Published 12:29 IST, November 27th 2019
US officials confused over gender of hero dog involved in Baghdadi raid
US officials continuously flip-flopped on the question even after US President Donald Trump showed off the military dog at a news conference in the White House.
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There has been a lot of confusion over the gender of the star military dog who helped in the United States special forces raid that killed Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. The federal officials continuously flip-flopped on the question even after US President Donald Trump showed off the military dog, Conan, at a news conference in the White House Rose Garden.
Going back and forth
US officials first told reporters that the hero was, in fact, a girl, but an American daily got confirmation from the Pentagon, in writing, that Conan is a male dog as per the US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM). Earlier, a White House official also told reporters that Conan was a girl but after Trump and Vice President Mike Pence used male pronouns to refer the dog, officials confirmed Conan’s gender as male.
On October 27, during a media briefing at the White House, Trump called the dog talented and beautiful. “K-9, as they call - I call it a dog, a beautiful dog, a talented dog - was injured and brought back”. Speculations were rife after the media briefing about the gender of the dog as Trump didn’t mention Conan as he/him or she/her.
Settles on male
Susan Hennessey, a Brookings Institution fellow in national security law, found the story silly but questioned the ability of the White House to provide credible information on a verifiable fact. "It is an example of the complete and total inability to get clear, credible information regarding an innocuous and verifiable fact from the White House and DOD. That is something that actually matters," tweeted Susan.
There is no place a reporter can get a reliable answer that the public will believe regarding WHETHER A DOG IS MALE OR FEMALE. That's because we are in a situation of complete disintegration of institutional credibility. Yes, the dog is cute but this is some extremely dark stuff.
— Susan Hennessey (@Susan_Hennessey) November 26, 2019
As per the latest update from the White House and US defence officials, they have, for now, settled on the dog's gender as male and a broadcast journalist took to Twitter to inform that one official 'triple checked'.
10:27 IST, November 27th 2019