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Sabtu, 04 Januari 2020

US killed top Iranian commander to stop a war, Trump says as 3,000 American troops head to the region - CNN

The US will deploy the troops following a drone strike at Baghdad International Airport that killed military commander Qasem Soleimani, a defense official told CNN.

The troops will come from the Immediate Response Force of the 82nd Airborne Division. CNN has previously reported the forces had been placed on prepare-to-deploy orders.

After hundreds of protesters targeted the US Embassy compound in Baghdad this week, the US sent in 750 troops from the same unit and said additional deployments were possible. The new deployment will encompass the rest of the brigade -- about 3,000 soldiers.

The decision comes after Trump said he ordered the precision strike to kill Soleimani, who was plotting "imminent and sinister attacks" on Americans, adding the decision was one of deterrence rather than aggression.

"We took action last night to stop a war. We did not take action to start a war," Trump said in a statement from his Mar-a-Lago resort on Friday, a day after the airstrike in the Iraqi capital.

Soleimani was the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force, and became the architect of Tehran's proxy conflicts in the Middle East. Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis -- the deputy head of the Iran-backed Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) -- was also killed.

Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, left, and Qasem Soleimani were killed in the US strike.

The Trump administration viewed Soleimani as a ruthless killer, and the President told reporters Friday that the general should have been taken out by previous presidents.

The Pentagon blamed Soleimani for hundreds of deaths of Americans and their allies. "General Soleimani was actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region," the Pentagon said, calling the strike "decisive defensive" action aimed at deterring future Iranian attacks.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the strike had thwarted an "imminent" attack in the region, but declined to give any details on the intelligence on which he based his statement.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen, a Democrat and member of the Appropriations Committee, said the strike will increase threats to US interests from across Middle East.

"Today the administration announced we're sending 3,000 more troops to the region," he said. "So clearly the administration recognizes that this action has actually dramatically increased the risks in the Middle East, increased the risks of an attack from Iran and it should be no surprise to anybody who has followed these issues that Iran does mean what it says when it says this is essentially tantamount to an act of war."

Iran says it will fight back

In a letter to the United Nations, Iran described the attack as state terrorism and an unlawful criminal act.

It was "tantamount to opening a war," Majid Takht Ravanchi, Iran's ambassador to the UN, told CNN's "Erin Burnett OutFront."

"The response for a military action is a military action. By whom? When? Where? That is for the future to witness," he said.

He said the strike had escalated a war that started when Iran pulled out of a nuclear deal with Tehran in 2018.

"The US has started the economic war in -- in May 2018. Last night, they started a military war. By assassinating, by an act of terror, against one of our top generals," he told CNN.

Iran and its allies condemned the strike as an "assassination," while European officials and the UN called for de-escalation.

The Pentagon blamed Soleimani and his Quds Force for recent attacks on coalition bases in Iraq, including the December 27 strike that culminated in the deaths of an American contractor and Iraqi personnel. It also blamed him for the US Embassy attack in Baghdad on December 31.

At least six people were killed in the strike, an Iraqi security source told CNN on condition of anonymity.

Funeral processions will be held for Soleimani in both Iran and Iraq, Iranian state media reported. Iran will hold three days of national mourning, with people also gathering in Baghdad on Saturday to pay tribute to all the officials killed.

Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has vowed "harsh revenge," according to a statement on his official website.

"His pure blood was shed in the hands of the most depraved of human beings," Khamenei said.

Maj. Gen. Ismail Qaani, who served for years alongside Soleimani, has been appointed as his replacement.

Some US officials are bracing for Iran to retaliate with a cyber attack, but Iran has shown it is also capable of engaging in another form of online warfare: social media disinformation campaigns. Authorities were on Saturday increasing vigilance and fortifying defenses.

CNN's Ryane Browne, Zachary Cohen, Hamdi Alkhshali, Kareem Khadder and Angela Dewan contributed to this report

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2020-01-04 07:49:00Z
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US killed top Iranian commander to stop a war and not start one, Trump says - CNN

The US will deploy the troops following a drone strike at Baghdad International Airport that killed military commander Qasem Soleimani, a defense official told CNN.

