US politics stuck in tunnel

Top Democrats riled by president keeping them out of the loop on raid

Perhaps reflective of the polarization in US politics, top Democrats were not informed by US President Donald Trump of the military operation in which Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi died.

However, Russia - the country consistently accused by Democrats of interfering in the 2016 US presidential election that led to the investigation of Special Counsel Robert Mueller - was notified.

The US special operations raid into northwest Syria aimed to capture Baghdadi, 48, if possible but kill him if necessary, US Defense Secretary Mark Esper said on Sunday.

"We tried to call (Baghdadi) out and ask him to surrender himself. He refused and went down into a subterranean area, and in the process of trying to get him out, he detonated a suicide vest, we believe, and killed himself," Esper told CNN.

Trump said few US politicians were informed of the raid on Saturday because he was concerned about leaks.

"We notified some, others are being notified now as I speak," Trump said. "We were going to notify them last night, but we decided not to do that because Washington leaks like nothing I've ever seen before. There is no country in the world that leaks like we do. Washington is a leaking machine. A leak could have caused the death of all of them."

Trump said North Carolina Senator Richard Burr, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, both Republicans, were told of the operation.

"I did not do that," Trump said when asked if he had informed Democratic House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Trump said he "wanted to make sure" the mission was kept secret.

"I don't want to have men or women lost," he said. "I don't want to have people lost."

Esper said two members of the special forces team suffered minor injuries during the operation but have since returned to duty. He said Trump authorized the operation late last week.

"The president was taking options earlier (in the last) week. ... (He) chose the option that we thought gave us the highest probability of success," Esper said.

In a statement on Sunday, Pelosi said that Baghdadi's death was "significant, but the death of this ISIS (the Islamic State) leader does not mean the death of the ISIS".

"The House must be briefed on this raid, which the Russians but not top Congressional leadership were notified of in advance, and on the administration's overall strategy in the region," Pelosi said. "Our military and allies deserve strong, smart and strategic leadership from Washington."

Trump said: "We spoke to the Russians. We told them we are coming in. They said, 'Thank you for telling us'. We told them we thought they would be happy. They hate the ISIS as much as we do. You know what ISIS has done to Russia. They did not know the mission, but they knew we were going over an area where they had a lot of firepower."

Trump has been at odds with Pelosi, the Democrat who on Sept 24 kicked off the impeachment inquiry into Trump over his discussion with the president of Ukraine about a probe of 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, and in particular his son Hunter, about the latter's business dealings with a Ukrainian energy company.

"Does the president not trust the speaker of the House with sensitive national security information?" Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace asked US Vice-President Mike Pence.

"I don't think that was the implication at all," Pence said. "I think from the time we got actionable intelligence, the president's total focus here was on a successful mission and the safety of American troops."

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, a California Democrat conducting the impeachment inquiry and a frequent target of Trump's criticism, said he was not told of the raid beforehand.

While Schiff praised the demise of a "ruthless killer", he said "in terms of notifying the Gang of Eight, that wasn't done".

In Washington, the "Gang of Eight" on intelligence matters includes Senate and House leaders from both parties and the chairman and ranking members of the House and Senate intelligence committees.

Democrats noted that former US president Barack Obama did notify the Gang of Eight about the 2011 raid that killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, the man blamed for the Sept 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the US.

Reuters contributed to this story.

hengweili@chinadailyusa.com

(China Daily 10/29/2019 page11)