MESOPOTAMIA NEWS : DETAILED & COMPLET E NEWS SAMPLER / INTERNATIONAL REACTIONS ON QASSEM SOLEIMANI’S FAREWELL

Iran vows ‘retaliation’ after US kills top general in Iraq — live updates – 3Jan 2020

The US Department of State has urged Americans in Iraq to leave “immediately” after Tehran vowed to “retaliate” over a US airstrike in Baghdad that targeted the leader of Iran’s elite Quds Force, Qassem Soleimani.

All updates in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC)

09:38 The threats from Iran should be taken “deadly seriously,” said senior lawmaker for the Germany’s Green Party, Omid Nouripour. He called for immediate evacuation of German soldiers currently stationed in Iraq.

“When not even the US embassy can be protected, it shows that members of Bundeswehr must also be evacuated,” said the opposition lawmaker.

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MESOPOTAMIA NEWS : THE IRAQI DILEMMA IN TOTAL !

“Solving Iraq’s Federal Dilemma” by Samir Sumaidaie

Iraq’s federal government is facing several challenges as people start to grow uneasy about the imbalance between Iraqis and the Kurds. While the Kurdish representatives vote for issues within the Kurdistan region as well as all of Iraq, the Iraqi representatives only have a say in their perspective regions and do not have an influence in the Kurdistan region.

One proposed solution suggests that the provinces be divided in a way that allows Kurdish representatives to only weigh in on issues within their region. The Kurdistan Region will be enlarged and the rest of Iraq shall be placed into a single region. While all citizens will have the equal right to participate in the federal government, only those in their respective regions will be able to participate in those government structures.

The Arab Weekly (Washington, D.C.), December 27, 2019.

 

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MESOPOTAMA NEWS : CHAOS & TURMOIL IN IRAQ AND THE KURDS

“Barham Resignation Would Bring More Chaos to Iraq” by Dana Taib Menmy

On December 26, Iraqi President Barham Salih presented parliamentary speaker Mohammed al-Halbusi with a letter announcing his intention to resign, rather than nominate Asaad al-Eidani as prime minister. This announcement comes on the heels of President Salih’s refusal to approve the nominations of both Qusay al-Suhail and Mohammed Shia al-Sudani for the position of Minister of Higher Education.

Salih’s refusal resulted in a failure to form a new government within the 15-day constitutional deadline. Protesters have called for both Salih and Halbusi’s resignations, accusing them of failing to adhere to the constitutional deadlines and of being too ingrained within Iraqi political parties. Protesters demand that the new prime minister be independent of foreign intervention and political party pressure, meaning that Salih would be pushed out because of his deep ties to the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and the likelihood of his becoming the new head of the party. Unless an adequate candidate is found, both Salih and Halbusi may be forced to resign, and political protests will continue throughout the country.

 

al-Monitor (Sulaymaniyah), December 28, 2019.

 

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ESCALATION IN IRAQ: HOW TO LIMIT THE DAMAGE AND REESTABLISH SOVEREIGNTY

MESOPOTAMIA NEWS TODAYS COMMENTARY ON BAGHDAD EVENTS

by Bilal Wahab PolicyWatch 3232 December 31, 2019

The Iraqi government’s vociferous condemnations of U.S. defensive strikes may just be rhetorical, but they highlight the stakes involved for a country veering ever closer to perpetual Iranian dominance.

Eleven attacks and numerous warnings later, the United States has finally retaliated militarily against the Iranian-backed Shia militia Kataib Hezbollah. On December 29, American warplanes bombed five KH bases in Iraq and Syria, killing twenty-five of the group’s members and injuring fifty. The raid came two days after KH forces fired thirty rockets at the K-1 military base in Iraq, killing one U.S. contractor and injuring several Iraqi and American personnel.

