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Trump accuses Obama of being the 'founder of ISIS'

48 Comments
By JOSH LEDERMAN

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48 Comments
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Well, he's just preaching to the insane at this point.

Enjoy the total Meltdown of the Republican party, it's going to get uglier - believe me.

13 ( +19 / -6 )

You could call it "doubling down", only that implies some kind of bet being made. Trump isn't making a bet. The wild accusation gets him attention, and that's all he wants at this point. That his followers who accept everything he says without question are destroying their own credibility as he destroys his is just a sad side-effect at this point.

The people I feel really sorry for are his kids. Like all wealthy kids they probably were given more than they deserve and are probably not the best of people, but still, to have a family member be this openly crazy, crass, and cowardly this openly... it must be hard. Because you know if they speak out Trump's vindictive enough to write them out of all the wills, so ...

6 ( +10 / -4 )

OK, Donald.

3 ( +6 / -3 )

What an idiot. You can bet his JT supporters will have something to say about this.

Why does he keep doing this? Is he trying to see how far down the road to political suicide he can travel before his backers say "enough!"?

7 ( +11 / -4 )

That's not the full quote PEOPLE. Here's the rest...

“And I would say the co-founder is crooked Hillary Clinton.”

LOL

-18 ( +4 / -22 )

What a stupid thing to say. Even some of his own supporters thumbed him down when he said that, others had a "what is he talking about' look. Just plain embarrassing really. I am actually seriously starting to question his sanity (and I wasn't a Trump hater months or even weeks ago, was just a Trump/Hillary 'sceptic')

5 ( +8 / -3 )

You can bet his JT supporters will have something to say about this.

No, because ...."The White House declined to comment on Trump’s accusation."

-2 ( +4 / -6 )

Well, I vaguely remember him (or more likely, his campaign) trying to get back on track with the economic speech after a series of meltdowns, baseless accusations and stupidity. Anyone remember? Seems like an eternity ago...

Now he's trying to outdo himself and see if he can crash and burn faster than he did with his failed businesses....

4 ( +4 / -0 )

TRUMP IS CORRECT!

Obama pulled out of Iraq.

Power vaccum created ISIS. Obama and Hilliary supported small opposition groups in Syria which gave up, turned over to ISIS with all the training and US weapons.

AND

Started bombing Libya because Gaddafi was talking about making an African Union, similar to the EU without the central banking cartels.... which now Libya is a failed state.

SO

Europe now has massive refugee problem as well as rich gulf countries don`t want to help their neighbors....

Problem made by OBAMA! TRUMP IS CORRECT!

-15 ( +9 / -24 )

That Iraq quagmire was a disaster from the onset...uggghhh.

8 ( +9 / -1 )

I find it quite remarkable that there are so many commenters on here that really don`t like Trump and place no reasoning to their comments.

Facts work like a chess game where there is no luck or chance involved. The fact is, Obamas policies with Hillarys help, made ISIS. This isn`t any mystery to any Europeans, nor any logically thinking person who has been watching the pieces move.

-14 ( +7 / -21 )

I wouldn't pay him any attention, but the freakin idiot is running for President!

How did he get so far? Are there really so many insane people in America?

9 ( +11 / -2 )

JefferyDomer, you are completely simplifying and wrong about ISIS. ISIS wasn't birthed by Obama. That's ridiculous. The roots of ISIS began back in the 1970's, when US interest was to thwart Soviet expansion and the spread of Marxist ideology among the Arabs. In the 1980's, Al Queda was originally an attempt to keep Russia out of Afghanistan.

While Al Queda and ISIS have different ideologies, the connection from the former to the latter is very strong. The US attacking Iraq, with no understanding how Iraq would become independent was the fault of the Bush administration, and is the single biggest reason ISIS occurred. Obama pulling troops out was something that had to happen, sooner or later, but make no mistake, ISIS was not founded by Obama or Hillary. A completely ridiculous, ignorant and example of the demagoguery coming out of the Trump supporters. But what's new? It's happening every day.

More to the point, you don't understand what happened with the withdrawal of troops by Obama. He was originally, and with political risk, advocating to keep 5000 troops in Iraq to train their soldiers, provide counterterrorism support and air cover. But he was unwilling to strand US forces in Iraq without the legal protection and immunities required to ensure soldiers were safe and did not end up in Iraqi jails.

