Iranian General Sulemain and others reported killed in Baghdad airstrike

[jonnysensible]

All eyes on Iraqi Parliment : https://twitter.com/Mustafa_salimb/s...53153449086977

[Templar 331]

All eyes on Iraqi Parliment : https://twitter.com/Mustafa_salimb/s...53153449086977

Imagine what would happen if they voted to immediately remove all U.S. forces and Trump didn't comply.

[kaelleria]

Lol Pompeo went on State of the Union and is defending Trump's warcrime tweet....

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Holy shit...

This is stunning - #Iraq prime minister tells parliament US troops should leave. Says @realDonaldTrump called him to ask him to mediate with #Iran and then ordered drone strike on Soleimani. Says Soleimani carrying response to Saudi initiative to defuse tension when he was hit.

https://twitter.com/janearraf/status...321592834?s=19

[jonnysensible]

Iraqi Parliament has voted for ending the presence of foreign troops in Iraq, limiting arms to the Iraqi states and to lodge an official complaint against the US at the UN.

This is a non binding vote so its up to the Iraq Government to decide.

If American gets booted out of Iraq it will have to leave Syria as well for logistical reasons.

[Stormdash]

Iraqi Parliament has voted for ending the presence of foreign troops in Iraq, limiting arms to the Iraqi states and to lodge an official complaint against the US at the UN.

This is a non binding vote so its up to the Iraq Government to decide.

If American gets booted out of Iraq it will have to leave Syria as well for logistical reasons.

Man, we should kill high-value infamous butchers more often. Hope they do it. Getting justice for several hundreds of Americans - not to mention countless civilians caught in the crossfire between Assholes A and B in Syria (Quds death squads vs. al Qaeda remnants that make up Syrian "rebels") with a push of a button, and we get an end to an 18 year foreign war that even the most conniving of the "war party" in US politics can't figure out a way to demand we stay in? "Absolute win", like the green guy said.

[Thepersona]

Imagine what would happen if they voted to immediately remove all U.S. forces and Trump didn't comply.

Well, we'd see a war in Iraq 3: This time is close and personal (with stellar apparitions like Iran)

[Puupi]

US coalition forces have stopped all anti-ISIS operations.

[Majestic12]

The U.S is doing this because it's what Israel wants.

[ranzino]

Iraqi Parliament has voted for ending the presence of foreign troops in Iraq, limiting arms to the Iraqi states and to lodge an official complaint against the US at the UN.

This is a non binding vote so its up to the Iraq Government to decide.

If American gets booted out of Iraq it will have to leave Syria as well for logistical reasons.

all foreign troops or just US ?

[Draco-Onis]

Man, we should kill high-value infamous butchers more often. Hope they do it. Getting justice for several hundreds of Americans - not to mention countless civilians caught in the crossfire between Assholes A and B in Syria (Quds death squads vs. al Qaeda remnants that make up Syrian "rebels") with a push of a button, and we get an end to an 18 year foreign war that even the most conniving of the "war party" in US politics can't figure out a way to demand we stay in? "Absolute win", like the green guy said.

Except it's not that easy, we need a logistical presence in the middle east to protect our interests without an operating base we can't protect Americans in the area or our allies effectively. That's not even going into how much more expensive deployments will be , last but not least have alienated two major allies first the Kurds now the Iraqis. This is an absolute win for Iran who now will have free reign of Iraq though frankly the original sin the was the invasion of Iraq since Saddam was a check on Iran's power in the region.

I know your think let's get out of the ME what's the worst that can happen sorry that ship has sailed we've fucked up the place way too much not to pay a price by just pulling out later on. We've just killed way too many people and pissed of too many countries to just walk away.

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The U.S is doing this because it's what Israel wants.

Israel wants the US to fight Iran for them but even for them this is too high of a gamble there's a good chance the US just made Iran more influential and powerful while diminishing the US.

[ranzino]

US troops would move to Kuwait or SA ?

[Belize]

US troops would move to Kuwait or SA ?

And do what exactly?
Help SA chop up journalists? Play poker in the sand all day?

[gondrin]

The answer always have been: The great propaganda machine that operates within the US, was very, very successful in convincing everybody involved that they're always in the right. They don't fall for what you listed, because that is not the version they perceive within the US. They're only shown, told and taught the bits and pieces that fits the narrative of "freedom and democracy, brought to the rest of the uncivilized world".

Why don't they look up the truth? Again, simple: Anybody who dares even attempt that is automatically and immediately labeled a "conspiracy theorist/lunatic"

You know, I live in the US and I haven't fell for that propaganda in a long time. I got to the point that we shouldn't be getting ourselves involved in anyone elses internal dispute or regional dispute unless someone asked for help or, in the sense of internal, they were massacring groups of people because of some absurd reason.

[Rennadrel]

For all those people who have been saying "It was okay for Trump to kill him, because Trump said he was a terrorist":

Iran has now called Trump a terrorist.

