Fact-checking the third day of the 2016 Republican National Convention
By Glenn Kessler and Michelle Ye Hee Lee July 20 at 11:35 PM
On the third night of the Republican National Convention, GOP vice presidential nominee Mike Pence gave his acceptance address. Here’s a roundup of 11 of the most noteworthy claims that were made at the RNC, focused mostly on Pence’s remarks. As is our practice, we do not award Pinocchios for a roundup of claims made in convention events.
“It was Hillary Clinton who helped to undo all the gains of the troop surge, a staggering failure of judgment that set ISIS on the loose.”
— Vice presidential nominee Mike Pence
This is a carefully phrased statement — note the use of the word “helped” — that tries to pin the blame on Clinton for a complex dynamic that both pre-dates and post-dates her tenure as secretary of state.
To a large extent, the Islamic State of today is simply an outgrowth of al-Qaeda of Iraq. It was established in April 2004 by longtime Sunni extremist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, according to the National Counterterrorism Center. Zarqawi was killed by a U.S. airstrike in 2006, and afterward his successor announced the formation of the Islamic State — more than two years before George W. Bush left office.
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2016/07/20/fact-checking-the-third-day-of-the-2016-republican-national-convention/