Cinmpring kici

Kamis, 09 Januari 2020

Sen. Mike Lee lambasts briefing on Soleimani strike as "worst" he's received on military issue - CBS News

Republican Senators Mike Lee of Utah and Rand Paul of Kentucky excoriated a briefing from top Trump administration officials on the targeted drone strike that led to the death of Qassem Soleimani, the leader of Iran's elite Quds Force. Lee called it "worst briefing" he's received on a military issue in his nine years in the Senate.

Lee said it is "not acceptable" for officials from the executive branch — whether it be Defense Department, the CIA or the White House — to tell the Senate that they can't "debate and discuss the appropriateness of military intervention against Iran."

"It's un-American, it's unconstitutional, and it's wrong," he added.

Trending News

The House is set to vote Thursday on a measure designed to limit Mr. Trump's military actions regarding Iran. Senator Tim Kaine, a Democrat from Virginia, has also introduced a war powers resolution in the Senate.

Lee said he will back Kaine's resolution once changes are made.

House to vote Thursday on war powers resolution

"I walked into the briefing undecided. I walked out decided, specifically because of what happened in that briefing," he said.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, CIA Director Gina Haspel and acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire conducted the briefing to the full Senate on last week's drone strike. The group met with House members to discuss the strike earlier in the day.

Lee said the suggestion from the administration's top military and national security officials that the Senate not debate military action in Iran was "insulting" and "demeaning to the process ordained by the Constitution."

"They left after 75 minutes. Now I understand these are busy people. They've got a lot of demands on their time," Lee said. "They're appearing before a coordinate branch of government, a coordinate branch of government responsible for their funding, for their confirmation, for any approval of any military action they might undertake. And they had to leave after 75 minutes while they're in the process of telling us we need to be good little boys and girls and run along and not debate this in public. I find that absolutely insane. I think it's unacceptable."

A White House official confirmed to CBS News' Paula Reid that Lee did not get to ask a question, but said the briefing lasted 90 minutes. The official added the White House hoped to come back to answer questions.

The White House left the briefing with the impression that some lawmakers were upset with the decision to use force, but not with how the briefing was conducted, the official said.

Paul said he also intends to support Kaine's war powers resolution.

"I wanted to hear the intelligence first," he told reporters, "What I heard was less than satisfying."

Mr. Trump ordered the drone strike that took out Soleimani in Baghdad last week. The president and administration officials have said the decision was in response to an "imminent threat" to American diplomats and service members. The White House on Saturday notified Congress of the strike under the War Powers Act.

Senate Democrats said after Wednesday's briefing that information they were provided by the administration did not describe an "imminent threat."

On Tuesday, Iran launched ballistic missiles against Iraqi military bases that house U.S. forces in retaliation for the strike that killed Soleimani.

Paula Reid contributed to this report.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMigQFodHRwczovL3d3dy5jYnNuZXdzLmNvbS9uZXdzL21pa2UtbGVlLXNlbmF0b3ItdXRhaC1sYW1iYXN0cy10cnVtcC1icmllZmluZy1zb2xlaW1hbmktc3RyaWtlLXdvcnN0LWhlcy1yZWNlaXZlZC1vbi1taWxpdGFyeS1pc3N1ZS_SAYUBaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuY2JzbmV3cy5jb20vYW1wL25ld3MvbWlrZS1sZWUtc2VuYXRvci11dGFoLWxhbWJhc3RzLXRydW1wLWJyaWVmaW5nLXNvbGVpbWFuaS1zdHJpa2Utd29yc3QtaGVzLXJlY2VpdmVkLW9uLW1pbGl0YXJ5LWlzc3VlLw?oc=5

2020-01-09 13:31:00Z
CAIiEOmjW3mkxqMHvcyirOJoXoMqGQgEKhAIACoHCAowyNj6CjDyiPICMK_dxAU

Iran news: Iranian military commander vows "harsher revenge soon" today as Tehran residents breathe a sigh of relief - CBS News

Tehran — Hours after President Trump said Iran appeared to be "standing down" after an intense week of soaring tension, a senior Iranian military commander vowed Thursday that there would be "harsher revenge" taken against the U.S. Mr. Trump indicated on Wednesday that he plans no further military response against Iran in a statement intended to lower tension in the Middle East.