Does that mean they can assassinate your President? We are talking about someone who locks children in dog cages until they die for political reasons, extorts other countries (including tariffs to enforce a better trade deal), and encourages violence at political rallies, after all, so they can actually back up that claim.

If it was okay to kill Sulemain simply because Trump said Sulemain was a terrorist, then it is okay for Iran to kill Trump because they say he is a terrorist.

The assassination of Trump would be a win for the American left, but would effectively drag America into a war with Iran that's been needing to happen for decades. Iran continues to foster Islamic extremism in the Middle East, between them and the Saudi's, half of the proxy war nonsense against Al Qaeda and ISIL could have been avoided if those two countries were removed from the equation in the region decades ago. But the Americans have continued to let that problem fester while they buy copious amounts of oil from the Saudi's.

[Draco-Onis]

The assassination of Trump would be a win for the American left, but would effectively drag America into a war with Iran that's been needing to happen for decades. Iran continues to foster Islamic extremism in the Middle East, between them and the Saudi's, half of the proxy war nonsense against Al Qaeda and ISIL could have been avoided if those two countries were removed from the equation in the region decades ago. But the Americans have continued to let that problem fester while they buy copious amounts of oil from the Saudi's.

You know this is delusional think let's say you are right and magically Iran is out of the picture, do you really expect the other powers in the region to not fill the void? this is the same thinking that got us here in the first place. Iraq was the counter to Iran but we went into Iraq and Iran's power grew. If we get rid of Iran then a bunch of other players, proxies and whoever else power grows and you can't always guarantee the devil you don't know will be better than the devil you know.

[Stormdash]

Lol Pompeo went on State of the Union and is defending Trump's warcrime tweet....

Contrary to what the Bronx (ish) dilettante thinks, the threat isn't a war crime, and nor does the war crime cover literally anything the target just unilaterally declares to be a 'cultural site', otherwise, what's to say they can't declare their whole country a significant cultural site and immunize themselves from warfighting entirely?

It is a war crime to use cultural sites and civilian populations to hide military assets, which Iran's proxy Hezbollah has been doing with impunity in Lebanon for... forty years?

[The True King]

You know this is delusional think let's say you are right and magically Iran is out of the picture, do you really expect the other powers in the region to not fill the void? this is the same thinking that got us here in the first place. Iraq was the counter to Iran but we went into Iraq and Iran's power grew. If we get rid of Iran then a bunch of other players, proxies and whoever else power grows and you can't always guarantee the devil you don't know will be better than the devil you know.

So what's the solution here exactly? Exterminate everyone in Middle East?

[ranzino]

And do what exactly?
Help SA chop up journalists? Play poker in the sand all day?

how about closest spot to persian gulf to influence interests ?

[Draco-Onis]

So what's the solution here exactly? Exterminate everyone in Middle East?

Same thing we were doing before which is triage we've already established we suck at this game of wack a mole. We can go to war with Iran waste trillions of dollar then a decade later another worse Iran will show up while we were busy all the while our true rivals like China keeps growing in influence scope and power. Our goal should have been to follow the Syria model minimal resources maximum effect and copy that throughout the ME but Trump threw that out the window.

[Themius]

So now Iraq has voted to kick out America.

Just added the entire story since it may have a paywall.

Iraq’s parliament voted in favor of expelling U.S. troops, after the killing of an Iranian general there put the country at the center of an escalating conflict between its two most important allies.

The resolution urges Prime Minister Adel-Abdul Mahdi to rescind the invitation for U.S. forces, which returned to Iraq in 2014 after Islamic State overran around one third of the country. Mr. Abdul-Mahdi in November resigned as prime minister and has since presided over a caretaker government, meaning the decision to evict the U.S. troops might fall to his successor.

Addressing the session before the vote Sunday, Mr. Abdul-Mahdi advised the parliament to support the motion.

Though it has no legal force, the vote casts further doubt on the future of an American troop presence that has been instrumental in the defeat of Islamic State, even as powerful Iranian-backed factions have come to dominate the Iraqi government.

One of those militias, Kataib Hezbollah, threatened lawmakers who failed to show up at the session or vote in favor of a law to evict U.S. forces, branding them “traitors.”

A senior state department official earlier this week said the U.S. was working with its Iraqi allies to prevent the vote taking place, characterizing the killing of Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani as supporting the sovereignty of Iraq against Iran.

The U.S. strike in Baghdad that killed Gen. Soleimani, and a top Iraqi paramilitary leader, has raised the possibility of direct confrontation between the U.S. and Iran. With its top two allies increasingly at odds, the Iraqi government faces the prospect of deciding whether it remains a partner for the West or ends up firmly in the Iranian camp.

The U.S. strike also cast doubt on the durability of the U.S.-led campaign against Islamic State at a time when the militants are seeking to regroup in Iraq and Syria after being defeated militarily.

