President Donald Trump vowed on Friday that the total wipeout of the Islamic State caliphate would be announced within 24 hours. It has now been two days and no official proclamation has been made.
Trump made the remark in the Rose Garden speech in which he declared a national emergency in an effort to gain access to billions of dollars for construction of his southern border wall.
The ongoing delay in the president’s teased news on ISIS was flagged by Toronto Star Washington correspondent Daniel Dale on Twitter:
The day of Trump’s Rose Garden speech, the top U.S. general waging the battle against ISIS in the Middle East told CNN he disagreed with the president’s December decision to pull American troops out of Syria.
“It would not have been my military advice at that particular time ... I would not have made that suggestion, frankly,” said Gen. Joseph Votel, warning that “our continued military pressure is necessary to continue to go after that network.”
Still, Trump touted success in the fight against ISIS on Saturday, tweeting that “the Caliphate is ready to fall” and that the U.S. will be “pulling back after 100% Caliphate victory!”
On Saturday, the Syrian Democratic Forces announced that ISIS holds only 700 square meters of territory in Syria, CNN reported. However, Trump’s critics have warned that with its resources and manpower, it will re-emerge once the U.S. leaves.