This gruesome, vivid and probably exaggerated description of dogs chasing down Baghdadi will endanger our personnel in the region. — Dana Shell Smith (@AmbDana) October 27, 2019

When bin Laden was killed, we were careful to be clear that he had been given a proper Muslim burial. Not because we gave a damn about him but because it was important for our relationships in the region and safety of our military and diplomats. — Dana Shell Smith (@AmbDana) October 27, 2019

Yeah, that was totally incoherent. On the one hand Obama was insisting that jihad terrorists had nothing whatsoever to do with the peaceful religion of Islam, and then he turned around and gave one of the world’s leading Islamic jihadists a respectful Muslim burial. This didn’t gain the US any respect or save any lives; it just made us look ridiculous.

Does Dana Shell Smith actually think that some of the jihadis in the Middle East will think, “Well, I was going to go easy on the Americans, but now that they have shown al-Baghdadi disrespect, I will crush them”? In reality, it is the exaggerated respect shown to those who have vowed to destroy us that makes jihadis see us as weak and ripe for the taking. The only thing they respect is strength, and the only thing Obama and Dana Shell Smith projected was weakness.