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)

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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  1. charlatan: noun: a person falsely claiming to have a special knowledge or skill; a fraud

  2. Avatar for pshah pshah says:

    Well, of course. After all, Obama created Isis, didn’t he?

    Apparently, PBO is a master puppet master pulling strings to make Trump look like a loon.

  3. Avatar for tamdai tamdai says:

    So, like, if Trump’s actually right about this, doesn’t that mean our allies prefer Hillary? Why is that a reason to vote for Trump?

  4. Avatar for datora datora says:

    His entire rant about Mosul was an incomprehensible, extra-large bucket of word chutney vomit. He has not the least fucking idea what he was talking about.

    But, he attended military-style school as a young man, so he knows more than any general that ever lived.

    I am in favor of identifying every single military officer that supports trump and have them stripped of rank and all benefits.

    [ ETA – to be clear, I’m regferring to the “hundreds” of ex-generals that Donald claims are supporting and endorsing him… ]

  5. What an over the top asshat. That combat is timed for political convenience. Trump thinks so little of the soldiers who die in combat. There are Americans in this fight. Are they just pawns to trump?
    I am wondering if trump knows anything at all about Mosul or ISIS beyond “they’re bad cuz they’re Muslim”

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