The Iran/Iraq situation.
 

World Holds Its Breath After An American Strike In
Iraq Kills Top Iranian Commander:

"U.S. military strike on a pair of SUVs near Baghdad International Airport in Iraq has
killed Qasem Soleimani, the head of the Quds Force, the division of Iran's powerful
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) responsible for militant and terrorist
activities outside of the country. It is difficult to imagine that the Iranian regime won't
feel compelled to take some form of action against any and all powers it holds
responsible, possibly beyond the United States, to include its regional allies and
partners, such as Israel and Saudi Arabia. This, in turn, could easily prompt responses
from those actors, creating a dangerous spiral of escalation, at least in for the near
future.

"At the direction of the President, the U.S. military has taken decisive defensive action
to protect U.S. personnel abroad by killing Qasem Soleimani, the head of the Iranian
Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force, a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist
Organization," a statement from the Pentagon said. "General Soleimani was actively
developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and
throughout the region."

This statement also blames Soleimani and the Iranian government directly for
directing the rocket barrage on the K-1 base in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk on
Dec. 27, 2019, which killed a U.S. contractor and wounded a number of American
troops. Kata'ib Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed Iraqi militia, which the United States has
also designated as a terrorist group, carried out that strike."


"Whatever happens now, it is safe to say that the geopolitical situation in the Middle
East, and likely beyond, has dramatically and fundamentally changed in ways that are
still very much unfolding."

See:

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zon...nian-commander

New Details About Strike On Top Iranian Commander Emerge
As Americans Are Told To Flee Iraq:

"U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said that Qasem Soleimani, commander of
Iran's Quds Force, posed an "imminent" threat and that a drone strike that killed him
and the other occupants of two SUVs outside of Baghdad International Airport in Iraq
"saved American lives." At the same time, repercussions from the unprecedented U.S.
military operation are being felt, with the increasing possibility that the Iraqi
government might order American forces out of the country and the State
Department itself urging American citizens to leave as soon as possible. The United
States has also formally decided to send thousands more troops to the region to
bolster security as countries throughout the Middle East brace for any number of
responses from Iran and its proxies.

A drone under the control of the Joint Special Operations Command, reportedly an
MQ-9 Reaper, carried out the mission. The Iranian regime has now confirmed that
Soleimani along with four other members of the country's powerful Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), died in the strike. The Quds Force is the part of
the IRGC responsible for conducting and coordinating terrorist and militant activities
outside of Iran. "Highly classified information from informants, electronic intercepts,
reconnaissance aircraft, and other surveillance" went into the planning of the strike,
according to The New York Times.

"I can’t talk too much about the nature of the threat," Secretary Pompeo said in an
interview on CNN's "New Day" on Jan. 3, 2020. Pompeo did describe the threat as
"imminent" and stressed that it was directed at American interests in the Middle East,
but declined to elaborate.

“It was the time to take this action so we could disrupt this plot... The risk of doing
nothing was enormous, the intelligence committee made that assessment," he added.
“We will do our best to release everything we know that’s appropriate that doesn’t put
anyone at risk.""

See:

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zon...d-to-flee-iraq

I would say believing the pentagon right after what we learn about the war in Afghanistan lets alone the push to the Irak war seem pretty stupid.

Are stocks down with various military supply companies and arms dealers after the holiday season?

One of the best analyses of the situation I've read from NY Times writer Rukmini Callimachi: https://twitter.com/rcallimachi/stat...21769777909761

imminent threat is the new WMDs

//

When this nightmare of a presidency will be over, I just hope that the next POTUS will be less indulgent towards Trump compared to how Obama was indulgent towards Bush 43 about the idea of selling the predecessor to the International Court of Justice over war crimes. Upon charges of committing war crimes (public admission of a crime) and of open support towards people who committed war crimes (the situation with the former SEAL who posed with a dead boy's body), those should be enough to get his fat ass in jail.

Trump Threatens Attacks On A Symbolic 52 Iranian
Targets If Tehran Strikes Back:

"Since the targeted assassination of Iranian Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani
just two days ago, the rhetoric between Washington D.C. and Tehran has taken a
massive turn for the worse. Now, with Iran indicating that it is looking to exact a
major toll on the U.S. over Soleimani's death in the coming days and weeks, U.S.
President Donald Trump has drawn a red line that will be nearly impossible to step
back from if the Iranians do decide to act."


