On Wednesday, President Trump blamed Iran for a rocket attack on the US embassy in Baghdad’s Green Zone that took place on Sunday.
President Trump wrote on Twitter: “Our embassy in Baghdad got hit Sunday by several rockets. Three rockets failed to launch. Guess where they were from: IRAN. Now we hear chatter of additional attacks against Americans in Iraq.”
He added: “Some friendly health advice to Iran: If one American is killed, I will hold Iran responsible. Think it over.”
Trump’s accusation followed Secretary of Mike Pompeo, who blamed the attack on “Iran-backed” militias. Iran denied the charge and has made it clear in recent weeks that they have no interest in provoking the US and even warned militias in Iraq not to fire on US targets.
An Iranian general delivered the message to Iraq after a report said President Trump reviewed options to attack an Iranian nuclear site. But some Shia militias in Iraq rejected the Iranian warning.
The leader of the Shia militia Asaib al-Ahl Haq responded sharply to Iran’s warning. “The Americans occupy our country, not yours. We will not listen to you anymore because our motives are 100 percent nationalist,” Qais al-Khazali said in a TV interview.
Despite the Iranians clear desire to avoid a military confrontation with the US before Trump leaves office, the tripwire is set, and any US casualty between now and January 20th will be blamed on Iran. According to a report from Reuters, the US could already be preparing a military response to Sunday’s attack.
An unnamed administration official told Reuters that top US officials agreed on a “range of options” to present to the president aimed at deterring further attacks on the US in Iraq. The official did not say whether the options included a military operation or not. Sources told Axios that the US was considering quickly closing its embassy in Baghdad in response to Sunday’s attack.
In September, Pompeo threatened to close the US embassy in Iraq in response to rocket attacks on the Green Zone. The threat to close the embassy came along with the threat of US airstrikes on Shia militias. According to a report from Middle East Eye, Pompeo presented the Iraqi government with a list of 80 targets the US would strike if it went through with the embassy closure.
January 3rd marks the one-year anniversary of the US assassination of Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani, who was killed alongside Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Mohandes. The series of events that led to the assassination was sparked by a rocket attack on a base in Kirkuk, Iraq, that killed a US contractor on December 27th, 2019.
The US blamed the Kirkuk attack on Kataib Hezbollah, a Shia militia the US sees as an Iranian proxy. The US responded to the Kirkuk attack by launching airstrikes on several Kataib Hezbollah targets, killing 25 of the group’s fighters. The airstrikes enraged many Iraqis, and protesters stormed the US embassy. After the embassy incident, President Trump ordered the drone strike that killed Soleimani and al-Mohandes.
The US never substantiated the claim that Kataib Hezbollah was responsible for the Kirkuk attack. In February, Iraqi intelligence officials told The New York Times that it was more likely that ISIS carried out the Kirkuk attack.
Trump could very well send Iran a late christmas gift before leaving office.
He won’t.
I think AJ doesn’t mean an actual Christmas gift.
I think Luchorpan is correctly identifying Trump as all bluster, no real war likely. Unlike Obama and Bush, and probably unlike Biden too (a well established part of “normal” war crimes for the last 20 years).
And the only real reason is Iran just won’t comply. Trump has done all he could to instigate a war. Kill one of our generals and tell me the bombs wouldn’t be flying.
You are right that there is no war only because the leaders of Iran have been too smart for those baiting them.
You are right those who control US actions have been baiting them.
However, I don’t think that was Trump. Remember the strike he called back, when those baiting thought they’d finally gotten their war.
Iran is smart. Those baiting are evil war criminals. But Trump? He’s too weak to stand up to those baiting Iran, and too weak to strike Iran either. He’s bluff and bluster, and a coward at core.
If Trump actually had the courage of any beliefs he’s claimed, he’d have ended wars just like Obama would have if he in his turn had not wimped out.
“However, I don’t think that was Trump. Remember the strike he called back, when those baiting thought they’d finally gotten their war.”
Like I replied earlier, Trump put us in the position to be on the verge of an attack in the first place. That happened way after he unilaterally dropped out of the JCPOA and initiated the “maximum pressure campaign” which was the starting point to where we are now. Whether he was paying back Adelson doesn’t matter, it’s still on him.