Iran has vowed to retaliate for the killing of Gen. Soleimani, raising fears of wider conflict across the region, where the slain commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps foreign wing cultivated a network of proxies that could be activated to strike U.S. interests.

“Hard days and nights are awaiting them,” said Yahya Rahim-Safavi, former commander of the Revolutionary Guard and senior adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in a speech quoted by state television. “The Americans must leave West Asia [the Middle East] in disgrace and defeat.”

On Saturday, rockets landed near two Iraqi bases where U.S. forces are stationed, causing no casualties but serving as a reminder of the increasingly hostile climate for American troops.

Kataib Hezbollah has given Iraqi security forces a deadline of Sunday evening to move at least 1 km (0.62 mi) away from bases where American troops are stationed, urging military commanders not to allow their soldiers to serve as human shields for the U.S. Iraqi security forces have been unable to prevent a spate of rocket attacks targeting those bases in recent months, which U.S. officials blame on Kataib Hezbollah.

“We have increased security and defensive measures at the Iraqi bases that host anti-ISIS coalition troops,” read a statement from the U.S.-led coalition, confirming Saturday’s attacks on Baghdad’s Green Zone and Balad air base, located about 40 miles north of the capital.

The U.S. has around 5,000 troops in Iraq as part of an international coalition that was invited by the country’s former prime minister after Islamic State overran around one third of the country in 2014. Two years have passed since Iraq claimed victory over Islamic State but the coalition has remained to help prevent a resurgence of Islamic State and to train Iraqi security forces.

Ahead of the planned parliamentary session, a draft of a resolution circulated among lawmakers. The resolution demands the Iraqi government “cancel the request for help it presented to the international coalition to fight ISIS.”

It wasn’t clear whether a quorum of 166 lawmakers could be reached. Lawmaker Aram Naji said most Kurdish and Sunni factions weren’t attending the session, but that around 150 lawmakers were present so far.

The parliament itself doesn’t have the authority to oust U.S. troops but the law, if passed, would put pressure on the executive branch to do so.

Several dozen lawmakers held prayers for Mr. Mohandes and Gen. Soleimani inside the parliament ahead of the planned vote that, if held, remained too close to call.

Shiite political leaders who control a majority of seats in the Iraqi parliament condemned the U.S. strike as a violation of sovereignty, but some also have misgivings about the growing dominance of Iran-backed factions and see Washington as a necessary counterweight to Tehran’s influence.

Along with many Kurdish and Sunni lawmakers, they worry a withdrawal of U.S. troops would enable a resurgence of Islamic State and lead to Iraq’s isolation, pushing the country decisively into the Iranian camp. The reaction from Kurdish and Sunni politicians to Gen. Soleimani’s killing has been relatively muted, and they were not visible at a funeral procession for him and Mr. Mohandes on Saturday.

On the eve of the vote in parliament, Abu Ali al-Askeri, the head of security for Kataib Hezbollah directly addressed Parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi, a Sunni: “Tomorrow and afterwards our eyes are on you to observe what your decisions regarding the forces of the Crusader occupation will lead to,” he said.

In another statement, Kataib Hezbollah threatened the Kurds and said it would prevent lawmakers who thwarted efforts to oust U.S. troops from entering Baghdad. Jamal al-Karbouli, a senior Sunni politician, denounced the threats and intimidation.

“We’d certainly be very disappointed if there was some sort of adverse decision by the Iraqi parliament,” said national security adviser Robert O’Brien. “We’ve invested a lot in the future of Iraq and the friendship that we have with the Iraqi people, so we’re looking forward and hopeful that we’ll have a good relationship with Iraq going forward.”

The Iraqi government now faces a choice, the senior state department official said, as to “whether they want to be an Iranian satellite state or whether they want to be a sovereign nation-state of good standing in the international community.”

If parliament does pass the motion calling for such a move, it is unclear whether Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi, who is serving as a caretaker after resigning last month, would have the authority to terminate the presence of U.S. forces.

Tensions between the U.S. and Iran escalated sharply after American officials blamed Kataib Hezbollah for a rocket attack in Iraq that killed an American contractor on Dec. 27. The U.S. struck back at the militia, killing more than two dozen of its members in multiple airstrikes.

Supporters of Kataib Hezbollah and other Iran-backed groups then attempted to storm the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, prompting the U.S. to send military reinforcements to protect the embassy.

U.S. officials said the strike on Gen. Soleimani was part of attempts to deter imminent attacks against American personnel in the region. The architect of deadly Iranian shadow wars throughout the Middle East, Gen. Soleimani oversaw a campaign that killed hundreds of U.S. and coalition soldiers in Iraq following the American-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.

President Trump on Saturday renewed threats to hit back at Iran “VERY FAST AND VERY HARD” in the event of further strikes targeting Americans or U.S. assets.

Meanwhile, Mr. Mohandes’s body was flown to Iran with Gen. Soleimani’s corpse for DNA testing because their remains were mixed up in the strike.