The troops will come from the Immediate Response Force of the 82nd Airborne Division. CNN has previously reported the forces had been placed on prepare-to-deploy orders.

"We took action last night to stop a war. We did not take action to start a war," Trump said in a statement from his Mar-a-Lago resort on Friday, a day after the airstrike in the Iraqi capital.

The Trump administration viewed Soleimani as a ruthless killer, and the President told reporters Friday that the general should have been taken out by previous presidents.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the strike had thwarted an "imminent" attack in the region, but declined to give any details on the intelligence on which he based his statement.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen, a Democrat and member of the Appropriations Committee, said the strike will increase threats to US interests from across Middle East.

Iran says it will fight back

In a letter to the United Nations, Iran described the attack as state terrorism and an unlawful criminal act.

It was "tantamount to opening a war," Majid Takht Ravanchi, Iran's ambassador to the UN, told CNN's "Erin Burnett OutFront."

"The response for a military action is a military action. By whom? When? Where? That is for the future to witness," he said.

He said the strike had escalated a war that started when Iran pulled out of a nuclear deal with Tehran in 2018.

"The US has started the economic war in -- in May 2018. Last night, they started a military war. By assassinating, by an act of terror, against one of our top generals," he told CNN.

Iran and its allies condemned the strike as an "assassination," while European officials and the UN called for de-escalation.

At least six people were killed in the strike, an Iraqi security source told CNN on condition of anonymity.

Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has vowed "harsh revenge," according to a statement on his official website.

"His pure blood was shed in the hands of the most depraved of human beings," Khamenei said.

Maj. Gen. Ismail Qaani, who served for years alongside Soleimani, has been appointed as his replacement.

CNN's Ryane Browne, Zachary Cohen, Hamdi Alkhshali, Kareem Khadder and Angela Dewan contributed to this report

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Jumat, 03 Januari 2020

Live updates: After killing of military commander, Iran vows revenge against U.S. - The Washington Post

Ali Mohammadi Bloomberg News Protesters march during a demonstration in Tehran, following a U.S. drone strike in Iraq that killed top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani.

Iran vowed to exact “severe revenge” on the United States after a drone strike killed Qasem Soleimani, one of the country’s top military figures, early Friday near the Baghdad airport. The targeted killing increased tensions in the region and caused U.S. outposts and personnel to brace for retaliatory attacks. The attack also upset global markets and sent oil prices shooting upward. Here are key points of what we know:

• Soleimani was a towering figure who was key in training Iran’s proxies around the region, especially in Iraq.

• Iran has vowed to retaliate against the United States. The U.S. Embassy in Iraq has called on all U.S. citizens to leave the country immediately.

• Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Soleimani was planning new attacks against U.S. diplomats in the region and stressed that Washington is committed to de-escalation.

• Iraq’s politicians have roundly condemned the strike, describing it as both a violation of its sovereignty and the agreement allowing U.S. forces in the country.

12:03 PM: Iraq militia warns of ‘grave consequences’

BEIRUT — Iraq’s Kataib Hezbollah, an Iran-backed militia whose rocket attack last Friday on U.S. troops in Iraq precipitated the sudden escalation in tensions, warned Friday that the United States would face “grave consequences” for tbe killing of Soleimani and the group’s deputy leader.

The strike “places Iraq, the region, and the world in front of a dangerous juncture, the consequences of which may lead towards a war that spares none” the militia warned in a statement. “This will be the beginning of the end of the American presence in Iraq and the region.”

Kataib Hezbollah is one of dozens of Shiite militias in Iraq that fall under the umbrella of the Popular Mobilization Forces, or Hashd Shaabi, whose deputy leader Jamal Jaafar Ibrahimi, known as Abu Mahdi al-Mohandis, was also killed. It was considered one of the most directly influenced by Iran and was regarded as an extension of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Qods Force, which Soleimani commanded.

