Foreign Affairs

Trump: We Will End Radical Islamic Terrorism By ‘Humiliating’ Them

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President Donald Trump refrained from elaborating on his strategy to defeat the Islamic State in his 100 days interview with Reuters, saying only that they should be “humiliated.”

“I have to say, there is an end,” Trump declared, when asked about the fight against the terror group. “And it has to be humiliation.”

“There is an end,” he continued. “Otherwise it’s really tough. But there is an end.”

Trump and his team have offered scant details on their plan to take on the terrorist group, but told the Associated Press Apr 21 he had a plan. He said “not many more” troops would be needed for the plan, but pressed for details would only say that “generally is we have got to get rid of ISIS. We have no choice. And other terrorist organizations.”

Trump’s lack of detail stems from his annoyance with the Obama administration for telegraphing its intent to retake Mosul from ISIS months before the operation began. “We are still fighting Mosul,” he said. “You know why? Because they were prepared. If we would have gone in and just done it, it would have been over three months ago.”

The Trump administration has already dispatched hundreds more troops into Syria for shaping operations against ISIS, deployed an additional 200 troops to Iraq, and sent 2,500 troops to Kuwait to serve in reserve for possible anti-ISIS operations. The administration’s anti-ISIS plan appears to be an amplified version of the Obama administration’s plan to rely on local forces, with U.S. support. This support includes special operators training locals, U.S. air support, and weapons.

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