Tag: Iraq

U.S. Carries Out Airstrikes in Iraq and Syria

New York Times logo

The attacks were against weapons storage facilities used by Iranian-backed militias that the Pentagon said had conducted drone strikes against places in Iraq where American troops, spies and diplomats were located.

WASHINGTON — The United States carried out airstrikes early Monday morning in Iraq and Syria against two Iranian-backed militias that the Pentagon said had conducted drone strikes against American personnel in Iraq in recent weeks, the Defense Department said.

“At President Biden’s direction, U.S. military forces earlier this evening conducted defensive precision airstrikes against facilities used by Iran-backed militia groups in the Iraq-Syria border region,” the Pentagon spokesman, John F. Kirby, said in a statement.

Mr. Kirby said the facilities were used by Iranian-backed militias, including Kata’ib Hezbollah and Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada, to store arms and ammunition for carrying out attacks against places where Americans were located in Iraq. There were no immediate reports of casualties but a military after-action review is ongoing, Pentagon officials said. Continue reading.

Trump appears to confuse the Kurds of Syria and Iraq in a meeting with the president of Iraqi Kurdistan

Washington Post logoPresident Trump met with Nechirvan Barzani, president of Iraqi Kurdistan, on Wednesday on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

During their encounter, Trump focused on praising the Kurds of Syria.

“As you know, we left Syria from the standpoint of the border,” said Trump, seated beside Barzani. “And that’s worked out great with Turkey. It’s worked out far better than anyone thought possible. They have the so-called safe zone, and I appreciate everything you’ve done to keep it as safe as possible.”

Continue reading.

Live updates: Defense Secretary Esper says U.S. has made no decision to leave Iraq

Washington Post logoDefense Secretary Mark T. Esper said Monday that the United States has not made any decision to leave Iraq, shortly after the U.S. military said in a letter to Iraqi officials that U.S. forces would be relocating “to prepare for onward movement.”

On Sunday, Iraqi lawmakers passed a nonbinding resolution calling for foreign troops to withdraw.

In the letter, released Monday, Marine Corps Brig. Gen. William H. Seely III said that U.S. forces “respect your sovereign decision to order our departure.” A U.S. military official confirmed the letter’s authenticity. Continue reading.

Iraqis Stormed US Embassy As Our Failure There Continues

It’s a matter of official record that Afghanistan has been the longest war in American history, still going on after more than 18 years. But you could make a case that the longest war is really Iraq. We initiated hostilities there in January 1991, and they’ve never really stopped.

You know something has gone wrong when a mob of the people you thought you were helping storms your embassy chanting “Death to America.” It brings back memories from 2003, when Dick Cheney informed Americans that our invading troops would be “greeted as liberators.” Yet the objects those Iraqis were flinging at our diplomatic compound were not flowers.

The protest came after the U.S. carried out airstrikes against sites in Iraq and Syria. They were directed at an Iranian-supported militia that killed an American contractor in a rocket barrage. Iran’s proxy forces have made several attacks on U.S. military facilities in recent weeks, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the U.S. “will not stand for the Islamic Republic of Iran to take actions that put American men and women in jeopardy.” Continue reading

U.S. kills top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani

Axios logoOne of the Iranian regime’s most powerful figures has been killed in a U.S. airstrike near Baghdad’s international airport, the Pentagon has confirmed.

Why it matters: Qasem Soleimani, the leader of the elite Quds force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), was as revered by Iran’s proxies and supporters across the region as he was reviled by Iran’s foes, who considered him the mastermind of state-sponsored terrorism.

“At the direction of the President, the U.S. military has taken decisive action to protect U.S. personnel abroad by killing Qasem Soleimani.”

— Pentagon statement

Exclusive: Iraq president reveals Trump fears; warns of war, ethnic cleansing

Axios logoIraqi President Barham Salih — long known as a pro-American leader — says he is no longer sure he can rely on the U.S. as an ally and may be ready to “recalibrate” Iraq’s relationship with other countries, including Iran and Russia.

Why it matters: In an extraordinarily candid interview with “Axios on HBO,” Salih said he still values his country’s alliance with the U.S. 16 years after the U.S. invasion of Iraq. He wants to keep that alliance — but made clear that the Trump administration’s policies are making that difficult.

  • “The staying power of the United States is being questioned in a very, very serious way,” Salih said. “And allies of the United States are worried about the dependability of the United States.”

The big picture: The interview was conducted last Monday — six days before Trump announced the successful U.S. operation that resulted in the death of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

  • The death of Baghdadi — which relied on America’s military and intelligence assets in Syria and Iraq — reinforces why U.S. allies like Salih worry what would happen if Trump completes his promise to withdraw the U.S. military from the Middle East.

View the complete October 27 article by Jonathan Swan on the Axios website here.

Trump finally visited the troops overseas — and it was an embarrassing mess

Credit: CBS

At long last, President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania paid a visit to U.S. troops stationed overseas, after a secret overnight flight to Iraq. This visit, held at the…

At long last, President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania paid a visit to U.S. troops stationed overseas, after a secret overnight flight to Iraq.

This visit, held at the Al Asad Air Base in western Iraq, should have been a moment of relative triumph and personal growth for the president, who had promised to make such a trip and who has attracted criticism for not having done so at a time in his presidency at which nearly all of his post-World War II predecessors, including Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, had.

But unfortunately, Trump managed to make what should have been a low-key and uncontroversial affair into an embarrassing disaster.

View the complete December 27 article by Cody Fenwick on the AlterNet.org website here.