But the general chosen to replace Qassem Soleimani, the top Iranian commander killed in a targeted strike on Mr. Trump's order last week, said Thursday morning that he would follow the same path as his predecessor.

A commander of Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guards, meanwhile, issued the threat of "harsher revenge soon."

The messages show that the U.S. can't afford to let its guard down, but they also highlight continued deep divisions inside Iranian society. Iran's political leaders said Wednesday that the Islamic Republic had "concluded" its response to America's targeted killing of a top Iranian general.

CBS News senior foreign correspondent Elizabeth Palmer says that while Iran's military commanders are vowing to fight on, with the goal of getting U.S. forces to leave the region, the headline in Tehran on Thursday was that — in the short term — the Americans aren't planning another military strike.

Crisis in the Middle East: Fears of War with Iran

In the first real snowfall of the winter, residents of Iran's capital went about their business on Thursday feeling safer.

One resident, Caroline, told Palmer she had definitely been afraid of the prospect of an all-out war with the U.S. Like millions of others in Iran, she listened to President Trump's speech very closely.

She said she was relieved when he said there would not be any further American attack, and she "slept very well" after his remarks.

"The fact that we have this great military and equipment, however, does not mean we have to use it," Mr. Trump said Wednesday. "We do not want to use it."

On Iranian state-run TV, the president's decision not to strike back was framed as a climb-down by the U.S., and a win for Iran's Revolutionary Guards, who were able to showcase their missile arsenal with the strikes this week against Iraqi bases housing U.S. forces.

Those strikes were retaliation for the U.S. attack that killed Soleimani on Friday. His death brought millions of people into the streets of Iranian cities in a show of national unity, but the mourning masses didn't convey the whole story.

Just a few weeks ago, thousands of demonstrators were in the streets to vent their fury and frustration with their own government, for its corruption, ineptitude and repression.

But Palmer says the mood has changed completely since then, and for now the voices of dissent have gone quiet.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiggFodHRwczovL3d3dy5jYnNuZXdzLmNvbS9uZXdzL2lyYW4tbmV3cy1pcmFuaWFuLWNvbW1hbmRlci12b3dzLWhhcnNoZXItcmV2ZW5nZS10b2RheS10ZWhyYW4tcmVzaWRlbnRzLXNpZ2gtcmVsaWVmLXRydW1wLTIwMjAtMDEtMDkv0gGGAWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmNic25ld3MuY29tL2FtcC9uZXdzL2lyYW4tbmV3cy1pcmFuaWFuLWNvbW1hbmRlci12b3dzLWhhcnNoZXItcmV2ZW5nZS10b2RheS10ZWhyYW4tcmVzaWRlbnRzLXNpZ2gtcmVsaWVmLXRydW1wLTIwMjAtMDEtMDkv?oc=5

2020-01-09 13:05:00Z
52780536809258

House to vote to limit Trump's military action against Iran without congressional approval - CNN

Freshman Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, a former CIA analyst and senior Defense Department official, is the sponsor of the resolution, which calls on the President "to terminate the use of United States Armed Forces to engage in hostilities in or against Iran" unless Congress declares war or enacts "specific statutory authorization" for the use of armed forces.

One additional exception outlined in the resolution is if the use of armed forces "is necessary and appropriate to defend against an imminent armed attack upon the United States."

A vote on the resolution will take place one day after President Donald Trump signaled a de-escalation of tensions with Iran, saying that "Iran appears to be standing down" in the wake of its retaliatory attacks against Iraqi bases housing US troops, which came after a US airstrike killed Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani.

