Trump Claims Mosul Invasion Was Timed To Coincide With Clinton’s Candidacy

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump answers a question during the third presidential debate at UNLV in Las Vegas, Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2016. (AP Photo/John Locher)
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Asked about the ongoing invasion of the Iraqi city of Mosul by Iraqi forces and many others, Donald Trump gave a rambling answer in which he claimed the invasion was timed politically to benefit Hillary Clinton.

“The only reason they did it is because she is running for the office of president,” Trump said. “And they want to look tough. They want to look good.”

Currently, Iraqi government troops and others, including Kurdish Peshmerga fighters, are trying to re-capture Iraq’s third-largest city from Islamic State control. The terror group has controlled Mosul since 2014. American airstrikes and special operations forces are contributing to the fight, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Trump went on to veer into a reference of President Barack Obama’s “red line in the sand” against the use of chemical weapons by Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad in 2013. Instead of retaliating militarily when Assad allegedly crossed the figurative “red line,” Obama worked diplomatically with Russia to dismantle the Syrian dictator’s chemical weapons program, a move which earned wide criticism.

“He violated the red line in the sand. And he made so many mistakes. Made all mistakes. That’s why we have the great migration,” Trump said, seemingly referring to the worldwide refugee crisis. “But she wanted to look good for the election. So they’re going in. But who is going to get Mosul, really? We’ll take Mosul eventually.”

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