The United States is holding Kataib Hezbollah responsible for an escalating campaign of rocket attacks targeting Iraqi bases where U.S. troops are present that culminated in the death last week of a U.S. contractor in Kirkuk. The U.S. airstrikes carried out in response against Kataib Hezbollah bases last Sunday triggered the attempt to storm the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad by thousands of militia supporters on Tuesday. The group had agreed to leave the embassy perimeter a day before Soleimani was targeted.

By: Liz Sly

11:22 AM: Former acting CIA director says there will be ‘dead civilian Americans’ as a result of strike

WASHINGTON — Michael Morell, the former acting CIA director under the Obama administration, told “CBS This Morning” that “there will be dead Americans, dead civilian Americans, as a result of this” airstrike, adding that a response could come “possibly over the next few days.”

Morell said that Iraq was the most likely place where U.S. citizens would come under threat, but he also pointed toward Lebanon, Bahrain and other places where Tehran-aligned militias operate. “This sets a precedent that senior officials are fair game,” Morell added.

Iranian hard-liners and their allies were likely to rally after the killing of a popular figure, said Morell, who retired from the agency in 2013 and has criticized the Trump administration. “I think we’ve now ended any hope of keeping Iraq out of Iran’s arms,” Morell said, suggesting that Iraqi politicians may now move to expel U.S. troops from the country.

By: Adam Taylor

10:43 AM: Menendez says he was not briefed by Trump administration on strike

WASHINGTON — Sen. Robert Menendez (N.J.), the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a prominent voice on Iran policy, said he was not briefed on the Soleimani strike and called on the Trump administration to deliver more answers to Congress on what prompted the attack.

“I fear that this administration used tactics but has no strategy in the long term,” Menendez said in an MSNBC appearance, “and what we cannot accept is a march to an unauthorized war.”

Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader

Qasem Soleimani attends a meeting in Tehran in 2016.

Lawmakers “need to see the facts,” he added. “If they can prove through the intelligence that this was an imminent threat against U.S. interests and personnel and that it was defensive in nature, then maybe it has the authority to [strike Soleimani]. But if they cannot . . . we see a gradual march to military action directly or indirectly with Iran, that has not been authorized by Congress. And if that’s where you’re headed, then you need to come to Congress to get an authorization for the use of military force.”

Menendez also speculated about possible retaliatory attacks that Iran may be considering, ranging from actions by proxy groups against U.S. allies such as Israel and Saudi Arabia, to targeting the region’s oil production capacity, to even attacks on the U.S. homeland.

“They can have sleeper cells in the United States,” he said. “It is possible to see sympathizers and supporters of the Quds Force in Iran make attacks here.”

By: Mike DeBonis

10:09 AM: Trump tweets that United States has been paying Iraq ‘Billions of Dollars a year’

WASHINGTON — Trump tweeted on Friday morning that the United States has been paying large sums of money to Iraq “on top of all else we have done for them” and criticized the influence of Iran in the country.

“The people of Iraq don’t want to be dominated & controlled by Iran, but ultimately, that is their choice,” Trump added, before tweeting that the people of Iraq were not happy with the influence of Iran over their country. “It will never end well!”

By: Adam Taylor

[U.S. strike on top Iranian commander sharply divides Congress]

9:58 AM: United Nations secretary general: ‘The world cannot afford another war’ in the Persian Gulf

WASHINGTON — António Guterres, secretary general of the United Nations, is “deeply concerned with the recent escalation” in the Middle East, according to a statement issued by his spokesperson.

“This is a moment in which leaders must exercise maximum restraint,” the statement read. “The world cannot afford another war in the Gulf.”

