi's Final Humiliation — Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the hirsute rapist whom hundreds of thousands of Islamic State supporters considered their absolute leader, died yesterday during a U.S. military raid in northwestern Syria's Idlib province, President Donald Trump announced on Sunday morning.

Allan Smith / NBC News:

Fifteen stunning moments from Trump's announcement of al-Baghdadi's death — Trump said the ISIS leader “died like a dog, he died like a coward. He was whimpering, screaming, and crying.” — President Donald Trump on Sunday confirmed the death of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi …

Discussion: MSNBC, Washington Monthly and Mediaite

Brett McGurk / Washington Post:

Baghdadi's death underscores what we've lost by abandoning Syria's Kurds — Brett McGurk, the Payne distinguished lecturer at Stanford University and a nonresident senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, served from 2015 to 2018 as a special presidential envoy for the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS.

Discussion: CNN and NBC News

Josh Feldman / Mediaite:

Chris Wallace Questions Pence on Pelosi Not Being Informed of Raid: Does Trump Not Trust Her With Sensitive Info? — President Donald Trump said this morning that he did not notify Speaker Nancy Pelosi in advance about the raid that took out Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

Jack Arnholz / ABC News:
House Intelligence Chair Rep. Adam Schiff says he wasn't told about al-Baghdadi operation

Discussion: Fox News, The Hill, Axios, The Week, New York Post and Breitbart

Josh Dawsey / Washington Post:
‘Whimpering, screaming and crying,’ ‘A beautiful dog:’ Trump's vivid account of the Baghdadi raid

Discussion: CNN, The Hill and NBC News

Newsweek:
ISIS already has a new leader, but Baghdadi may not have been running the group anyway

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

New York Times:
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, ISIS Leader Known for His Brutality, Is Dead at 48

Discussion: Task & Purpose

New York Times:
Special Operations Raid Said to Kill Senior Terrorist Leader in Syria

Discussion: Breitbart, Reuters, Associated Press, The National Interest, VICE, Althouse, Politico, Telegraph, Mediaite, TalkLeft, The Guardian, FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV, FOX40, The Gateway Pundit, Political Wire and The Daily Caller

CNN:
Trump leaves key Democrats in the dark about Baghdadi raid

Discussion: Political Wire and Breaking News USA

Bonchie / RedState:
CNBC Hack John Harwood Is Really, Really Upset That Al-Baghdadi Was Killed

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog

New York Times:
Transcript of Trump's Remarks on the Death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi

Discussion: Breitbart and Althouse

Felicia Sonmez / Washington Post:
Pelosi says Trump notified Russians of Baghdadi raid before telling congressional leaders

Discussion: CANNONFIRE, The Daily Beast, New York Post and The Hill

Newsweek:
Trump Approves Special Ops Raid Targeting ISIS Leader Baghdadi, Military Says He's Dead

Christopher Dickey / The Daily Beast:
Trump Turns Baghdadi's Killing Into a Reality Show

Discussion: New York Times

ABC News:
President Trump says ISIS leader al-Baghdadi is dead after US military raid in Syria

Discussion: Associated Press, CNN, Vox, The Hill, Breitbart and Politico

Washington Post:
U.S. forces launch operation in Syria targeting ISIS leader Baghdadi, officials say

Discussion: New York Times, Althouse, Mediaite, Outside the Beltway, Fox News, Vanity Fair, The Gateway Pundit, Breitbart, Task & Purpose, Politico, New York Post, NBC News, PJ Media Home, Sara A. Carter and Contemptor

Tarek El-Tablawy / Bloomberg:
Who Was Islamic State Leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi?

Discussion: Townhall and The Last Refuge

Pam Key / Breitbart:
Clapper: Baghdadi's Death Could ‘Galvanize’ ISIS — We Can't Stop Worrying

Discussion: Townhall

The Boston Globe:

As his Alzheimer's looms, Charles and Pam Ogletree take one last walk in love — CAMBRIDGE — The couple walk shoulder to shoulder, stride for stride, like two people who have walked together a long time. The man looks steadily ahead and moves with purpose.

Hannah Seligson / The Daily Beast:

How Ivanka Trump and Her Team Cry, Cajole and Carp to Get Her Out of Bad Press — While Hunter Biden is the subject of international scrutiny, the First Daughter and presidential confidant floats on a cloud of puff press. How does she pull it off? — On August 16, 2016 …

Discussion: Raw Story

Olivia Nuzzi / New York Magazine:

The Zombie Campaign Joe Biden is the least formidable front-runner ever. Will it matter? — Inevitably, he arrives late, by SUV or van. The former vice-president is thin and, yes, he's old. He dresses neatly and always in blue. Staff envelop him. There's the body man, the advance man …

Discussion: Politico and Associated Press, more at Mediagazer »

Axios:

Former Rep. John Conyers dies at 90 — Former Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) died in his home on Sunday at age 90, Detroit Police confirmed. — The big picture: Conyers entered Congress in 1965 during the presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson and served the Detroit area for more than five decades …

Discussion: WJBK-TV, Politico, The Hill, The Daily Caller and One America News Network

WXYZ-TV:
John Conyers Jr., longest-serving African American congressman, dies at 90

Discussion: Instapundit

Hope Yen / Associated Press:

AP FACT CHECK: Trump spins tales on bin Laden, Iraq war — WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump falsely boasted that he predicted Osama bin Laden's 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center and inaccurately asserted he had always opposed the war in Iraq in a news conference Sunday that often fell short on facts.

Discussion: Politico, Axios and Breitbart

Aamer Madhani / Associated Press:
Situation Room: 2 photos capture vastly different presidents

Discussion: Political Wire, Mother Jones and Breitbart

CNN:

Bill Taylor, now dodging Trump attacks, defended as a ‘man of honor’ by three veterans who served with him — Washington (CNN)Three veterans who served with Ambassador Bill Taylor, a key witness in the House impeachment inquiry who has come under attack by the President, defended him as a …

Discussion: Mediaite

Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:
10 reasons the Democrats are winning on impeachment

Discussion: Daily Kos

Jacob Knutson / Axios:

Pence denies Ukraine quid pro quo despite testimony from top officials — Vice President Mike Pence said on CBS' “Face the Nation” on Sunday that there was no quid pro quo involved in President Trump's desire for Ukraine to open political investigations, despite testimonies …

Discussion: Politico and Wall Street Journal