Another Middle East Crisis, Syrian Special "WMD"

[Lokus]

Let us not forgot that due to his infinite wisdom, the military was forced to bomb their suddenly-abandoned base and supplies to keep it away from the enemy.

[6souls]

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-50998065

The Iraqi parliament passed a resolution for a formal request for all foreign troops to leave the country. Also, the U.S. has suspended operations against ISIS forces in the country to refocus on protecting bases belonging to western nations.

Some 5,000 US soldiers are in Iraq as part of the international coalition against the Islamic State (IS) group.

The coalition paused operations against IS in Iraq just before Sunday's vote.

It said it was doing so to enable its forces to concentrate on protecting US, UK and other troops at bases in Iraq.

The non-binding resolution was passed by the Iraqi parliament after the caretaker Prime Minister, Adel Abdul Mahdi, called for an end to the foreign military presence in a speech to MPs.

The resolution calls on the government to revoke its request for assistance from the international coalition fighting IS due to "the end of military operations in Iraq and the achievement of victory".

It says "the Iraqi government must work to end the presence of any foreign troops on Iraqi soil and prohibit them from using its land, airspace or water for any reason".

Furthermore, the government must file a formal complaint to the UN against the US "for its serious violations and breaches of Iraqi sovereignty and security".

[6souls]

https://twitter.com/Mike_Pence/statu...708189699?s=19

AG please tell me you're lurking and I'm not going insane.

my personal favorite bit was the claim there were 12 hijackers

https://apnews.com/eba793fad25f603b0fbdfa31d59118db

Pence misleadingly ties Soleimani to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York City’s World Trade Center. There is no evidence that Iran directly supported the 9/11 hijackers, many of them Saudi members of the al-Qaida terrorist group, nor are there any known reports that Soleimani was involved in assisting with their travel to Afghanistan.

First of all, there were 19 hijackers on 9/11, not 12. Pence spokeswoman Katie Waldman later clarified in a tweet that Pence was referring to those hijackers who traveled to Afghanistan through Iran before the attacks.

It’s true that Iran allowed al-Qaida operatives to pass through its borders from Saudi Arabia to Afghanistan without receiving stamps in their passports or with visas obtained at its consulate in Karachi, Pakistan, according to a 19-page, unsigned report found among Osama bin Laden’s personnel effects in the Abbottabad, Pakistan, raid. Fifteen of the hijackers were from Saudi Arabia, two from the United Arab Emirates, one from Egypt, and one from Lebanon.

That is consistent with the 9/11 Commission’s report, which found that some of the Sept. 11 hijackers -- possibly eight -- passed through Iran.

However, nowhere does the commission’s report mention Soleimani, let alone indicate he was behind the lax travel practices that allowed al-Qaida operatives through. The commission, in particular, “found no evidence that Iran or Hezbollah was aware of the planning for what later became the 9/11 attack” or that even the future hijackers themselves knew about their operation when traveling through Iran.

That makes it a stretch to imply Soleimani knew about plans for the 9/11 attacks and then worked to facilitate them.

After the attacks, al-Qaida members including Osama bin Laden’s son Hamza fled into Iran, but they were ultimately rounded up by the Iranian government and imprisoned.

[6souls]

https://apnews.com/aa595f38d3c08c941b7fa7477301037f

Asian countries such as India, the Philippines, and South Korea are preparing to evacuate their citizens from Iraq & Iran should tensions further escalate. The Philippines have suggested they'll use their military to help their citizens.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the military to prepare to deploy its aircraft and ships “at any moment’s notice” to evacuate thousands of Filipino workers in Iraq and Iran should violence break out, reflecting Asia’s growing fears for its citizens in the increasingly volatile Middle East.

South Korean government ministries have discussed strengthening protections for the nearly 1,900 South Koreans in Iraq and Iran.

“President Duterte ordered the Armed Forces of the Philippines to be prepared to deploy military assets to repatriate overseas Filipinos in the Middle East, particularly from Iran and Iraq, at any moment’s notice,” said Sen. Christopher Lawrence Go, a close ally of the Duterte, who was at the meeting.

“I’m nervous. Iran seems to be hell-bent on a retaliation, which I think will come. It’s a matter of time ... the cry for blood is there,” Duterte said in a speech. He urged Congress to hold a special session on the impact of a possible crisis in the Middle East and set aside contingency funds.

Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said on Twitter on Sunday that he spoke to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo “on the evolving situation in the Gulf region” and highlighted “India’s stakes and concerns.”

He also tweeted that he spoke to Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif. “Noted that developments have taken a very serious turn. India remains deeply concerned about the levels of tension,” he said of his conversation with Zarif.

South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said Monday that government agencies had discussed preparations for an escalating crisis in the Middle East but had no immediate plans for evacuations. The ministry said about 1,600 South Koreans are in Iraq, mostly working in construction, while another 280 who live in Iran are businesspeople, students or spouses of Iranians.

There are more than 7,000 Filipino workers and their dependents in Iraq and Iran, including many who work in U.S. and other foreign facilities and commercial establishments in Baghdad, the Department of National Defense said.

[6souls]

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/b...-assassination

"Elements" of the 82nd Airborne Division were denied entry into Iraq after the killing of Soleimani, but were eventually allowed in.

Soldiers from the division were, according to sources familiar with the situation, prevented from entering the country by the Iraqi government after the killing—well before the vote among lawmakers took place.

It wasn’t immediately clear which elements of the 82nd Airborne were unable to enter or why they weren’t allowed to do so. Paratroopers from the division were, VICE has confirmed, later able to enter Iraq. The U.S. military’s Central Command declined to comment.

[6souls]

https://www.npr.org/2020/01/06/79404...alition-forces

The U.S. military will re-position it's forces away from the Baghdad green zone.

