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Biden, Who Once Said Terrorism Was Not An ‘Existential Threat’ To The US, Says Al-Baghdadi Raid Succeeded Despite Trump’s ‘Ineptitude’

Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden speaks at the 2019 Second Step Presidential Justice Forum at Benedict College in Columbia, South Carolina, Oct. 26, 2019. REUTERS/Sam Wolfe

REUTERS/Sam Wolfe

David Krayden Ottawa Bureau Chief
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Former Vice President Joe Biden, who once dismissed ISIS as a threat to the United States, claimed Monday that last weekend’s al-Baghdadi raid was a success despite President Donald Trump’s “ineptitude.”

Biden said that the “victory was not due to Donald Trump’s leadership. It happened despite his ineptitude as Commander-in-Chief.” The Obama-Biden administration wrote off the initial success of ISIS and “ISIS expanded rapidly during [that era], The Hill’s Joe Concha noted.

US President Donald Trump makes a major announcement October 27, 2019 the White House in Washington, DC. - Trump confirmed the death of Islamic State chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the world's most wanted man, during an overnight US special operation in northwest Syria. Baghdadi died after exploding a suicide 'vest.' (Photo by JIM WATSON / AFP) (Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)

(Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)

“I’m glad President Trump ordered the mission,” Biden said in a statement. “But as more details of the raid emerge, it’s clear that this victory was not due to Donald Trump’s leadership. It happened despite his ineptitude as commander-in-chief.” (RELATED: ISIS Leader Likely Killed In US Military Operation, Sources Say)

But in September 2016 Biden, when speaking of terrorism,  declared that “there is no existential threat to the United States of America.”

That same year and month, the Obama administration also proclaimed that the United States was not at war with ISIS and that the terrorist organization did not represent Islam.

The Democratic presidential candidate also said Trump’s “erratic behavior,” in removing U.S. soldiers from Syria probably caused the mission to be rushed. (RELATED: Trump Says He Didn’t Notify Congress Of al-Baghdadi Raid Out Of Fear Of Leaks)

“His erratic behavior made it harder and more dangerous for the special forces carrying it out. And they had to fly through territory that is now hostile to the U.S., taking fire along the way—including territory we controlled just weeks ago,” Biden said.

A picture taken on October 28, 2019 shows a vehicle wreck amid the rubble at the site of a suspected US-led operation against Islamic State (IS) chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi the previous day, on the edge of the small Syrian village of Barisha in the country's opposition-held northwestern Idlib province. - US President Donald Trump announced that Baghdadi, the elusive leader of the jihadist group and the world's most wanted man, was killed in the early hours of Octobe 27 in an overnight US raid near the village, located less than five kilometres from Turkey and controlled by the dominant jihadist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, an organisation that includes former operatives from Al-Qaeda's Syria affiliate. (Photo by Omar HAJ KADOUR / AFP) (Photo by OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP via Getty Images)

(IS) chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi the previous day. – (Photo by OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP via Getty Images)

As U.S. Special Forces closed in on the terrorist while he tried to escape in a tunnel, al-Baghdadi opted to kill himself and three of his children with an exploding vest that he was wearing. He died “whimpering and screaming,” according to the Trump.

The president indicated Monday that he might release some video of the raid.