An ethical person does not find the ethical line, and then dance right along that edge. Ethical is to be aware of the line and then stay far away from it.
Trump danced the edge. He used bluster and bluff as his favored tactic, a lifetime trait that he applied to war and peace as much as to business. He sought out the edge to get as near it as possible, for the sake of using the threat of that.
There is nothing to be defended in such conduct, and a lot of harm can follow from it, has followed from it.
However, it is not taking a joyous flying leap into war, the way Bush/Cheney did, the way Hillary did in Libya and Syria and Ukraine and Honduras for other examples. It is not drinking the blood and wallowing in it like a pig, cackling in paraphrase of old Romans, “I came, I saw, he died.”
Others did do that, like our new Sec of State and the last Democratic candidate against Trump.
I seek to make clear the real difference, not to defend the lesser evil as acceptable, much less good policy.
Well said.
Don’t be too sure. If he has a few lobbed into Iran, after 1/20/2021 it would be Biden’s problem.
It would still be on him. Hopefully he wants to go out as being a president that didn’t start any new wars.
Looks a lot like the Pentagon Ghouls are priming Sleepy Joe for his first economic stimulus action: using up that un-used ordnance inventory left over from Trump. Go Sleepy Joe! Go Go Go Sleepy Joe!
Jay, is that you?
Simple retaliation even Trump will understand……. Iran will blow up every asset that bears the Name Trump anywhere on the planet! Starting in the Middle East. For those that fail to realise it is not Terrorism if the US attacks Iran and Iran retaliates. If the US attacks Iran it is an act of war! Also be clear Iran know exactly where that noisy Ohio Class Submarine is in the gulf and they have the ability to actually take one out, so says the Russians as they sold them the torpedoes that can do it! First tomahawk launched will give the fix! This is not a good thing for the US or the Saudis! Bahrain military bases will be hit hard as will any US assets in the region. One would hope that the Pentagon uses the Constitution and demands that the President get Congress to declare war before they allow a launch!
It doesnt matter that the US has committed an act of war. If war breaks out, Iran will be blamed by most NPCs (non player character). The US and Israel might suffer significant losses in such war, but Iran would be destroyed.
Pray the DM allows Iran its saving throw against poison. I’m not so sure “most” NPCs would actually blame Iran. They certainly never blamed Iraq for Bush (and Blair)’s naked aggression, and Trump is much, much less popular worldwide than Bush ever was. Bush was seen as a warmonger. Trump is seen as something ineffably worse. I don’t know if the US would go so far as to destroy Iran ordinarily but Trump may insist as he only has days remaining as President.
Just for the record, Operation Iraqi Freedom was a joint Dem-Repub affair, initiating it and sustaining it. The Iraq Liberation Act of 1998, signed by Bill Clinton, was a United States Congressional statement of policy stating that “It should be the policy of the United States to support efforts to remove the regime headed by Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq.”
No, left solely to dem congressional votes, neither Iraq War happen.
Read it again – I said joint.
How is it “joint”, if one side voted against both authorizations ?
Yes, there about 50,000 US troops and dependents at various bases around the Gulf, plus those in other area countries — Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan. . .Plus Hezbollah has thousands of rockets ticketed for Israel.
The USA, once again, has only itself to blame for “getting bombed” in Iraq, allegedly by Iranian proxies. How many times has the “newly-democratic” government of Iraq asked the USA to leave their nation? I lost count! If the USA can’t get even the most miniscule type of respect to other nations, this is the blowback to be expected from now on. And this attack on US personnel and military infrastructure is NOTHING compared to the years of misery and terror visited upon the Iraqi people by the US War Machine. If Russia(hypothetically) occupied Mexico do you think for one minute that the USA wouldn’t send in covert teams to destabilize that occupation? Time to REALLY fix situations by taking a good long hard look in the mirror!
This is what Trump says when there is no proof that Russia was involved: “Russia, Russia, Russia is the priority chant when anything happens”
This is what Trump says when there is no proof that Iran is involved:
“Our embassy in Baghdad got hit Sunday by several rockets. Three rockets failed to launch. Guess where they were from: IRAN.”
I would say good riddance to this asshole if I didn’t know another asshole was taking his place. But what the hell. Good riddance asshole.
