CNN’s Tapper Grills DefSec Esper: Could al-Baghdadi Raid Have Been Done Without Troops on the Ground Already?

CNN’s Jake Tapper asked Mark Esper on Sunday if the overnight mission against ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi would’ve succeeded if America didn’t already have a presence in northern Syria.

The Defense Secretary spoke to Tapper ahead of President Donald Trump’s address, elaborating on the purpose of the mission and how it lead to Baghdadi’s death by suicide vest. However, Tapper eventually grilled Esper by turning the subject toward Trump’s controversial decision to withdraw of troops from Syria.

“Could this operation have been done without U.S. troops on the ground in Syria already?” Tapper asked.

“That’s speculative. I don’t know,” Esper responded. “I would have to consult with our commanders about that. We have tremendous reach and capability. The service members who executed this attack are the best in the world. And there’s nothing beyond our capability.”

Esper was cagey about the details surrounding the raid itself, but Tapper continued to pose questions about whether it pertains to Trump’s withdrawal of support for America’s Kurdish allies.

“The administration has been taking a lot of heat for the handling of the U.S.-Kurdish allies in northern Syria,” Tapper noted. “Did the Kurds play a role in this operation?”

Esper refused to say which outside partners were involved, though Trump has said that the Kurds played a role in the raid.

Watch above, via CNN.

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