The death of an evil man

Abû Bakr al-Baghdâdî, leader of Dâ'ish (ISIL), has been killed in an attack by US forces in Syria.  The Middle East and the world in general is a much better place without him.

It is worth remembering how Dâ'ish behaved under al-Baghdâdî's leadership.  They slaughtered Shi'ites en masse and posted pictures on the internet boasting about it.  They massacred countless Yazidis, many by burying them alive in the desert, and reduced thousands of others to slavery, based on an ignorant Sunni belief that the Yazidi religion is a form of Devil-worship.  They burned a captured Jordanian fighter pilot, Mu'âdh al-Kassâsbah, alive in a cage and proudly posted a video of that atrocity on the internet as well.  They imposed the death penalty for homosexuality by throwing gay men from the tops of high buildings (an actual such execution is shown above).  They destroyed priceless relics of the pre-Islamic past.  They openly boasted about formally restoring the institution of slavery.  The men of Dâ'ish may well be the most deeply religious people in the modern world.

So whatever the circumstances of al-Baghdâdî's death, he more than deserved it.  And it may do some lasting good.  Groups like Dâ'ish are prone to factionalism.  If rivalries for leadership produce divisions or infighting, so much the better.

But I can't give Trump any kudos.  His earlier abrupt withdrawal from Syria disrupted preparation for the mission and forced the military to act before they were fully ready, increasing the risk.  His rambling announcement was laced with bizarre and ugly rhetoric* likely to incite attacks on Americans, and foolishly gave away information** which would be of value to Dâ'ish, including endangering a possible human-intelligence source in their midst.  And as he himself insisted at the time of bin Laden's assassination, the real credit in such cases goes to the soldiers who put themselves at risk to carry out the operation.  Any Western leader would have given the order to kill al-Baghdâdî, given the opportunity.

He also claimed credit for having destroyed Dâ'ish's state, its "caliphate", which was actually done mostly by the Kurds and allied Arab forces, with some help from the US, Iran and other countries.

But Trump's role is a side issue.  I am glad for the death of an utter monster, a small piece of good news in a tormented land where good news has lately been in desperately short supply.

*Found via Green Eagle

**Found via Nan's Notebook