My feeling is even if Biden is an asshole, he may at least prioritze things that matter, namely the virus. He knows full well that all this targeting Iran crap began when Trump walked away from his predecessor’s JCPOA and there’s no reason to think Biden doesn’t want that status quo restored. Obama never kowtowed to Bibi the way Trump has (no other president has been so obsequious). Now, that doesn’t mean that sometime in the next four years we may see something else equally appalling, but we can hope. The reality is, it’s going to take an extraordinary effort to vaccinate the number of people who need it–and to convince many of them that they do need it–and the military is at very least going to be partly distracted by that task. None of us wants to be disappointed, but we can still hope.
“Sources close to Biden told Reuters that the administration is considering sanctions against Moscow or attacks on Russia’s cyber infrastructure as a response, despite a lack of evidence that Moscow was involved.”
He might have priorities but he’ll find the time. I’m sure.
Iran said that they would hop back into the agreement immediately, should Biden want to do so.
Biden is wholly a Deep State critter. BB owns the DS and they don’t give a shit about “the people”, except for exploitation – consumers, workers, soldiers.
Trump’s obsequies are transparently phoney. He only cares for the usefulness of persons, BB, Vlad, Kim, … Melanie. And contrary to your assertion, he has resisted tremendous pressure for four years now, including famously recalling the bombers 10 minutes before target. When the War Party pressures him to pick option #1, he goes down to #3, 4#, and #5, bluster, sanctions and targeted murder. In true gangster style he knows flattery and a hit beat mass slaughter. Whereas Barry O caved on Libya, Syria and Ukraine.
It was an obscene option; but, had they put a gun to my head, I’d have voted Trump.
“including famously recalling the bombers 10 minutes before target”
But the bombers were only in position because Trump’s previous actions put them there.
“When the War Party pressures him to pick option #1, he goes down to #3, 4#, and #5, bluster, sanctions and targeted murder.”
But he has shown his willingness to do plenty of actual bombing in the wars he inherited. He dropped more bombs in Afghanistan in ’18 qnd ’19 then had been dropped since the early years. He did an artillery barrage on Syria along with two missile attacks. He dropped more bombs on Somalia than Bush and Obama combined. Plus he continued enabling the Yemen disaster and lifted the rules of engagement everywhere making killing easier and civilian deaths more plentiful. Plus the Drones. So he is quite capable of doing more than bluster, sanctions and targeted murder.
OK, I overstated the argument.
My overarching thesis is Deep State policy control. The Presidential function is purely executive. Policy with regards to the Mid-East was fixed in the ’80’s during the counter-revolutionary attempt against Iran; and, USSR/Russia shortly thereafter when they gave assist to Najibulah in Kabul, followed up by Polish Solidarity, and finally total collapse. The vassalage of the Oil Patch and Eastern Europe and Russia were immutable doctrine by the time of Obama and Trump. Even though history had moved on and their significance had faded relative to China and the Pacific Rim, too much blood and treasure had been spilled and institutional momentum built up to allow a logical policy shift.
With Obama they had as close as its possible to get to the perfect Assassin Executive who could even gain soft capital (win the Nobel). Trump fully intended friendship with Moscow and abandonment of the Mid-East; and, was naïve or stupid enough to think it possible. The Deep State countered with Russiagate, an even greater coup d’etat than Watergate since the latter contemplated military withdrawal. So that the logic of it all is that Trump was insufficiently aggressive for the Deep State to tolerate. Obama wasn’t.
“Trump fully intended friendship with Moscow and abandonment of the Mid-East; and, was naïve or stupid enough to think it possible.”
I don’t know what might have happened if there hadn’t been a Russiagate but if Russiagate intimidated Trump into him stepping back from his intended friendship with Russia, then he must have been a useful tool, at least somewhat, for the Deep State. When it comes the Middle East, Trumps campaign rhetoric and his first state visit abroad makes his abandoning the region as almost an impossibility. The Iran bashing started early in the campaign and continued with his orb rubbing, sword dancing visit to Saudi Arabia. His professed loyalty to Israel and Shelden Adelson’s money makes it difficult to believe he was ever contemplating anything different then what he delivered.
Iraq has been under formal occupation since the Americans refused to leave when asked, a year ago, after assassinating a peace envoy from Iran who happened to be their greatest hero (and a major ally fighting ISIS). The set up against Iran has had to be accelerated since Biden can’t be trusted to do it, what with his commitments actually to do something about the virus in the US.
