The rhetoric is now over!
After days of threats and counter threats the war that slugs like Pompeo and Bolton have wanted for decades has now begun…..
Qasem Soleimani Tuesday night, striking two air bases housing US troops in Iraq with ballistic missiles. The New York Timesreports that Iranian officials said the strikes began at 1:20am Wednesday local time—the same time the general was killed in a drone strike in Iraq Friday. To make it even clearer that this was retaliation, numerous Iranian officials, including former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili, tweeted images of the Iranian flag, apparently mocking President Trump for tweeting an American flag after the strike that killed Soleimani, reports the Week. US and Iraqi officials said there were no immediate reports of casualties, though a presenter on Iranian TV claimed the strikes killed ” at least 80 terrorist US soldiers,” the AP reports.
Sources tell the AP that Iran fired a total of 15 missiles. Ten hit the Ain al-Asad air base, one hit the Irbil base, and four failed to reach their targets, the sources say. Trump had promised to strike 52 targets in Iran if the country exacted revenge for the killing of Soleimani, but he did not announce any fresh strikes Tuesday. “All is well! Missiles launched from Iran at two military bases located in Iraq. Assessment of casualties & damages taking place now. So far, so good!” he tweeted. “We have the most powerful and well equipped military anywhere in the world, by far! I will be making a statement tomorrow morning.” A source tells the Times that Iranian officials waited for Trump to address the nation Tuesday night and when he did not, they suspected the US would either wait to respond or seek to de-escalate the situation.
“So far, so good”?
Appears that the missiles killed no Americans in the attacks….but that could be a moot point.
I am sure that there will be more to report later.
Could Soleimani be the 21st century equivalent to the death of Archduke Ferdinand?
Watch This Blog!
“lego ergo scribo”
Interesting comparison to Archduke Ferdinand as a war starting fuse lighter . A difference is that Iran has no allies in the Arab world to come to its side and the US allies will not involve themselves either. I’ve been reading World War III stoking by the anti Trump media but if only two nations are fighting it’s not a world world. However, Irans multiple gangster groups could stage attacks of various degrees all over the world as their terrorist attack escalation. Iran has to do three simple things: stop it’s terrorist attacks from group it sponsors, stop destabilizing the region and accept it will have no nukes. Pretty simple behavior change to be part of the community of nations.
Those groups are allies and cannot be ignored….only people that are not concerned are those that have let others do their fighting form them…..who is the US to dictate to any other country? chuq
So you think we should not be active in preventing Iran and NK from having nukes because we are to believe in the self determination of nations ? If and when they have the nukes history will condemn us for not stopping the power of criminal oligarchies when we were at that crossroads in time and therefore creating a world of nuclear holocaust certainty.
Yes we should work to that end but not at the point of a gun. History already has us as the only nation to ever use a nuke on civilians. Plus we do not work to limit our nukes how can we expect anyone to disarm when we are building more? chuq
Now that Iran has said that they’re willing to let things end on their side, it’s all onTrump as to whether this escalation continues. I’m not holding my breath for a rational response.
If this is left at tit-for-tat, it might be a good thing.
Somehow, I can’t see that happening.
Best wishes, Pete.
Will be interesting to see if Trump does what he always does….talk tough then back down….chuq
Killing Soleimani and that other terrorist leader a few weeks back certainly ain’t backing down. Sanctions against NK and Iran remain. Not asking Iran to disarm just no nukes and stop terrorism.