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[Page H8464]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
ABU BAKR AL-BAGHDADI IS NO MORE
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from
California (Mr. LaMalfa) for 5 minutes.
Mr. LaMALFA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to highlight the tremendous
news we all received over the weekend that the world's most wanted
terrorist and leader of ISIS, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was killed in a
U.S.-led raid in northern Syria.
As the self-proclaimed leader of the Islamic State, al-Baghdadi was
directly involved in countless atrocities and demonstrated complete
disregard for human rights and human life. Genocide, sex slavery,
organized rape, mass executions via crucifixion, stoning, burning in
cages or flogging--al-Baghdadi's brutality knew no limits.
The world is unquestionably a better place without this purveyor of
evil inhabiting it at this time.
I commend U.S. Joint Special Operations Command's 1st Special Forces
Operational Detachment-Delta, also known as Delta Force, for the
flawless execution of their mission--and without any U.S. casualties.
I also commend President Trump and his administration for authorizing
this raid and bringing one of the most dangerous men in the world to
justice. They are doing good work in the Syria situation. This will go
down as a significant achievement in the war against terror.
In the immediate aftermath of the announcement becoming public, most
rational people from both sides of the aisle celebrated this
accomplishment--but not all.
Mr. Speaker, you may have seen the headlines from the Washington
Post: ``Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, an austere religious scholar at the helm
of Islamic State dies at 48.''
Even in this age of questionable reporting, this headline and others
like it are reprehensible. In fact, his last cowardly action on Earth
was to detonate a suicide vest as he was being hunted down by some of
our specialized military dogs as well as our personnel. Great work. In
doing so, with his suicide vest, he also took the lives of three of his
own children.
U.S. Special Operations Forces didn't kill just a noble religious
scholar as was headlined. They actually killed a deranged, radicalized
madman who was directly responsible for the brutal murders of countless
people: Americans and his own country people from that part of the
world as well.
While the headline has since been changed by the Washington Post,
they should be ashamed of themselves. We don't mourn the loss of
terrorists in the United States of America.
Now, this victory doesn't mean the war against terror is won by any
means, but it should send a loud, clear, and unmistakable message to
the rest of the world that the United States will root out evil
wherever it is and wherever it hides. Our enemies are not safe, and
they never will be.
We celebrate this evil's removal from the Earth embodied by al-
Baghdadi. Anyone who is willing to commit these types of atrocities
should understand one thing: We will not rest as a Nation and as a
military until they are wiped out from the face of the Earth.
____________________
