Trump tweets photo of military dog hurt in Baghdadi raid in Syria
WASHINGTON — A president who got booed at the World Series has learned one of Washington’s oldest lessons: Want a friend, get a dog.
President Trump, who revealed an astonishing measure of detail Sunday about the special forces operation in which Islamic State leader Abu Bakr Baghdadi was killed, gave the public another detail about the raid on Monday — a photo of the Belgian Malinois that was injured during the firefight.
Trump tweeted a picture of the dog after a number of reporters had inquired about it and praised it for having done “such a GREAT JOB.” Its name remains classified, however.
Gen. Mark Milley, the Joint Chiefs chairman, told reporters at the Pentagon several hours before Trump tweeted that the military was intent on protecting the dog’s identity.
“The dog is still in theater,” Milley explained.
Trump, during his 48-minute appearance in the White House Diplomatic Room on Sunday, told reporters that U.S. forces suffered no casualties or injuries in the raid on Baghdadi’s complex in northwest Syria, but disclosed that the dog was injured.
“Our K-9, as they call — I call it a dog, a beautiful dog, a talented dog — was injured and brought back. But we had no soldier injured,” he said.
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