Trump refuses to back away from false claim Obama founded Islamic State

He’s not, of course.

“The way he removed our troops”, Trump said, apparently referencing the Obama administration’s decision to withdraw US military personnel from Iraq by 2011. That’s debatable, at least. “And the something else in mind – you know, people can’t believe it. People cannot, they cannot believe that President Obama is acting the way he acts and can’t even mention the words ‘radical Islamic terrorism.’ There’s something going on”. Obama is responsible for the USA troop drawdown in Iraq, and therefore, Republicans argue, he’s responsible for what happened there after the United States left.

Trump’s accusation – and his use of the president’s middle name, Hussein – echoed previous instances where he’s questioned Obama’s loyalties.

Trump intensified the effort to connect Obama with Islamic State on Thursday morning, as conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt offered the Republican candidate a chance to backtrack. “He is the founder of ISIS.”. The way he removed our troops. “ISIS will hand [Clinton] the Most Valuable Player award, her only competition is Barack Obama”. “He’s the founder! He founded ISIS”.

In June, when a shooter who claimed allegiance to IS killed 49 people in an Orlando, Florida, nightclub, Trump seemed to suggest Obama was sympathetic to the group when he said Obama “doesn’t get it, or he gets it better than anybody understands”.

Last month, he said Clinton “invented ISIS with her stupid policies”, and he called Clinton “the founder of ISIS” at a Florida campaign event just last week.

THE FACTS: To the contrary, IS propaganda has shown fighters shooting targets bearing Obama’s image.

The New York Times reports that the contender for commander-in-chief said that he intended to stick with his unorthodox campaign style, even if it meant taking “a very, veyr nice long vacation” after the November 8 election. “I said it was going to destabilize the Middle East”. They have all over time accused the USA of creating or supporting the extremist group responsible for mass killings, beheadings and other atrocities in Iraq and Syria, as well as inspiring militant attacks across the world.

After the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 under President George W. Bush, Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda announced its allegiance with a local insurgent group and dubbed the organization al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI). But the group carried out massive attacks against Iraq’s Shiite Muslim majority, fueling tensions with al-Qaida’s central leadership, which blames its grievances on the West. It was the worst decision, one of the worst decisions, maybe the worst we ever made to be there in the first place. The rise of the group also can be attributed to its savvy in using social media to recruit fighters and followers and its ability to reap millions, including through smuggling oil.

The coalition said yesterday that its two-year efforts have slain approximately 45,000 Daesh fighters in Iraq and Syria, reducing their numbers to 15,000-30,000. The U.S. has 3,830 military service personnel in Iraq, advising and training Iraqi ground forces, and 50 or so special operations forces in Syria.

On Wednesday night, former ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul hit Trump on the comments, saying they mimicked Russian talking points created to sow anger toward the U.S. and the West.