Iraq's prime minister, Nuri al-Maliki asked his parliament to approve the request, but domestic politics made it impossible to reach a deal. Americans in Iraq was not popular to their people, and in a vote of major bloc leaders of Iraqi politics, they were unwilling to give immunities for the US troops. And, of course, it was not acceptable to Obama, or even John McCain, to keep troops in Iraq under those conditions.

Some want to believe the US was unwilling to put enough troops to satisfy Maliki, but it was never clear that Maliki wanted that many US troops. The extreme unpopularity of US troops in Iraq to his base was high, and he had no interest in a sizable US contingent along the Arab-Kurd divide, and that is where the assumption of over 10,000 troops would be deployed.

There was too much toxicity in Iraq for the US to maintain troops safely in Iraq, and the attempts to have a number of troops in Iraq was thwarted. Added to this is the unpopularity of having troops in Iraq by the American people, and even supporters of troops in Iraq agreed that not having immunity was completely unacceptable.

Either way, it was a catch 22 situation, where leaving the troops in Iraq would be argued as a poor move, and moving out would be, as well. This is because Iraq was a no win situation the moment Bush attacked Iraq, but Obama, as often in his administration, looked at the best possible solution and made decisions based on sound research, facts and information, to alleviate one of many messes Bush left behind.

16 ( +20 / -4 )

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water . . .

Man, this is some crazy crap!

3 ( +7 / -4 )

You make a good point 7sky7, but where did they get the money and weapons from? After all, you do need these two if you're going to create an army, pay your soldiers, train them and supply them with weapons, ammo and food. As with most things, follow the money. And when we do that, we find that Saudi Arabia, the Gulf monarchies and Turkey are their main financiers and supporters. Now, I'm sure DC with all their networks knew about this and told Obama as well. It's no secret Obama is waging an economic war with Russia and a new army knocking at Syria's door probably looked good on paper. So, no, Obama is not the founder of ISIS, but he did not object to our "allies" funding it, so in a sense, he is partly responsible for its creation.

Bush's decision to disband the Iraq army left a lot of wondering soldiers with no pay.

-3 ( +8 / -11 )

Where did the money come from,,,,the good old USA

-6 ( +4 / -10 )

Iraq was invaded to overthrow Saddam Hussein and his Baath Party but they did not have a sensible plan about what to do after that had been achieved. That was the main reason Daesh was able to come into an organized and effective existence in Iraq. Assad had ruled for too long in Syria. The reasonable resistance to him was not strong enough and an alternative extreme resistance, Daesh again, became more powerful. Nothing to do with Obama. The Republicans were in power then. Obviously the ideology behind Daesh and other extremists existed for a long time before they came into existence. Please take the time to read reliable journalists like Matt Taibi, Robert Fish etc. Trump is winning votes by appealing to the lowest common denominator the same way Farage appealed to voters in the United Kingdom.

2 ( +5 / -3 )

Jeff, I'll reply to you this one more time.

The President has been cleaning up the worst fiasco ever in US history, Iraq II (a war entered into on lies, out of greed and falsehood, and conducted in the most inept manner of any war in US history) as well as stemming an economy collapsed by the same group of war criminals and simple criminals under George W. Bush - while being opposed at every turn in every way by the most inept and clueless, openly hateful, lazy, (luckily) incompetent opposition party ever assembled in Congress (think of how hard THAT would be to do!)

And yet the US, despite the Bizarroworld dishonesty of these... people, things are clearly moving in a positive direction (even Trump complains of the recovery being "too slow" at worst).

Conservatives like yourself - and every one of them here at JT - are incapable of honest debate, or of accepting facts not carefully boned of truth and smothered in exaggeration and deception (Got nothing? Fake it! Loudly! Then repeat!)

The Pentagon just today states that ISIL in in crisis, still a threat but retreating on all fronts, with their fighting clearly at less intense levels, and their estimated strength down to around 15,000.

And I know that the President has acted entirely in accord with the U.S.–Iraq Status of Forces Agreement signed by President Bush, which "established that U.S. combat forces would withdraw from Iraqi cities by June 30, 2009, and all U.S. combat forces will be completely out of Iraq by December 31, 2011." [Wikipedia]

Now, you won't accept any of this. You will either dismissively lie or, more likely since even you must know that I'm presenting a simple truth, scream about something else.

