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Then-first lady Melania Trump played a critical role during the operation to target and kill ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, sitting in one of the most important chairs in the Situation Room and offering some advice to her husband and then-President Donald Trump at the time, according to a new book.
Former acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller writes that the first lady’s presence in the room was “unexpected,” and she came in as her husband’s executive team was “waiting for the final assault” on the ISIS leader, according to a book excerpt exclusively obtained by the Daily Caller.
“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. 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. And after all, it was her house,” Miller wrote in the book, “Soldier Secretary: Warnings from the Battlefield & the Pentagon about America’s Most Dangerous Enemies,” which is set for release on Tuesday.
The Daily Caller noted further:
The first lady’s presence in the Situation Room has never been reported before. A photo released by the White House shows that Donald Trump was accompanied by Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, Vice President Mike Pence, National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley.
Miller, who was the senior director for the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) at the time of al-Baghdadi’s death, is not pictured in the photo. Counterterrorism officials, however, have a precedent of being in the Situation Room during counterterrorism operations, including during the deaths of Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri.
“Miller’s book offers insights to his time in the Trump administration leading up to the Jan. 6 riot, his three decades of military service, and what has happened to America’s military since 9/11,” the outlet noted further.
The former acting defense secretary also notes that Trump requested that Brig. Gen. Marcus Evans, at the time deputy director of special operations on the Joint Staff, bring Melania Trump “up to speed.”
After informing the assembled personnel what may happen, Evans told them that the U.S. “assault force had unleashed their combat dog” into the building where al-Baghdadi was hiding, “with our commandos close behind,” according to Miller. The ISIS leader was cornered by U.S. forces and, as they prepared to close in, he detonated a suicide vest, killing himself, his two children, and two of his wives, the Daily Caller noted.
“The assault force commander wouldn’t declare ‘Jackpot’—the code word announcing that Baghdadi was dead—until the body was inspected. They would also take some tissue to check for a DNA match once they got back to friendly territory. [Then-deputy national security advisor Matt] Pottinger and I knew that some poor kid was searching through the dust-and smoke-shrouded rubble with his helmet-mounted lamp and handheld flashlight, trying to find Baghdadi’s head,” according to Miller.
Miller then wrote about how the president asked the executive group what was going to happen to the bodies, noting that Miller said they would be buried at sea. The president then asked the Joint Chiefs chairman what would happen to the “two women” killed in the blast, and the four-star general intimated that they could be left on site, according to Miller.
“Don’t you think ISIS will parade their bodies around and make it look like they were innocent?” Donald Trump asked, according to Miller.
At that, Evans called U.S. Central Command and then whispered something in Milley’s ear. The general then said a “barrage of missiles would pulverized the building” where the operation occurred, according to the book.
The president then consulted his assembled team about how he should address the American people regarding the operation, Miller noted. To his surprise, he said that Melania “took over.”
“You should talk about the dog,” she said, Miller wrote. “Everyone loves dogs.”
President Trump agreed, Miller noted, and brought the dog to the White House to give him an award. Trump said at the time that he did “such a great job in capturing and killing the leader of ISIS.”