Despite the apparent de-escalation, however, Democrats have continued to express alarm over the strike and the administration's justification in taking the action.

'The worst briefing I've had': Senate Iran briefing gets heated

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a statement on Wednesday that "members of Congress have serious, urgent concerns about the administration's decision to engage in hostilities against Iran and about its lack of strategy moving forward" and announced that the House would move forward with a war powers resolution vote.

The House resolution states that "when the United States military force, the American people and members of the United States Armed Forces deserve a credible explanation regarding such use of military force."

It also states that "Congress has not authorized the President to use military force against Iran."

Democrats push war powers resolutions in House and Senate

The House and Senate are both poised to take up war powers resolutions related to Iran.

In the Senate, Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia introduced his own war powers resolution last week along with Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois. The measure is privileged, which means that the Republican-controlled Senate will have to hold a vote.

The resolution directs the President to remove US forces from hostilities with Iran no later than 30 days after the resolution is enacted absent a declaration of war by Congress or passage of a new authorization for use of military force, a type of measure that lawmakers can approve to green-light military action.

Even as the military conflict with Iran appeared to have de-escalated on Wednesday, Kaine said that he will continue to press ahead with his effort to limit Trump's authority on Iran.

He added, however, that the timing may be complicated by the fact that it's uncertain when a Senate impeachment trial will begin. But since it's privileged, the Senate must vote on it.

"What we learned from the last 18 months is ... this thing has been going up and down cycles ... and deliberation is the antidote to unnecessary escalation," Kaine said of conflict with Iran.

Democrats invoke War Powers Act in effort to rein in Trump

In their effort to restrain US conflict with Iran, congressional Democrats are invoking the War Powers Resolution, otherwise known as the War Powers Resolution of 1973 or the War Powers Act.

The War Powers Act stipulates parameters of presidential and congressional war powers, including imposing procedural requirements to ensure that presidents keep Congress apprised of military decisions as well as provisions that provide Congress with a mechanism to suspend military operations initiated by the President in certain circumstances.

It was enacted after Congress overrode a veto from then-President Richard Nixon and is aimed at reining in a president's authority to engage the US in military action without congressional approval.

The Democratic-controlled House is expected to have the support needed to clear an Iran war powers resolution, but it is not yet clear if such a resolution would have the votes to pass in the Republican-led Senate.

Whatever the outcome of the vote, however, the resolutions ensure there will be an ongoing congressional debate over simmering hostilities with Iran.

CNN's Manu Raju and Nicole Gaouette contributed to this report.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiWGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmNubi5jb20vMjAyMC8wMS8wOS9wb2xpdGljcy9ob3VzZS12b3RlLXdhci1wb3dlcnMtcmVzb2x1dGlvbi1pcmFuL2luZGV4Lmh0bWzSAVxodHRwczovL2FtcC5jbm4uY29tL2Nubi8yMDIwLzAxLzA5L3BvbGl0aWNzL2hvdXNlLXZvdGUtd2FyLXBvd2Vycy1yZXNvbHV0aW9uLWlyYW4vaW5kZXguaHRtbA?oc=5

2020-01-09 12:01:00Z
52780536809258

House to vote to limit Trump's military action against Iran without congressional approval - CNN

One additional exception outlined in the resolution is if the use of armed forces "is necessary and appropriate to defend against an imminent armed attack upon the United States."

Despite the apparent de-escalation, however, Democrats have continued to express alarm over the strike and the administration's justification in taking the action.

It also states that "Congress has not authorized the President to use military force against Iran."

Democrats push war powers resolutions in House and Senate

The House and Senate are both poised to take up war powers resolutions related to Iran.

Even as the military conflict with Iran appeared to have de-escalated on Wednesday, Kaine said that he will continue to press ahead with his effort to limit Trump's authority on Iran.

He added, however, that the timing may be complicated by the fact that it's uncertain when a Senate impeachment trial will begin. But since it's privileged, the Senate must vote on it.