I understand, though it grieves me to think people like you and other "conservatives" here have fallen so low. That's why I'm currently willing to waste my idle moments (despite what I consider very biased moderation,BTW) trying to get anyone reading your nonsense and dishonesty to not give in to the simplicity of all-knowing hatred.

Trump offers nothing, save, via the truly horrible, greedy, incompetent Republican Party members he would instantly hand off all duties to, the continued and ever-more rapid dismantling of the real American dream: a nation where every person has been created equal and can be secure in Life, Liberty & the Pursuit of Happiness.

If that isn't YOUR goal as well, how can you even claim to be patriotic?

[I will answer any questions you have to this, briefly, should you have them. I will not again take any note of your comments on any topic, however.]

15 ( +15 / -0 )

He's off his trolley. Flinging muck like a chimpanzee. I suppose in the hope some of it will stick or that onlookers may find it amusing. I know the US is fed up with its political elite, but is this really what you want to replace it with?

6 ( +6 / -0 )

Trump once again is correct. Obamas/Hillarys sanctions against the Alevite Assad regime and arming of Sunni islamists in Syria has allowed ISIS to prosper. Trump could have expressed it less directly, but I wonder how ignorant one has to be to deny this fact.

-9 ( +2 / -11 )

Wc626: So do the iranians and palestinians. Because Obama is soft, they love him. The Islamic refugees, who are sympathetic to ISIS' cause, honor Obama too as they emigrate to the US under minimal vetting process. ISIS will take advantage of our compassionate leaders. God help us.

Utterly meaningless, empty, and emotional statement. You have no insight into the minds of any of these people whatsoever. You simply hate Obama so you are going around making up statements about how others feel about him. Grow up.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

as Jim Jefferies the comedian said about voting for Donald Trump. "Dont get me wrong hes a lot of fun, and a little bit of me says, stuff it, lets do it! Let do it and see how crazy shite can get!"

4 ( +5 / -1 )

Ha ha ha!!!!! This guy is phenomenal. A grade A Moon Unit. It is absolutely astonishing that he is a Presidential candidate for the Republican Party. How are they ever going to live this down?

The ridiculousness of his antics are superseded only by the stupidity of people who think what he is saying is correct.

5 ( +6 / -1 )

Founding fathers of IS we're Saudi Arabia government who is competing with Iran., Successive US government has never criticized Saudi because of dependence on oil.

Bush has sacked all Arm Force members of Irag. Unemployed and angry Iragi military service men crossed Syrian border. Then IS was born with Saudi help,

Even Trump has become the president, he will not dare to call Saudi prince as Hilary.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Obama pulled out of Iraq.

Shouldn't have gone in in the first place... so you could say Bush invading and dragging Blair etc with him created the environment for groups like ISIS to grow from disgruntled groups of nutjobs into a massive bunch of nutjobs. Obama pulling out created a vacuum yes... but would you have rather had your US troops being killed by snipers and roadside bombs? I'm glad the British pulled out... shouldn't have been there. A war based on lies and the scent of oil.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Zempun:

" Bush has sacked all Arm Force members of Irag. Unemployed and angry Iragi military service men crossed Syrian border. Then IS was born with Saudi help, "

That is quite a misleading simplification. Yes, the dissoluation of a Iraqi armee by Bremer was a terrible mistake. But Bush reacted to it and kept a lid on the Sunni insurgency (remember also the support for the Iraki "Awakening" tribes which basically rid Iraq of Al Quaeda?

When Bush left Iraq, the place was stable. Isis arose of the combination of Obama to a) withdraw completely from Iraq, leaving the Western Sunni tribes at the merci of the Shiite government, and b) Obama support for the Sunni "rebels" in Syria (which is on-going).

Yes, GWBs policy was wrong, but ISIS specifically is a direct result of Obamas policy (including also the illegal bombing of Libya --- remember how many of Gaddafis weapons went directly to ISIS. You simply can not draw a direct line from here to there without butchering history.

Again, Trump said only what several of us have pointed out here for a long time.

-6 ( +1 / -7 )

Fox News' Greta: "You've never run for office before, this is your first race, what has surprised you the most to date about the process?"

Trump: "How smart the people of this country are."

