A Belgian Malinois, originally reported as a "Very Good Dog" was instrumental in the the death of Abu Baker al-Baghdadi. He played a vital role in this historic military operation. As the terrorist known as Baghdadi was forced into an underground tunnel, a trained military canine forced him to retreat further and further into the underground passage.
"Very Good Boy" or Conan?
Initially, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Miller, said the name of the dog — who appears to be a "very good boy" — remained classified.
"We're not releasing the name of the dog right now. The dog is still in theater. The dog, the canine, the military working dog, performed a tremendous service, as they all do in a variety of situations. Slightly wounded and fully recovering. But the dog is still in theater, returned to duty with its handlers," Milley said. "We're protecting the dog's identity."
However, soon afterwards on the following day Newsweek's James LaPorta released his name as "Conan."
"Multiple Defense Department sources confirmed to Newsweek . . . that the dog's name is Conan," noted LaPorta.
When the U.S. Army Special Forces soldiers with secretive Joint Special Operations Command flew into Syria's Idlib province to capture Baghdadi, this dog was a member of the team.
President Donald Trump tweeted out a photo of the military dog assigned to this Delta Force unit.
"We have declassified a picture of the wonderful dog (name not declassified) that did such a GREAT JOB in capturing and killing the Leader of ISIS. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi," tweeted Trump.
Died like a dog . . .
Trump’s apparent lack of love for dogs has become a matter of curiosity since he first took office. Both critics and supporters have noted that he is among the few modern presidents who has not had a dog in the White House (see my previous post titled, "2017 Will Be A First for A Pet-less White House."
Trump known for his malapropisms conflated Conan's intervention with Baghdadi with a slang term that's disparaging to dogs in general. In the same breath while he praised the the "very good dog," Trump described Baghdadi’s demise as a coward who "died like a dog."
Primary Source: Newsweek