"What we learned from the last 18 months is ... this thing has been going up and down cycles ... and deliberation is the antidote to unnecessary escalation," Kaine said of conflict with Iran.

Democrats invoke War Powers Act in effort to rein in Trump

In their effort to restrain US conflict with Iran, congressional Democrats are invoking the War Powers Resolution, otherwise known as the War Powers Resolution of 1973 or the War Powers Act.

It was enacted after Congress overrode a veto from then-President Richard Nixon and is aimed at reining in a president's authority to engage the US in military action without congressional approval.

Whatever the outcome of the vote, however, the resolutions ensure there will be an ongoing congressional debate over simmering hostilities with Iran.

CNN's Manu Raju and Nicole Gaouette contributed to this report.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Ukraine plane on fire before crashing in Iran, says report - The - The Washington Post

Wana News Agency Via Reuters Debris of a plane belonging to Ukraine International Airlines that crashed after taking off from Iran's Imam Khomeini airport, Jan. 8, 2020.

MOSCOW — Ukrainian investigators are considering the possibility that that an antiaircraft missile might have hit the doomed passenger jet that crashed near Tehran killing all 176 aboard as an initial report released by Iran Thursday said the plane was on fire while still in the air.

The preliminary Iranian investigation cited witnesses saying the plane was burning and was turning back to Tehran because of the problem when it went down.

Ukrainian investigators said they were also considering engine failure or a terrorist attack as possible causes for the crash.

The Ukraine International Airlines flight — bound for the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv — departed Tehran at 6:12 a.m. on Wednesday and was approaching 8,000 feet when it abruptly lost contact with ground control, officials said.

The report from Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization said that eyewitness reports from the ground and from the crew of another flight in the vicinity reported seeing a fire while the Boeing 737 model airplane was still in the air and then an explosion when it collided with the ground near an amusement park.

“The trajectory of the collision indicated that the plane was initially moving toward the west, but after encountering a problem, it turned to the right and was approaching the airport again at the time of the crash,” Ali Abedzadeh, the head of the Civil Aviation Organization, said in the report.

Iranian officials said immediately after the crash that the plane encountered technical problems but this did not appear in the report, which also noted that there was no distress call from the aircraft.

[Iran crash presents embattled Boeing with new crisis]

A Ukrainian plane with 45 experts and search-and-rescue personnel arrived in Tehran early Thursday to participate in the investigation as well as identify and repatriate the bodies of the 11 Ukrainians on board, including all nine crew members.

Oleksiy Danylov, secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, wrote on Facebook that his team wants to search for possible debris of a Russian missile, the Tor air defense missile, at the crash site after seeing online reports about the discovery of possible fragments of one near the crash site.

He added that Ukraine’s commission includes specialists who helped investigate the July 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 in Ukraine.

The government has also suspended all Ukrainian flights over Iranian airspace until “the reasons of the tragedy are determined.”

In this photo from the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, the plane carrying Ukrainian experts prepares to depart for Tehran at Borispil international airport outside Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2020.

The Iranian report said that both the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder were recovered but damaged. While Abedzadeh has said Iran won’t share those so-called black boxes with Boeing, other countries have been invited to participate in the organization.

The passengers on the plane were mostly Iranians but also included Europeans and more than 60 Canadians.

[176 people died in the Ukrainian plane crash in Iran. Here are some of their stories.]

Several U.S.-based aviation experts have raised skepticism that a technical malfunction brought down the plane as Iranian officials suggested in the immediate aftermath of the crash. Iran, however, has strongly rejected speculation that a missile might have hit the plane.

Brig. Gen. Abolfazl Shekarchi, a spokesman for the armed forces, described that chatter to Iran’s Mehr news agency as American “psychological warfare,” as well as “ridiculous” and an “utter lie.”

“Most of the passengers on this plane were invaluable Iranian youth; everything we do is aimed at defending our people’s and country’s security,” Shekarchi said.

