Trump deploys more troops to Middle East after U.S. Embassy attack

[Boats]

Trump deploys more troops to Middle East after U.S. Embassy attack
By: Robert Burns & Ellen Knickmeyer - Associated Press & PBS News Hour / 1-1-20
Re: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/...embassy-attack

WASHINGTON (AP) — Charging that Iran was “fully responsible” for an attack on the U.S. Embassy in Iraq, President Donald Trump ordered about 750 U.S. soldiers deployed to the Middle East as about 3 to 4,000 more prepared for possible deployment in the next several days per several reports.

No U.S. casualties or evacuations were reported after the attack Tuesday by dozens of Iran-supported militiamen. U.S. Marines were sent from Kuwait to reinforce the compound.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Tuesday night that “in response to recent events” in Iraq, and at Trump’s direction, he authorized the immediate deployment of the infantry battalion from the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He did not specify the soldiers’ destination, but a U.S. official familiar with the decision said they will go to Kuwait.

“This deployment is an appropriate and precautionary action taken in response to increased threat levels against U.S. personnel and facilities, such as we witnessed in Baghdad today,” Esper said in a written statement.

Additional soldiers from the 82nd Airborne’s quick-deployment brigade, known officially as its Immediate Response Force, were prepared to deploy, Esper said. The U.S. official, who provided unreleased details on condition of anonymity, said the full brigade of about 4,000 soldiers may deploy.

The 750 soldiers deploying immediately were in addition to 14,000 U.S. troops who had deployed to the Gulf region since May in response to concerns about Iranian aggression, including its alleged sabotage of commercial shipping in the Persian Gulf. At the time of the attack the U.S. had about 5,200 troops in Iraq, mainly to train Iraqi forces and help them combat Islamic State extremists.

The breach of the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad on Tuesday was a stark demonstration that Iran can still strike at American interests despite Trump’s economic pressure campaign. It also revealed growing strains between Washington and Baghdad, raising questions about the future of the U.S. military mission there.

“They will pay a very BIG PRICE! This is not a Warning, it is a Threat. Happy New Year!” Trump tweeted Tuesday afternoon, though it was unclear whether his “threat” meant military retaliation. He thanked top Iraqi government leaders for their “rapid response upon request.”

American airstrikes on Sunday killed 25 fighters of an Iran-backed militia in Iraq, the Kataeb Hezbollah. The U.S. said those strikes were in retaliation for last week’s killing of an American contractor and the wounding of American and Iraqi troops in a rocket attack on an Iraqi military base that the U.S. blamed on the militia. The American strikes angered the Iraqi government, which called them an unjustified violation of its sovereignty.

While blaming Iran for the embassy breach, Trump also called on Iraq to protect the diplomatic mission.

“Iran killed an American contractor, wounding many,” he tweeted from his estate in Florida. “We strongly responded, and always will. Now Iran is orchestrating an attack on the U.S. Embassy in Iraq. They will be held fully responsible. In addition, we expect Iraq to use its forces to protect the Embassy, and so notified!”

Even as Trump has argued for removing U.S. troops from Mideast conflicts, he also has singled out Iran as a malign influence in the region. After withdrawing the U.S. in 2018 from an international agreement that exchanged an easing of sanctions for curbs on Iran’s nuclear program, Trump ratcheted up sanctions.

Those economic penalties, including a virtual shut-off of Iranian oil exports, are aimed at forcing Iran to negotiate a broader nuclear deal. But critics say that pressure has pushed Iranian leaders into countering with a variety of military attacks in the Gulf.

Until Sunday’s U.S. airstrikes, Trump had been measured in his response to Iranian provocations. In June, he abruptly called off U.S. military strikes on Iranian targets in retaliation for the downing of an American drone.

Robert Ford, a retired U.S. diplomat who served five years in Baghdad and then became ambassador in Syria, said Iran’s allies in the Iraqi parliament may be able to harness any surge in anger among Iraqis toward the United States to force U.S. troops to leave the country. Ford said Trump miscalculated by approving Sunday’s airstrikes on Kataeb Hezbollah positions in Iraq and Syria — strikes that drew a public rebuke from the Iraqi government and seem to have triggered Tuesday’s embassy attack.

“The Americans fell into the Iranian trap,” Ford said, with airstrikes that turned some Iraqi anger toward the U.S. and away from Iran and the increasingly unpopular Iranian-backed Shiite militias.

The tense situation in Baghdad appeared to upset Trump’s vacation routine in Florida, where he is spending the holidays.

Trump spent just under an hour at his private golf club in West Palm Beach before returning to his Mar-a-Lago resort in nearby Palm Beach. He had spent nearly six hours at his golf club on each of the previous two days. Trump spoke with Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi and emphasized the need for Iraq to protect Americans and their facilities in the country, said White House spokesman Hogan Gidley.

