Dying Like a Dog

He died like a dog.  He died like a coward.  He was whimpering, screaming, and crying.  Frankly I think it is something that should be brought out so his followers and all of those young kids that want to leave various countries, including the United States, they should see how he died.  He did not die a hero, he died a coward; crying, whimpering, and screaming, and bringing three kids with him to death.  He knew the tunnel had no end.

–Donald J. Trump, President of the United States, in answer to questions at his announcement of the death of ISIS Leader al-Baghdadi

The End of Bagdhadi

US Special Forces killed ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Bagdhadi Saturday night.  It was a complex operation, with eight Chinook helicopters, additional air coverage, and fifty or more US Special Operators from the Army and Navy.  Special Operations canines were used as well, with one injured representing the only US casualty.   Much as the killing of Osama bin-Laden, US Forces breached a well-defended secure location, searched through the buildings, and found their man.  

According to the President, who stated that he watched the entire operation “like a movie” from the White House Situation room, US Forces and canines chased al-Bagdhadi into a tunnel under the house.  Bagdhadi took three of his children with him, and wore a suicide bomb vest.  When he was finally cornered, with the a canine chasing him, he detonated, killing himself and the children, and wounding the canine.

Al-Bagdhadi is dead.  That’s a good thing for the world.  He led a brutal regime, executing captives in video broadcasts of decapitations, drownings and immolations, and murdering thousands of Yazidi and other ethnic groups.  The Middle East, and the world, is a safer place without him.  This is at least the fourth reporting of his death; the President assures us that this time it’s real.

Mission Accomplished

Congratulations to the US Special Forces, US Intelligence, and the State Department for coordinating this complex operation through a war zone with Turkish, Syrian, Russian and Kurdish forces all on high alert.  It’s possible that even an Al-Qaeda linked group, HTS, who controls the town where the operation took place, fed information to the US Forces.  

And congratulations to the President of the United States, who made the call and “green-lighted” the operation.  Had it failed, Mr. Trump would have borne the brunt of the failure, so he should get credit for having the strength to do his part.

Knowledge of Death

I have never faced death in battle. While I still have my draft card, in 1974 the US was well on the way to leaving Vietnam.  My turn never came.  For me, I can’t say how I, or others, should act in the face of the ultimate test.  I have been under fire, shot at in the woods by a young target shooter who liked moving targets.  When that happened, I didn’t freeze, I ran as fast as I could and dove into a sticker bush.  But I have not faced certain death.  And I certainly have not faced death with my children at my side.

We know that Donald Trump has not either.  When he faced his Vietnam choice, he managed to avoid the draft under medical exemption.  He’s not the only one of that era to do it, and whether it was a moral judgment on Vietnam, a personal decision to not risk war, or a real medical defect, it’s hard to know, and not for me to judge.

But I don’t think we should find “glory” or “satisfaction” in how a man dies, regardless of what they’ve done.  I’m all for our Special Forces doing what they do best, and removing from this world a threat to us all.  I just don’t think we need to take pleasure in the manner and demeanor of his death.

Higher Standard

Did he hide behind his children as a shield?  Was he screaming and whimpering?  Did he set off a bomb to kill himself and his kids, in a way that hoped to kill the Americans?  Who cares?

It demeans the Presidency, the nation, and the forces that risked their lives in battle, to glory in the manner of his death.  And Trump’s belief that it would somehow change those impressionable minds that would consider joining ISIS:  if they are indoctrinated enough to consider joining, then they are blinded enough by propaganda to ignore what Trump says.

But for the rest, we see a President taking pride in another man’s failures at death.  I doubt it makes al-Baghdadi’s victim’s families feel better:  his being gone is enough.  

And finally, the only US casualty was a canine, injured by the bomb blast.  The dogs too, acted with courage and fidelity.  Why sully their name with “dying like a dog?”  They are more than willing to lay down their lives for their handlers; it would be an honor to die with the loyalty of those “dogs.”

We should hold ourselves to higher standards.