Trump Triumphantly Declares IS Leader Dead

FEATURING RAHUL MAHAJAN – US forces have reportedly killed the leader of the Islamic State, Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi in a raid in northwestern Syria. In a triumphant national address to the nation, President Donald Trump announced the killing in his trademark style of bragging, denigration, and exaggeration. The announcement came at a politically useful moment for Trump who has come under rare criticism from his own party for pulling US troops back from Northern Syria.

Rahul Mahajan is the US Foreign Policy and Empire Correspondent for Rising Up With Sonali and is the author of two books on the Iraq war: Full Spectrum Dominance: U.S. Power in Iraq and Beyond and The New Crusade: America’s War on Terrorism. He also teaches at University of Wisconsin, River Falls.