Trump is under pressure from some in Congress to take a hard-line approach to Iranian aggression, which the United States says included an unprecedented drone and missile attack on the heart of Saudi Arabia’s oil industry in September. More recently, Iran-backed militias in Iraq have conducted numerous rocket attacks on bases hosting U.S. forces.

Sen. Tom Cotton, an Arkansas Republican and supporter of Trump’s Iran policy, called the embassy breach “yet another reckless escalation” by Iran.

Tuesday’s attack was carried out by members of the Iran-supported Kataeb Hezbollah militia. Dozens of militiamen and their supporters smashed a main door to the compound and set fire to a reception area, but they did not enter the main buildings.

Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey, senior Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, blamed Iran for the episode and faulted Trump for his “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran.

“The results so far have been more threats against international commerce, emboldened and more violent proxy attacks across the Middle East, and now, the death of an American citizen in Iraq,” Menendez said, referring to the rocket attack last week.

By early evening Tuesday, the mob had retreated from the compound but set up several tents outside for an intended sit-in. Dozens of yellow flags belonging to Iran-backed Shiite militias fluttered atop the reception area and were plastered along the embassy’s concrete wall along with anti-U.S. graffiti. American Apache helicopters flew overhead and dropped flares over the area in what the U.S. military called a “show of force.”

The embassy breach was seen by some analysts as affirming their view that it is folly for the U.S. to keep forces in Iraq after having eliminated the Islamic State group’s territorial hold in the country.

A U.S. withdrawal from Iraq is also a long-term hope of Iran, noted Paul Salem, president of the Washington-based Middle East Institute.

And it’s always possible Trump would “wake up one morning and make that decision” to pull U.S. forces out of Iraq, as he announced earlier with the U.S. military presence in neighboring Syria, Salem said. Trump’s Syria decision triggered the resignation of his first defense secretary, retired Gen. Jim Mattis, but the president later amended his decision and about 1,200 U.S. troops remain in Syria.

Trump’s best weapon with Iran is the one he’s already using — the sanctions, said Salem. He and Ford said Trump would do best to keep resisting Iran’s attempt to turn the Iran-U.S. conflict into a full-blown military one. The administration should also make a point of working with the Iraqi government to deal with the militias, Ford said.

For the president, Iran’s attacks — directly and now through proxies in Iraq — have “been working that nerve,” Salem said. “Now they really have Trump’s attention.”

Also include in this report by - Associated Press writers Matthew Lee, Darlene Superville and Sagar Meghani contributed to this report.

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Personal note will this shit ever end? I doubt it. Were "IN" - Were "OUT" -but it never ends. Iran and Iraq will never end. My solution "pull out" and let them kill themselves.
Why must we defend these two countries that really don't want us there. What is so damn
important that we stay there. All I ever hear is that we have a foot hold - my ass - if this were so we should get reports that state - we've negated the enemy and our foot hold is now in place. Rather we hear instability is constant and whatever good we do ends up having to be retaken time and time again. For What? What is so damn important that we are there for decades? How many more lives does the U.S. have to sacrifice on a lands that do not have any ability to hold its own? When will we learn to let well enough alone and let them massacre themselves? Why is the U.S. always getting into these procrastinated never ending skirmishes. Is it Iran stirring the pot or someone else? We know their mostly radical Clerics pushing for these clashes. Tell me why the US must sacrifice our men and women in these never ending conflicts year after year for decades? What will we gain? We know what we loose - our personnel..............for what?! Like I said back out and let them kill themselves and that should resolve the whole damn thing.

Boats

[Boats]

U.S. Troops Fire Tear Gas at Protesters Outside the Embassy in Baghdad. Here’s a Timeline of What’s Happened So Far
BY: Tara Law & Josiah Bates - Time - 1-1-20

Video link: On site only

As Iraqi protesters and demonstrators continue to gather outside the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad, U.S. soldiers fired tear gas Wednesday as the protests reached their second day.

On Tuesday, protesters shouting “Death to America,” stormed the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad, setting fires, scrawling anti-American graffiti and planting flags for Iran-backed militia groups. The chaos continued on Wednesday as protesters lit the roof of a reception area within the compound on fire, according to the Associated Press.

The initial attack prompted President Trump to deploy approximately 750 U.S. troops to the area, as he charged that Iran was “fully responsible” for the embassy attack. About 3,000 additional troops are also preparing for possible deployment in the coming days.

The protests are reportedly in response to a series of U.S. airstrikes that killed 25 militia fighters on Sunday. The strike was in retaliation for a rocket strike on an Iraqi military compound that killed a U.S. defense contractor and injured U.S. and Iraqi service members.