By: Adam Taylor

9:43 AM: Soleimani slaying worries Europeans

BERLIN — European politicians on Friday warned of the potential for a violent blowback after the United States killed Iran’s top military commander. The British and German governments called for a de-escalation after the United States announced overnight that President Trump had ordered the killing of Soleimani. German government deputy spokesperson Ulrike Demmer said it marked a “dangerous escalation point.” British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said Britain had always recognized “the aggressive threat” posed by Soleimani but “further conflict is in none of our interests.” Some U.S. allies urged their citizens to leave Iraq immediately.

By: Loveday Morris and Michael Birnbaum

9:30 AM: Oil prices spike, Dow dives

WASHINGTON — Crude oil prices spiked 4 percent Friday after news of Soleimani’s death spread, an abrupt escalation of Middle East tensions with serious implications for global oil supplies and economic growth.

Brent crude surged more than $2.50 a barrel, to $68.96, in its biggest jump since Saudi oil fields came under attack in September. West Texas Intermediate hit $63.72 a barrel, an eight-month high. Oil company stocks also climbed, with Shell up 1.4 percent and BP up 1.9 percent in Europe.

By: Taylor Telford and Thomas Heath

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2020-01-03 17:19:00Z
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Qassem Soleimani, top Iranian military commander, killed in U.S. airstrike in Baghdad - follow live updates - CBS News

Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran's elite Quds military force and one of the most powerful figures in the Islamic Republic, was killed Thursday night in an airstrike in Baghdad, the U.S. Defense Department confirmed. The strike drew a vow of "crushing revenge" from Iran.

In a statement, the Pentagon said President Trump ordered the "decisive defensive action to protect U.S. personnel," accusing Soleimani of "actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region."

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo described the threat to American lives as "imminent" on Twitter Friday morning.

Nuclear Iran More

Iran and Iraq are furious

Iran's foreign minister, Javad Zarif, condemned the attacks on Twitter: "The US' act of international terrorism, targeting & assassinating General Soleimani—THE most effective force fighting Daesh (ISIS), Al Nusrah, Al Qaeda et al—is extremely dangerous & a foolish escalation. The US bears responsibility for all consequences of its rogue adventurism."

Iran's Defense Minister, Amir Hatami, was quoted by state news agency IRNA as saying the Islamic republic would take a "crushing revenge" for Soleimani's assassination "from all those involved and responsible."

The government of Iraq, a vital U.S. ally in the Middle East, was also enraged by the attack on its soil, of which it appeared to have no prior warning. Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi called it "an aggression against the country of Iraq, its state, its government and its people," and warned that it risked sparking a "devastating war."

He said the strike was a "flagrant violation of the conditions authorizing the presence of U.S. troops" in Iraq.

U.S. troops in Middle East on high alert after drone strike

U.N. Special Rapporteur on Extra-Judicial Executions Agnes Callamard questioned the Trump administration's justification for the strikes in a series of tweets early Friday and called them "unlawful" for the fact that others were killed.

U.S. politicians react

Reaction from lawmakers in Washington was split along party lines. Democratic Senator Tom Udall, from New Mexico, called the attack a "reckless escalation of hostilities" that would bring the nation "to the brink of an illegal war with Iran."

In a statement issued late Thursday, House Speaker and Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi called Mr. Trump's move a "provocative and disproportionate" response to Iran's recent actions.

"Tonight's airstrike risks provoking further dangerous escalation of violence. America — and the world — cannot afford to have tensions escalate to the point of no return," Pelosi said, chastising the White House for carrying out the strike "without the consultation of the Congress."

Democrats question legality of drone strike that killed Qassem Soleimani

"The full Congress must be immediately briefed on this serious situation and on the next steps under consideration by the Administration," Pelosi said.

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham tweeted his support: "I appreciate President @realDonaldTrump's bold action against Iranian aggression. To the Iranian government: if you want more, you will get more."

Republican Senator Ben Sasse called Soleimani "an evil bastard who murdered Americans," and praised Mr. Trump for his "brave and right call."

Soleimani and the Quds Force

A former U.S. intelligence official described Soleimani as "most experienced guerrilla fighter operating globally," running operations with Iranian forces and proxy militias in Lebanon, Yemen, Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq. The official described his death as "devastating," and said the "very disruptive" assassination would likely cause a power struggle in Iran.