About four hours before the crash, Iranian forces launched more than a dozen ballistic missiles into Iraq, targeting an Iraqi air base with U.S. personnel and a facility in the northern city of Irbil in response to an American airstrike last week that killed the commander of Iran's elite Quds Force, Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani.

American passenger airliners had been told not to over Iran because of the risk that they could be mistaken for military aircraft. Several other major airlines followed suit Wednesday.

Jeff Guzzetti, who headed the Federal Aviation Administration’s accident investigation division until his retirement last year, said preliminary and publicly available evidence, like eyewitness video of the crash and news organizations’ photos of the wreckage, suggested the plane was brought down deliberately. He added that the emergence of further evidence could change his view.

“To me it has all the earmarks of an intentional act,” Guzzetti told The Washington Post. “I don’t know whether it was a bomb or a missile or an incendiary device. I just know airplanes don’t come apart like that.”

[After the Boeing crash near Tehran, who will investigate?]

Speaking to reporters in Ottawa on Wednesday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that 138 of the victims were destined for Toronto and promised that the crash would be “thoroughly investigated.”

“Canadians have questions and they deserve answers,” he said.

Asked if he could “categorically” rule out that the plane was not shot down, Trudeau said that he could not, adding that it is too early to speculate on possible causes.

Marc Garneau, Canada’s transport minister, said that satellite data suggests the aircraft had a “standard departure” and then lost contact with officials soon after, suggesting that “something very unusual happened.”

Garneau, a former astronaut, said that Canada is willing to assist with black box analysis, if asked.

Amanda Coletta in Toronto and Michael Laris in Washington contributed to this report.

A timeline of the escalation in the Middle East

Iran took revenge, no one died, and the risk of war abates, for now

Today’s coverage from Post correspondents around the world

Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news

Let's block ads! (Why?)

https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiyAFodHRwczovL3d3dy53YXNoaW5ndG9ucG9zdC5jb20vd29ybGQvZXVyb3BlL3VrcmFpbmUtZmxpZ2h0LXdhcy1vbi1maXJlLWluLWFpci1hbmQtcmV0dXJuaW5nLXRvLXRlaHJhbi1hdC10aW1lLW9mLWNyYXNoLWlyYW4taW52ZXN0aWdhdG9ycy1zYXkvMjAyMC8wMS8wOS85YjI3NDM0Yy0zMjQ0LTExZWEtOTcxYi00M2JlYzNmZjk4NjBfc3RvcnkuaHRtbNIBAA?oc=5

2020-01-09 10:34:00Z
52780544880119

The latest on the US-Iran crisis: Live updates - CNN International

A screengrab from video reportedly shows Iranian missiles being launched early on Wednesday. AFP

Just 24 hours ago, it seemed like the United States and Iran could be on the brink of war, after Tehran responded to the US killing of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani, the powerful commander of the elite Quds Force, by striking bases which housed US troops in Iraq.

It was the latest in a whirlwind two weeks of military action and ratcheted up tensions. The world watched with bated breath for how Washington would respond to the attacks, which did not kill or injure any US or Iraqi troops.

On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump said "Iran appears to be standing down, which is a good thing for all parties concerned and a very good thing for the world."

Here's what happened and where we're at now:

December 27: A rocket attack believed to be linked to a Shiite militia group, backed by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, killed a US civilian contractor and wounded several US and Iraq military personnel on a base near Kirkuk, Iraq.

December 29: According to the Pentagon, US forces conducted airstrikes at five facilities in Iraq and Syria controlled by a Shiite military group known as Kataib Hezbollah -- the group that American officials blamed for the attack on a base near Kirkuk.

December 31: Pro-Iranian protesters, demonstrating against the American airstrikes, attacked the US Embassy in Baghdad, scaling walls and forcing the gates open.

January 3: Trump said he ordered a precision drone strike at the Baghdad airport to "terminate" Soleimani, a top Iranian commander who was plotting "imminent and sinister attacks on Americans diplomats and military personnel." Others were killed in the attack.