If Greta was interviewing Clinton, she would ask, "You've been in politics your whole life, what has surprised you the most to date about the process?" And Clinton would think to herself "How dumb the people of tis country are" before telling a lie.

-10 ( +0 / -10 )

Incredible cognitive dissonance here, I'll spare the info!!

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

@Jeff:

This topic has come up in the forum before. I'll concede that the current administration's policies and actions in the Middle East have been flawed; however, trying to pin the blame on a single U.S. president for creating ISIS (like Trump has done) is an oversimplification of the issue. I found this article from The Guardian which was based on an interview with some ISIS fighters regarding how the organization came into being. I think it provides a much better balanced explanation for who is responsible for what:

http://globalcomment.com/is-isis-a-form-of-blowback-for-the-iraq-war/

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Just remember everyone:

Donald J. Trump is only possible

1) Reaganomics and the resulting economic destruction of many American jobs and communities

2) the lack of investment in those communities and instead

3) the ginning up of hate (hatred of Them) as a replacement for any real program to help those people and those communities.

In short, Donald Trump is not an aberration. Just as Sara Palin was not.

Both are the inevitable result of 40 years of terrible Republican policies and 30 years of Rush Limbaugh/FOX news hate media.

7 ( +7 / -0 )

This may seem off topic but it's not, it's to the point that Obama and his MSM are very capable of bloviating just like Trump. Except Obama is President, and the MSM are occupied with shutting down Trump.

Data being reported by our government agencies, the Bureau of Labor Statistics yesterday reported a massive downward revision of the 1Q 2016 YoY real wage growth from +4.2% to -0.4% (a 4.6% swing).

Maybe you might remember back in February when Obama was bragging about his economic success of +4.2.

My point, if Obama can obviously lie to get the headlines, what else has he/will be lie about?

Honest question, no BS, no name calling. How about it lefties, can you address this serious issue about integrity on your side, or just thumb me down and throw insults.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

You can make the argument that IF Bush wouldn't have gone into Iraq we wouldn't be fighting a long war, but after the surge pacified the country and the US forces were able to get a grip on things and establish a fragile, but somewhat functioning of a government, it got to the point where Bush was starting to draw operations to a close and hand a calmer Iraq to Barack Obama. Biden said on Larry King that Iraq would be the greatest achievements of his admin. all Obama had to do was to keep the SOFA agreement in place, he didn't do it and the Obama admin. thought that things would stay calm in Iraq, it didn't and the further division and fighting between Sunni and Shia splintered Al Qaida and out of that ISIS was born. They were on the radar from the very beginning as reported by our intelligence and the Pentagon. Obama was advised to take action against this new hostile and barbaric group. Obama chose in the beginning NOT to get involved, the situation and the violence worsened and now, here we are. So you can blame Bush for and make a compelling debatable argument if going into Iraq was a good thing or not, but you can also make the case, because of Obama's lack of intervention in the first 5 years of knowing who ISIS was and what they do, we probably wouldn't be in this mess now. So in that sense, then yes, Obama is responsible for creating ISIS. Iraq happened on GWB watch and ISIS happened on Obama's watch.

-5 ( +1 / -6 )

Or, you could take a few steps back from partisan politics and the tired blame game (on both sides) and look at it like this:

http://www.npr.org/2015/12/19/459850716/fact-check-did-obama-withdraw-from-iraq-too-soon-allowing-isis-to-grow

3 ( +3 / -0 )

The idea that the US establishment wanted a "stable" Middle East is a friggin joke. With the Sunni Petrodollar firmly in control of events in this area, the Shia was destined to be attacked and diminished. Reminds me of St. Bartholomew's Day.

-5 ( +2 / -7 )

Certainly Obama has always been against the Assad regime, right?

American money has been used to fund anti-Assad groups in Syria! . Americans have trained insurgents and funded campaigns to destabilize Syria for regime change as they have done in numerous other countries, especially the ME where most of the world's reserves are.

Let us not forget the long lines of oil trucks that had been taking oil into Turkey from Syria; oil transported by ISIL! The US allowed this to happen without interference! It was a Russia that disabled these convoys not the US.

This is history.

Depending on whose side you take then Obama has been instrumental and/or passive in these matters.

Looking at the facts then Trump's statement is not that far fetched .......