Former acting CIA director: There will be “dead civilian Americans” as a result of Qassem Soleimani killing

In April 2019, the U.S. designated the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, including the Quds Force, a "foreign terrorist organization." In making the announcement, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo singled out Soleimani.

"With this designation, we are sending a clear signal, a clear message to Iran's leaders, including Qassem Soleimani and his band of thugs, that the United States is bringing all pressure to bear to stop the regime's outlaw behavior," Pompeo said at the time.

Ben Rhodes, a deputy national security adviser under Barack Obama who was instrumental in the 2014 Iran nuclear deal, said there's "no question that Soleimani has a lot of blood on his hands."

"But this is a really frightening moment," he added. "Iran will respond and likely in various places. Thinking of all US personnel in the region right now."

The missile attack came just hours after Defense Secretary Mark Esper said the U.S. military would be ready if Iran and its allies attempted new attacks like the one this week at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad. That attack left an external reception area charred and battered, but caused no deaths or injuries.

More than 700 Army paratroopers are headed to Kuwait, and as many as 5,000 more paratroopers and U.S. Marines were expected to be sent to the Persian Gulf in the coming days.

While speaking to reporters off camera earlier Thursday, Esper said there were indications militias loyal to Iran were planning further attacks against Americans.

"Do I think they may do something? Yes, and they will likely regret it," he said.

David Martin, Margaret Brennan and Catherine Herridge contributed reporting. This is a breaking story. It will be updated.

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2020-01-03 15:36:00Z
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Five things to know about Australia's devastating wildfires | TheHill - The Hill

Australian officials have declared a new state of emergency as wildfires ravage the southeastern part of the county, tearing through koala habitat and dense neighborhoods in a region popular with foreign tourists.

Various fires have devastated the states of New South Wales and Victoria since November, tearing across more than 10 million acres, destroying more than 1,000 homes and killing at least 18 people. The state of emergency is the third in as many months.

Here are five things to know about the deadly blazes.

The fires were started by lightning

The government has blamed a lightning storm for sparking nearly 200 wildfires earlier this week.

But conditions were exacerbated by other unusual weather, including extreme winds, heat and drought.

Temperatures in Australia have been high, even for the summer, soaring above 100 degrees in some parts of the country over the weekend, just days before Australia recorded its hottest year on record.

Intense winds have not only helped the fires spread, they have led to loss of life. In New South Wales, a fire engine was flipped over by high winds, killing a 28-year-old volunteer firefighter.

A severe drought has also played a key role. Last year was the country's driest ever.

Experts say climate change is a factor

Experts say climate change has exacerbated the fires.

“Australians need only wake up in the morning, turn on the television, read the newspaper or look out the window to see what is increasingly obvious to many – for Australia, dangerous climate change is already here,” Penn State University professor Michael Mann wrote in The Guardian this week.

His comments follow a 2018 government report saying Australia's changing climate could result in natural hazards occurring at an “unimagined scale.”

The following year, a United Nations report said Australia was one of the developed countries most susceptible to climate change.

More recently, former New South Wales Fire and Rescue Commissioner Greg Mullins wrote in a November opinion piece for the Sydney Morning Herald that the blazes were “burning in places and at intensities never before experienced.” He blamed “an established long-term trend driven by a warming, drying climate."

In an interview with The Hill, Stanford University climate professor Noah Diffenbaugh said the high temperatures are drying out vegetation, increasing the risk of wildfires.

“The long-term warming has increased the frequency and severity of severe heat across the world," he said. "When low precipitation conditions do occur, they’re more likely to co-occur with high temperature and that combination...elevates wildfire risk. And that is exactly what we’re seeing in Australia right now.”

University of California, Los Angeles geography professor Glen MacDonald added that higher temperatures also contribute to a longer fire season.

"Particularly in Southeastern Australia, that's definitely been part of it," he told The Hill.