"The message adopts a tone similar to what we hear from actors such as Iran when it
references symbology with the targeting plan and the inclusion of cultural sites that
are important to the Iranian people, which are symbolic by there very nature. It is
important to note that what Trump is describing could be a war crime, depending on
the exact nature of the targets he is talking about. Deliberately striking targets with
no military value is prohibited under the Geneva Conventions. At the same time, his
message puts forward a crystal clear warning as to what will result from any
significant reprisal.

Regardless, some will cheer this as being as tough as possible on Iran and talking in
terms of strength that some say is the only language they understand. At the same
time, it does set up an inflexible situation that would likely lead to an all-out war if
Iran forces Trump's hand. In other words, we are in the realm of brinksmanship of the
highest level now."

See:

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zon...n-strikes-back

https://i.imgur.com/VuKrDKJ.jpg

"perhaps in a disproportionate manner"

//

Americans calls themselves the world police while really they are just the biggest bully in the neighborhood. They declared war on terrorism while being the one spreading the most terror, and fabricating lies as their justification. I feel sorry for the soldiers serving in the US army. They didn't die serving the country, they are serving the self-interests of the American ruling class.

Hopefully this won't escalate to WW3... If it did... We know who started this shit...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMJJ0uPISv8

^I was just about to post that. Also, cartoon villains are more believable than the U.S.

Seems like Iran launched missiles at US bases in Iraq.

Well looks like it's starting. Congrats Trump. You started a War.

chicken game of war

Bolton must be ecstatic right now. Probably enough to defend Trump on his impeachment.

//

Iran Strikes Back: Missiles Rain Down On American Forces In Iraq:

"Details are still coming in, but Iran has launched a missile attack against U.S. forces
in Iraq, including Al Asad Air Base, in retaliation for the American drone strike that
killed Qasem Soleimani, a top Iranian commander, last week. A major rocket barrage
on Al Asad, which sits around 115 miles west of Baghdad, may have also preceded
the strikes. U.S. President Donald Trump has already threatened a major response,
including potential strikes on cultural sites, against Iran in the event of any such
attack.

Al Asad, also known as Ain Assad, hosts a large number of U.S. military personnel, as
well as significant numbers of fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and drones. It is also
the base that U.S. President Donald Trump traveled to in 2018 in his first visit to Iraq.
Iranian-backed Iraqi militias, as well as Iran itself and its other regional proxies, had
vowed to retaliate against U.S. forces throughout the Middle East over the death of
Soleimani, who had been head of the Quds Force, last week. The Quds Force is
responsible for providing aid and assistance to foreign terrorist and militant groups
and otherwise conducting covert activities outside of Iran.

The exact scale and scope of the attack is unclear, but Iranian state media has
confirmed that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, of which the Quds Force is a
part, carried out the attack. Reports say that as many as 10 ballistic missiles may
have been launched toward Al Asad.

There are also reports that additional missiles were fired toward Erbil, the capital of
Iraq's semi-autonomous northern Kurdish region. U.S. defenses there may have shot
at least one of these down. The U.S. military, as well as the U.S. State Department,
makes heavy use of portions of the airport in Erbil and the U.S. consulate there is a
major diplomatic facility."

See:

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zon...forces-in-iraq


=========================


Unconfirmed via Al Hadath: The downed Ukrainian aircraft outbound from
Tehran was accidentally shot down by Iranian AA units.:

https://www.reddit.com/r/syriancivil...ned_ukrainian/

https://fox40.com/2020/01/07/ukraini...after-takeoff/

fireworks are starting. This is sad. Many people will suffer from this war.

Not yet a war, given nobody died this was very moderate from the Iranians. Question is how Trump will react to that because his voter base doesn't want a war and he knows it.

To be fair Iran have been poking at him and the left side called Trump incompetent for not responding to those incidents. That said this response was pretty heavy handed. Either way it's all a game for the rich and powerful and we're the losers