President Bush signed an agreement as to a timetable for us to get out. Obama was adhering to that time table and caught holy h*ll from the GOP.
Obama did try to negotiate an extension but the Iraqi’s said no to the US military killing with impunity. He did catch holy hell from the GOP though and he was blamed for ISIS emerging which was bullshit.
There were Democrats opposing him in that, not just Republicans. Hillary and her minions were prominent among them. The whole menagerie in service of Israel stabbed Obama in the back on that, and all the rest of us too.
I have no doubts and I didn’t mean to leave them out. I was replying to the previous poster’s take. It’s the same with the JCPOA. Schumer(D-I) comes to mind on that.
Aww, the war criminals have their victims shooting back at their fortified occupation zones.
Get out. It is their country. The invasion was a war crime, the Nuremburg war crime standard of “Aggressive War” as then defined by the US, and anything that follows is the fault of the US.
The pols in Washington can’t get it through their heads that Operation Iraqi Freedom created a new Iraq government as intended. Iraq has made it clear that it (understandably) doesn’t want Americans in its country. This was formalized in the 2008 withdrawal agreement between the two countries. Now the Iraq people are taking action on their own to remove Americans which were sent in again to fight the US-created and -supported ISIS. Iraq militias are not fictitious Iran proxies. Iraq is allied with Iran, is all.
Iran has been aiding Iraq, financially.
Aiding doesn’t lead to proxy. The US aids lots of countries around the world, yet it doesn’t have proxies, does it.
And why on earth not???
The U.S. government provides assistance to over 100 countries around the world. Are they all US proxies? Is the US responsible for everything they do? . . .Of course not.
Assistance? Without strings? unlikely.
I was relying to vlp1730; why should Iran not help its ally Iraq. I agree with you comment just above!!
“Assistance?” LOL!!!
Do I really have to say it? Alright- FALSE FLAG!
Mossad is drooling. Just one American?
Prove it!
How?
Bring us the bowls filled with spit!
This one’s for you:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/27/far-right-israeli-football-fans-rebel-over-beitar-jerusalems-new-arab-owner
“An Israeli premier league football team whose most hardcore fans chant “Death to Arabs” faces a crisis of introspection following a landmark deal that saw the club part-sold to an unlikely new owner: an Arab sheikh.”
Wow. So it’s just not those bad Iranians wishing death on someone.
prove water is wet
Hmmm
Given the zionists incessant demands in the US to unilaterally attack Iran which have failed, and israel’s lust for war in general using false flag “rocket attacks”, anytime this pretext for war is trotted out ( Naturally Israel expects Americans to do the fighting, dying and paying for this “war” ) logic and common sense dictates the burden to provide the world with incontrovertible truth must fall on those attempting to use it and benefit from it. As is so often the case, no such incontrovertible truth has been presented….
This “attack”, like literally thousands of perfectly timed “rocket Attacks” from places like Gaza, has false flag written all over it.
Means, motive, opportunity and who benefits. As usual, when it comes to this kind of terrorist attack, Israel is at the top of the list…
Trump sounds like the one person he doesn’t want to sound like — Mr. Hope and Change Obama, with his regular “all options are on the table” threats against Iran. Meanwhile Iran has demonstrated to the world’s US targets that the US can be defied. Lessons for China and Russia, among others, on calling the US’s bluff when they are threatened. Part of that response is not to act as the US does, but on a higher plane. That’s why we won’t see Iran act as the US does, assassinating people. They will act more intelligently, and thus earn the respect and support of other (many) US enemies. The principal US enemy, China, is one of Iran’s students in this regard, and on principal issues including Taiwan and South China Sea China will successfully defy the US as Iran has done for forty years.
How many deaths has America been responsible?
Why we should love Israeli soccer 🙂
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/27/far-right-israeli-football-fans-rebel-over-beitar-jerusalems-new-arab-owner
amerikan assistance killed 500,000 children in Iraq
for $1.65 per day you can support a starving amerikan family and send little Karen to a failing school in topeka to learn transgender studies. send checks to adolph chainsaw institute, 1 billy gates ave; cisgender city; Central African republic
Donald biden vs kamala trump? fake diversity, fake equality