The death toll is rising

People have been killed, gone missing or been displaced because of the fires.

In this week alone, at least seven people have been reported dead, and two were reported missing, in New South Wales. In Victoria, one person died.

This season, at least 1,298 homes have been destroyed, according to the New South Wales Rural Fire Service.

Thousands of people have been evacuated from the most affected areas, while tens of thousands elsewhere were left without power.

In the coastal town of Mallacoota, some 4,000 people headed to the beach to escape the fire, only to be stranded on the shoreline after being cut off by the blaze. The government has since sent a Navy ship to carry people out in batches of about 800 at a time.

The fires show the potential to wipe out species

Australia's koala population has been one of the hardest hit by the fires, with government officials estimating 30 percent may have died in the blazes.

"Up to 30 percent of the koalas in the region may have been killed, because up to 30 percent of their habitat has been destroyed," Australia's Federal Environment Minister Sussan Ley told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. last week.

But it’s not just koalas that face a serious threat. Researchers from the University of Sydney estimated some 480 million animals in New South Wales face death or displacement because of the fires.

The fires show threatened and endangered species are increasingly vulnerable to natural disasters that threaten to erase entire species.

The Puerto Rican parrot population has been hit hard by several record-breaking hurricanes, most recently Hurricane Maria in 2017. Scientists worry rising sea levels could harm oysters and mussels that rely on water that isn’t too highly salinic.

Koalas are already facing habitat destruction from growing urban areas, but the massive fires have wiped out even more territory. Experts say restoring that habitat will be key to giving the species a chance to rebound.

“Habitat protection is not just drawing a line around the minimal habitat needed for the species but making sure they can grow into areas that are protected,” said Sarah Uhlemann, international program director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “These fires are just an ongoing example of what fires can do not only to people but the wildlife we care about.”

Calls for stronger government response put spotlight on coal industry

How to tackle this blaze and future ones has taken a decidedly political tone in Australia, with some calling for more action from government leaders.

One area of tension has been Australia’s reliance on coal, an industry that employs tens of thousands of people.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison last month rejected calls to impose new restrictions on the coal industry, saying, “What we won't do is engage in reckless and job-destroying and economy-crunching target.”

Richard Di Natale, who heads the Australian Greens political party, accused Morrison of “failing in his basic duty to keep our citizens safe from harm through his inadequate response to these fires and his refusal to accept that burning climate changing fossil fuels would lead to more frequent and intense bushfires.”

He also called on Morrison to “declare a Royal Commission into the bushfire crisis.”

In November, Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack, called Di Natale and others “inner-city raving lunatics.”

Morrison, who heads Australia’s Liberal party, was heckled this week when visiting a town affected by the fires.

"How come we only had four trucks to defend our town? Because our town doesn't have a lot of money but we have hearts of gold, prime minister,” one woman reportedly said.

There have also been calls to redirect funds toward fighting the fire. A petition that garnered nearly 300,000 signatures called for money spent on New Years’ Eve fireworks to instead go toward combating the fires.

"We need to fundamentally re-think how we prepared for, finance, and respond to disasters like this," Nicholas Aberle, the campaigns manager for Environment Victoria, said in an email to The Hill. "The existing approaches are no longer adequate to deal with the scale of bushfires Australia now faces, nor the increasing scale of fires we will face in future. For example, it is hard to rely on shared equipment across states when every state is on fire simultaneously."

Aberle added that the country's government "has been brought kicking and screaming to engage with the fires in any meaningful way, because they know that climate change is making bushfires worse, and they know in their heart of hearts that Australia is woefully behind the pack when it comes to cutting emissions."

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2020-01-03 11:00:16Z
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U.S. airstrike kills Iranian General Qassem Soleimani | Nightline - ABC News

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2020-01-03 10:36:10Z
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Footage shows aftermath of US airstrike that killed top Iranian general Qassem Suleimani - Guardian News

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2020-01-03 09:01:31Z
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