U.S. President Donald Trump needed only 10 months to defeat ISIS in Iraq after years of failure on the part of his predecessor Barack Obama, according to Trump’s ally and former chief strategist Steve Bannon.
Speaking at a rally for Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore at a campaign rally in Midland City, Bannon took time to heap praise on Trump’s “bold” foreign leadership.
READ MORE: Roy Moore joined by Steve Bannon at Alabama campaign rally
On Saturday, Iraq’s prime minister said that a three-year combat mission had resulted in the extremists being driven out from all of their former territories.
WATCH: Iraq prime minister declares end to fight against ISIS, lands ‘liberated’ from ISIS gangs
Bannon went on to add that as recently as 2014, ISIS had millions of people in enslavement in Iraq and Syria, were actively recruiting terrorists in Europe and had custody of oil wells.
“They were a more robust nation state than Iraq and Syria at the time,” Bannon claimed.
He insisted that none of the military victories over ISIS in Iraq were down to Obama, even though the crucial assault on Mosul was launched by coalition-backed Iraqi forces in October 2016, when Obama was president.
“I don’t wanna hear that this was Obama’s plan. This was not Obama’s plan,” Bannon said. “General Mattis and President Trump said they were going to physically destroy the caliphate of ISIS.”
READ MORE: Iraq declares victory over Islamic State but root causes of conflict still unaddressed
Bannon also hailed Trump for working with countries like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to help battle terrorism and the threat posed by Iran.
“This is part of the world that’s always double dealing ya. They took action, bold action. That’s Donald J. Trump’s leadership.”
— With files from the Associated Press
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