-4 ( +0 / -4 )

kurisupisu -

You evidently don't know or forgot that John McCain and Republicans were DEMANDING that the US supply arms to the anti-Assad rebels, don't you? From 2013: "The Republican senator John McCain has sharpened his criticism of White House policy on Syria, accusing the Obama administration of sitting idly by while President Bashar al-Assad gains the upper hand in the country's civil war.

In the wake of a secret visit to Syria last week, McCain, an influential foreign policy voice within the GOP, redoubled his pressure on the Obama administration to intervene in the conflict, claiming that the longer the US waited and watched the more the situation was unraveling.

"Thanks to increased weapons, thanks to Hezbollah fighters, thanks to extremist Shia coming in from Iraq, the Russians pouring weapons in, the Iranian revolutionary Guards, we are seeing unfortunately a battlefield situation where Bashar Assad now has the upper hand," he said.

Speaking on CBS's Face the Nation, McCain presented the state of play on the ground as "tragic" and said it was occurring "while we sit by and watch".

And you STILL think your opinion has any merit?

3 ( +3 / -0 )

1) Reaganomics and the resulting economic destruction of many American jobs and communities.

Due to a very partisan Democratic congress that was heavily regulated.

In short, Donald Trump is not an aberration. Just as Sara Palin was not.

Both Trump and Palin created jobs, what did Obama do besides dealing in dirty Chicago politics and being an adjunct professor? How about Hillary, what are her greatest most memorable accomplishments as NY senator or Secretary of State?

Both are the inevitable result of 40 years of terrible Republican policies and 30 years of Rush Limbaugh/FOX news hate media.

As opposed to 50 years of liberal polices that have kept minorities down, Blacks and Latinos financially suppressed? Had it not been for FOX, we would still be living in a cave of liberal spin and indoctrinated and herded like Sheep to the final slaughter house

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

When Bush left Iraq, the place was stable.

Absolutely not true. In face, rarely has a more false statement been added to Japan Today in the last decade.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Yes...

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Had it not been for FOX, we would still be living in a cave of liberal spin and indoctrinated and herded like Sheep to the final slaughter house

I agree. My very own family were nearly led to slaughter before they started watching FOX. Thank FOX!

The problem is that libs think there smarter then everybody else by using FACTS. Like the anointed one and crooked Hillary lol. Some people are saying that Hillary's pant suits contain fluoride and that she's part of the international Communist conspiracy to sap and impurify all of our precious bodily fluids. Not that I could care less about her fashion LOL, but just sayin . . . I work in the journalism field and believe me, people are talking and their is NO WAY they are going to let her take over there economy. Trump may not be perfect, but at least he doesn't use political correctness or acronyms to fool us.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Maybe Obama is an ISIS "founder" for leaving Iraq early, but Trump himself could be a "co-founder":

"Donald Trump Once Supported An Obama Policy He’s Criticizing Now"

http://www.redstate.com/streiff/2016/08/11/surprise.-donald-trump-supported-obama-policy-hes-criticizing-now/

This from Wolf Blitzer's Situation Room in 2007, as The Surge was definitively changing the entire direction of the Iraq War:

BLITZER: How does the United States get out of this situation? Is there a way ...

TRUMP: You know how they get out? They get out. That's how they get out. Declare victory and leave

Andrew Kaczynski of BuzzFeed finds this GQ interview from 2008:

“First, I’d get out of Iraq right now,” Trump said to British GQ in a 2008 interview. “And by the way, I am the greatest hawk who ever lived, a far greater hawk even than Bush.

Trump wanted out ASAP

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Trump: "Once we were in ( Iraq ) we should have never left the way we left, we left it open, and that's when ISIS really came about bigley"

Bigley! Well, it's true! OK, Donald, you've got my vote! Bigley! Huuugely, even!

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

Trump is now saying his comments on Obama and ISIL were now "sarcasm". Like asking the Russians to hack a US presidential candidate. Or suggesting to his weak minded followers that they should murder Hillary Clinton.

Man alive are Trump supporters dumb. Especially the ones that cheered on Bush in Iraq and now support Trump. You know who you are. How does that fetid Denial taste?

1 ( +1 / -0 )

"Man alive are Trump supporters dumb"

What does that make Hillary supporters?

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

"Man alive are Trump supporters dumb"

What does that make Hillary supporters?

Uh, the opposite?

1 ( +1 / -0 )

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