January 4: Iran vowed retaliation against the US, in response to the strike. Trump warned that if Iran targeted "any Americans or American assets," he he would sanction specific military strikes against Iranian cultural sites, which could amount to a war crime.

January 5: Soleimani's body arrived in his home country, where thousands mourned him. Meanwhile, Maj. Gen. Hossein Dehghan, the military adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader, told CNN in an exclusive interview that Tehran would retaliate directly against US "military sites."

January 6: The US Defense Department said there were no plans to withdraw from Iraq after a letter was mistakenly circulated from the military's Task Force Iraq suggesting just that. United Nations Secretary General warned that tensions were at their "highest level this century."

January 7: More than 50 people were reported killed, and at least 200 injured, in a stampede at Soleimani's funeral in his hometown of Kerman.

January 8: In the early hours of Wednesday morning local time, Iranian ballistic missiles struck two bases housing US forces in Iraq. Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said Tehran "concluded proportionate measures in self-defense." Trump didn't respond on Tuesday night US time, except to tweet that "all is well." In a statement later on Wednesday, he said the strikes appeared to be the extent of Iran's actions and pledged more US sanctions on Tehran, signalling a scaling down of tensions, at least for the moment.

Read our full report on yesterday's developments here.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiUGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmNubi5jb20vbWlkZGxlZWFzdC9saXZlLW5ld3MvdXMtaXJhbi1uZXdzLWludGwtMDEtMDktMjAyMC9pbmRleC5odG1s0gFUaHR0cHM6Ly9hbXAuY25uLmNvbS9jbm4vbWlkZGxlZWFzdC9saXZlLW5ld3MvdXMtaXJhbi1uZXdzLWludGwtMDEtMDktMjAyMC9pbmRleC5odG1s?oc=5

2020-01-09 10:32:00Z
52780536809258

Ukraine plane on fire before crashing in Iran, says report - The - The Washington Post

Wana News Agency Via Reuters Debris of a plane belonging to Ukraine International Airlines that crashed after taking off from Iran's Imam Khomeini airport, Jan. 8, 2020.

MOSCOW — Ukrainian investigators are considering the possibility that an antiaircraft missile might have hit the doomed passenger jet that crashed near Tehran killing all 176 aboard as an initial report released by Iran Thursday said the plane was on fire while still in the air.

The preliminary Iranian investigation cited witnesses saying the plane was burning and was turning back to Tehran because of the problem when it went down.

Ukrainian investigators said they were also considering the scenarios that engine failure or a terrorist attack caused the crash.

[Iran crash presents embattled Boeing with new crisis]

He added that Ukraine’s commission includes specialists who helped investigate the July 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 in Ukraine.

The government has also suspended all Ukrainian flights over Iranian airspace until “the reasons of the tragedy are determined.”

The passengers on the plane were mostly Iranians but also included Europeans and more than 60 Canadians.

[176 people died in the Ukrainian plane crash in Iran. Here are some of their stories.]

“Most of the passengers on this plane were invaluable Iranian youth; everything we do is aimed at defending our people’s and country’s security,” Shekarchi said.

American passenger airliners had been told not to over Iran because of the risk that they could be mistaken for military aircraft. Several other major airlines followed suit Wednesday.

[After the Boeing crash near Tehran, who will investigate?]

“Canadians have questions and they deserve answers,” he said.

Asked if he could “categorically” rule out that the plane was not shot down, Trudeau said that he could not, adding that it is too early to speculate on possible causes.

Garneau, a former astronaut, said that Canada is willing to assist with black box analysis, if asked.

Amanda Coletta in Toronto and Michael Laris in Washington contributed to this report.

A timeline of the escalation in the Middle East

Iran took revenge, no one died, and the risk of war abates, for now

Today’s coverage from Post correspondents around the world

Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news

Let's block ads! (Why?)