A letter from Brig. Gen. William Seely to the director of the Iraqi joint operations task force informed the Iraqi government that the U.S. would be "repositioning forces over the coming days and weeks to prepare for onward movement."

A U.S. military official in Baghdad told NPR the operation involves what he described as a "limited repositioning of troops mostly from the Baghdad area to places that are likely to be safer."

He said it involved several hundred troops, mostly coalition and NATO forces being moved from the main military base in Baghdad's green zone as a result of the suspension of training missions.

https://apnews.com/e384b6e3d230b63d3f69092ef53b5bd9

Defense Secretary Mark Esper confirms.

[Tarage]

Also Esper's helper quit.

[6souls]

3 rockets landed a little more than 100 yards away from the US embassy about 30 minutes ago.

[Salodin]

Rockets or missiles? And landed? Wtf?

Or is landed the word we use for when they detonate now? Feel like I missed that memo lol

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

[6souls]

https://mobile.twitter.com/Reuters/s...15279782178816

[6souls]

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-50995792

Iraqi green zone was attacked with mortar fire.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-51259295

Happened again, this time it hit the embassy. Three were injured in the attack.

One rocket hit the embassy cafeteria while two others landed a short distance away, a source told AFP.

At least three people were injured, security sources told Reuters. This would be the first time in years that staff have been hurt in such attacks.

Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi condemned the attack, stating that the continuation of such acts could "drag Iraq into becoming a battlefield".

The US State Department said: "We call on the Government of Iraq to fulfil its obligations to protect our diplomatic facilities."

https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/26/middl...ntl/index.html

Iraqi security forces raided an anti-American protest with live ammunition & tear gas leaving 12 dead and 230 injured in the process.

Nine protesters were killed in the capital Baghdad and three others in the southern city of Nasiriyah, about 350 km south of Baghdad, according to the statement.

Dozens of Iraqi security forces used live ammunition and tear gas as they worked to disperse hundreds of anti-government protesters in al-Khalani Square, Baghdad, on Saturday, according to activists in the area.

Activists said the aggressive move came after Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr announced in a statement Friday night that he would no longer support anti-government protesters.
Hours later, hundreds of his followers left Tahrir Square in response to his statement.

Activists said security forces clashed with hundreds of protesters in the southern city of Basra after they tore down dozens of their sit-in tents. Hundreds of protesters in both Basra and Baghdad were dispersed on Saturday, and six protesters were wounded in Basra, according to activists there.

[6souls]

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-51667717

Syrian government forces killed 29 to 34 Turks in an airstrike. Turkish forces are now striking back at Syrian government targets.

Syrian forces supported by Russia are trying to retake Idlib from rebels who are backed by Turkish soldiers.

The Turkish leader wants the Syrian government forces to pull back from positions where Turkey has set up military observation posts and had earlier threatened to attack them if they did not halt their advance.

But Syria's government and Russia have rejected his demand to pull back to ceasefire lines agreed in 2018. Russia has also accused Turkey of violating the 2018 ceasefire by backing rebels with artillery fire.

"All known" Syrian government targets were under fire by Turkish air and land support units, Turkey's communications director Fahrettin Altun was quoted by state news agency Anadolu as saying. Turkey had decided to "respond in kind" to the attack, Mr Altun said.

The fighting in Idlib has driven nearly a million Syrians from their homes since December. The UN said a full-scale battle there could result in a "bloodbath".

Reuters news agency quoted a senior Turkish official on Thursday as saying that Turkey had decided to stand down its border guards and no longer prevent Syrian refugees from trying to reach Europe.

[Andalusian girls]

sure glad the stabilizing US presence in the region was withdrawn once ISIS fell and we decided to let Turkey, Syria, and Russia sort it all out. what's the worst that could happen.

[mallister]

Turkey straight up declared war on syria.

[mallister]

Turkey shot down two Syrian jets, killed @2200 troops in offensive. Russia has declined to intervene.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/turkey-sh...110505989.html

[kuronosan]

This just makes us look even worse.

[archibaldcrane]

Russia is saying they can't guarantee the safety of Turkish warplanes in Syria.

[Andalusian girls]

Putin in a bit of an awkward spot, a reunified Syria would be his crowning foreign policy achievement and a sharp rebuke to the West but he's eagerly sought to woo Erdogan away from the NATO/EU orbit. nice to see Recep giving someone else headaches for once.

the man is travelling to Moscow on Thursday tho. we'll see what they shake out but whatever it is i'm sure the well-being of the Syrian people will be the principal concern.

[Byrthnoth]

What do you think the odds are that the inevitable Russia-Turkey snafu pulls together NATO via article 5?

PS for those that missed AG's sarcasm, Turkey is primarily concerned with having a sliver of land to deport Syrian refugees to that serves as a buffer between their border and the Syrian Kurds

[6souls]

https://apnews.com/d1276c5c10e73bec27b0ab440c1cd11b

Two U.S. service members killed and 5 seriously injured in a rocket attack in Iraq.

One of the officials said five service members were seriously wounded and evacuated from the Camp Taji base and seven others were still being evaluated. Buildings on the base were in flames. Several other U.S. officials confirmed that U.S. troops had been killed and injured, but did not provide numbers. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to give details of the attack ahead of a public announcement.

Army Col. Myles Caggins, a U.S. military spokeswoman in Iraq, said on Twitter that more than 15 small rockets hit Iraq’s Camp Taji base. He provided no details. Another U.S. official said that as many as 30 rockets were fired from a truck launcher, and 18 hit the base.

https://apnews.com/5ff9d48d1bdb2d2b1e4243d18930b159

Trump has given his approval for a retaliatory strike against Shia militants.