Hold Some of the Champagne on Al-Baghdadi

This is Frank Gaffney with the Secure Freedom Minute.

America achieved an important victory over the Islamic State yesterday with the elimination of ISIS’ founder, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Commander-in-Chief Trump deserves credit for ordering such a dangerous mission, second only to that earned by the heroic special operators who executed it flawlessly.

Two facts must temper our celebrations, however.  First, al- Baghdadi was reportedly enroute to Turkey to gain safe-haven for his family. That should remind us the Islamist Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is an enabler of ISIS, not a reliable partner in destroying it. 

Second, other Sharia supremacists, including some tied to ISIS, are now far advanced in setting up a vast new  caliphate in Nigeria – potentially a far richer and more dangerous one than al-Baghdadi’s. 

We must defeat such violent groups and their stealthy counterparts, at home as well as abroad, not just neutralize their leaders.

This is Frank Gaffney.