As Iraqi security forces did not attempt to stop the protesters, the storming of the Embassy could heighten concern about the relationship between the United States and Iraq, especially amid heightened tensions between the U.S. and Iran. About 5,000 U.S. troops are still stationed in Iraq, and some of the Iranian-backed militia wants them withdrawn, according to AP.

Iraq is already in the midst of a tumultuous period. Since October, more than 450 people have been killed in mass protests criticizing the country’s poor quality of life and demanding new electoral laws and accountability for corruption. In November, Adel Abdul-Mahdi announced he would resign as Prime Minister of the country after weeks of violent protests.

Here is how events have unfolded in recent days.

Friday, Dec. 27: U.S. defense contractor killed in rocket attack in Iraq
A U.S. defense contractor was killed in an attack on an Iraqi military compound near Kirkuk, Iraq, according to the Associated Press. The attack also injured four U.S. service members and two Iraqi Security Forces members, according to the Department of Defense. As many as 30 rockets were fired in the attack.

The U.S. blamed the Iranian-backed militia for the assault. On Monday, the group denied responsibility for the Dec. 27 attack through a spokesperson, according to the New York Times.

Several other similar attacks have occurred over the past few months, according to the AP.

Sunday, Dec. 29: U.S. strikes kill 25 militia members

The U.S. conducts airstrikes on five sites of Kataeb Hezbollah, an Iran-backed militia, according to the Department of Defense. The U.S. indicated that the strikes were in retaliation for the rocket attack. The attack killed 25 fighters, according to the Associated Press.

“The U.S. and its coalition partners fully respect Iraqi sovereignty, and support a strong and independent Iraq. The U.S., however, will not be deterred from exercising its right of self-defense,” Assistant to the Secretary of Defense Jonathan Hoffman said in a statement. He called on Iran and the militias to stop attacking U.S. and coalition forces.

The Iraqi government expressed outrage about the attack, calling it a “flagrant violation” of its sovereignty, according to AP.

Monday, Dec. 30: Iraq expresses outrage after airstrike

Speaking to cabinet members, Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi declared three days of mourning for the people killed in the strikes, according to the Associated Press. He said that he had attempted to stop the U.S. airstrike, but the U.S. had insisted.

Tuesday, Dec. 31: Protesters break into the U.S. Embassy compound

After a funeral for fighters killed in the airstrikes, protesters broke into the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad.

Protesters gathered outside the compound shouting “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!” and started to throw water and stones over its walls. They smashed through a main door, set a reception area on fire, and covered the embassy wall with militia flags and anti-U.S. graffiti. They also planted flags above the reception area, according to the Associated Press. Many were wearing militia uniforms, according to the AP.

The Iraqi security forces didn’t try to stop the protesters, permitting them to pass a security checkpoint, according to the AP.

Commanders from militias that support Iran joined the protest outside the embassy, the AP reported.

After the breach, Secretary of Defense Mark T. Esper said in a statement that additional forces are being sent to support the embassy. He also called on Iraq to help protect the facility.

“As in all countries, we rely on host nation forces to assist in the protection of our personnel in country, and we call on the Government of Iraq to fulfill its international responsibilities to do so,” Esper said.

CENCOM email: U.S. Marines assigned to Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force-Crisis Response-Central Command deploy to Iraq to bolster security at the US Embassy and ensure the safety of American citizens, 12:52 PM - Dec. 31.

President Trump blamed Iran for the contractor’s death and the storming of the U.S. Embassy on Twitter.

“They will be held fully responsible,” Trump wrote. “In addition, we expect Iraq to use its forces to protect the Embassy, and so notified!”

White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham reaffirmed the President’s position in a statement to the Associated Press

“As the president said, Iran is orchestrating this attack and they will be held fully responsible,” Grisham said. “It will be the president’s choice how and when we respond to their escalation.”

On Tuesday afternoon, President Trump declared on Twitter that the Embassy is “safe” and that U.S. personnel had rushed to the scene.

Wednesday, January 1: U.S. troops use tear gas on protesters and President Trump deploys more troops

The protests picked up again on Wednesday, as demonstrators started a fire on the roof of the reception area. This prompted U.S. troops to fire tear gas at the crowd, according to the Associated Press.

Iraqi federal police, counterterrorism forces and soldiers lined up in between the protesters and the compound. There were no reports of conflict between Iraqi officials and the protesters.

President Donald Trump ordered more troops to be deployed to the Middle East as he asserted that Iran was “fully responsible” for the embassy attack. Approximately 750 troops are expected to be sent as a result of the embassy attack and another 3,000 could possibly be deployed in the next few days.

“This deployment is an appropriate and precautionary action taken in response to increased threat levels against U.S. personnel and facilities, such as we witnessed in Baghdad today,” Defense Secretary Mark Esper said in a written statement, according to the AP.