The Truth: Trump Opened The Door For ISIS Resurgence
August 26, 2020
Keith Kellogg just credited Trump for defeating the ISIS caliphate. That’s not true. Trump didn’t defeat ISIS. After an initial delay, he eventually continued the policies the Obama-Biden administration put in place. More recently, Trump’s reckless policies actually opened the door for a resurgence of ISIS.
FACT: Trump’s abrupt withdrawal from Syria opened the door for a resurgence of ISIS.
Washington Post: “The Islamic State is racing to capitalize on the deteriorating security situation in northern Syria, stepping up attacks on prisons as well as on the now-weakened Kurdish militia that served as the vanguard in the U.S.-led war against the group’s self-proclaimed caliphate, intelligence officials and terrorism experts say.”
FACT: Any success achieved before Trump abruptly withdrew troops from Syria was the result of Trump continuing the ISIS campaign plan and structure put in place under Obama.
Washington Post: “Obama’s ISIS policy is working for Trump”
FACT: The retaking of ISIS territory began under Obama and had progressed on the same schedule laid out by the Obama administration.
PolitiFact: “Between two-thirds and three-fourths of the firepower unleashed against ISIS hit before Trump became president, and the terrorist group’s hold on territory had begun crumbling a year before he took command.”
New York Times: “Yet experts said it was always anticipated that the three-year war against the Islamic State that was started by Mr. Obama in 2014 would reach this point, and military officials are quick to praise local troops and fighters for battleground victories.”