Radar Online
Former First Lady Melania Trump was reportedly present for one of the Situation Room’s most important chairs during the killing of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi — going so far as to offer her two cents after the attack.
According to former acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller‘s new book, Soldier Secretary: Warnings from the Battlefield & the Pentagon about America’s Most Dangerous Enemies, the 52-year-old entered the Situation Room as former President Donald Trump‘s executive team was “waiting for the final assault” on Abu Bakr.
“Secretary of Defense Mark Esper quickly gave up his seat and she sat down next to the President, who introduced her to us as if we didn’t know who she was. Her presence was unexpected, to say the least,” Christopher wrote in his pages. “I wondered how it would play in the press if word got out that the First Lady had popped in to watch a major military operation.”
“Not my problem, I figured,” Christopher — the senior director for the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) at the time of Abu Bakr’s death — penned in his book. “And after all, it was her house.”
Melania’s presence in the Situation Room while the 2019 operation took place had never been reported on before. However, it was made known at the time that former POTUS was accompanied by the Secretary of Defense, Vice President Mike Pence, National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley.
Christopher claimed in his book that Donald asked Brig. Gen. Marcus Evans — the deputy director for special operations on the Joint Staff, who was also in the room, per CNN — to bring the First Lady “up to speed.”
Following a discussion about what may happen, Marcus, according to Christopher, told the group that the U.S. “assault force had unleashed their combat dog” into the building with Abu Bakr, “with our commandos close behind.”
Christopher recalled Abu Bakr was cornered and detonated a suicide vest, killing himself, his two children, and two of his wives.
The author also claimed Donald asked the group what would happen to their bodies, and Christopher replied that Abu Bakr would be buried at sea. When he asked what would happen to the two women killed, Christopher suggested that their bodies remain there, per his book.
“Don’t you think ISIS will parade their bodies around and make it look like they were innocent?” Donald allegedly asked Christopher.
Marcus — who first phoned U.S. Central Command — then whispered something into Christopher’s ear, prompting him to share with the room that a “barrage of missiles would pulverize the building” where the operation took place, it was reported.
The 75-year-old then asked the group how he would address the American people about the operation, which was when his wife decided to chime in with advice.
“You should talk about the dog,” Christopher claimed of what Melania suggested, noting she “took over” the conversation. “Everyone loves dogs.”
Donald took his wife’s advice and focused on the dog to the White House named Conan who chased the ISIS leader before he killed himself. He awarded the heroic U.S. military dog, saying he did “such a great job in capturing and killing the leader of ISIS.”
Soldier Secretary: Warnings from the Battlefield & the Pentagon about America’s Most Dangerous Enemies is set to hit shelves Tuesday, February 7.
Daily Caller reported on excerpts of Christopher’s book.