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MESOPOTAMIA NEWS : WHO’S BEHIND THE BLOODY ATTACK ON US EMBASSY BAGHDAD / IRANIAN PROXIES ! – DETAILED REPORT

8m  1 Jan 2019  –  Today  @SecPompeo

singled out Iraq’s Hadi al-Amiri, head of the Badr organization and leader of the second largest Iraqi political party as an Iranian proxy involved in abetting the attack on the embassy, who is Amiri, and why does he matter most of all

Pompeo names Iraqi Badr militia leader Hadi al-Amiri as Iranian proxy

Hadi al-Amir is one of Iraq’s most powerful men. He was also considered a key figure in the post-ISIS Iraq, one that some US officials once believed they could work with, despite his views.

jpost.com

 

Seth Frantzman@sfrantzman –  7m  1 Jan 2019

This is part of a series also in which I cover Kataib Hezbollah, who are they and how they went from IRGC franchise to target of US airstrikes

What is Kataib Hezbollah, the group the US attacked in Iraq and Syria

Hezbollah is one of the most important of the pro-Iranian militias in Iraq and a group with an extensive role in the Middle East..

 

Read full text   https://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/What-is-Kataib-Hezbollah-the-group-the-US-attacked-in-Iraq-and-Syria-612556

 

 

 

 

MESOPOTAMIA NEWS : US FIGHTS BACK !  – 750 soldiers with 82nd Airborne headed for CENTCOM, additional 4,000 troops expected to deploy as Iran tensions mount

By: Shawn Snow , Howard Altman , and Philip Athey  1 Jan 2019  MILITARY TIMES US

Watch Marines gear up to reinforce U.S. Embassy in Baghdad – Newsbreak

Following violent protests at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, a special crisis response task force of about 100 Marines stationed in Kuwait was sent in to back up the security.Roughly 750 soldiers with the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division are slated to be wheels up soon headed for Kuwait with an additional 4,000 American troops expected to deploy later this week, a U.S. defense official confirmed to Military Times.

“At the direction of the Commander in Chief, I have authorized the deployment of an infantry battalion from the Immediate Response Force (IRF) of the 82nd Airborne Division to the U.S. Central Command area of operations in response to recent events in Iraq,” Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said Tuesday evening in a written statement.

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MESOPOTAMIA NEWS : SITUATION REPORT BAGHDAD  / SHAME ON ELIZABETH WARREN & HAARETZ   – 31 Dec 2019

 

OIR Spokesman Col. Myles B. Caggins III@OIRSpox

 

1h VIDEO: AH-64 Apaches protect  @USEmbBaghdad

“We have taken appropriate force protection actions to ensure the safety of American citizens…and to ensure our right of self-defense. We are sending additional forces to support our personnel at the Embassy.”~

@EsperDoD

Michael P Pregent@MPPregent

 

20m The Supreme Leader will get an intelligence report in the morning about U.S. reactions to Soleimani’s directed protests against the U.S. False Narratives like this from U.S pols & Media: “Anti-Iran protests turn Anti-American” Will send the signal to accelerate the violence.

 

Chad Garland@chadgarland

20mU.S. Marines assigned to Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force-Crisis Response-Central Command 19.2, prepare to deploy from Kuwait in support of a crisis response mission, Dec. 31, 2019.(USMC

Sgt. Robert G. Gavaldon)

 

Haaretz.com@haaretzcom

 

Trump bringing U.S. closer to war with Iran, Elizabeth Warren says

 

Joel Wing Retweeted Gareth Browne@BrowneGareth

29m  Apaches also now flying above US Embassy in Baghdad providing protection.

 

Joel Wing RetweetedSteven nabil@thestevennabil

48m – Else where in #Baghdad and in #Tahrirsquare real Iraqi protesters (not militia members) are celebrating 2020 by honoring their fallen ones and hoping for a peaceful year to come

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MESOPOTAMIA NEWS : TONIGHT IN BAGHDAD / SITUATION REPORT & REACTIONS SHAME ON CNN & NEW YORK TIMES ! –

Heshmat Alavi@HeshmatAlavi – 39 3h

Shame on  @CNN &  @nytimes

for describing #Iran-backed militia members/supporters who stormed the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, as “protesters” and “mourners.” This is low. Even for CNN & NYT.

 

OBAMAS MAN !

Jim Hoft@gatewaypundit

1h Iraqi Badr Corps Chief Who Led Today’s Raid on US Embassy in Baghdad — Was Once Invited to White House by BARACK OBAMA

@RealDonaldTrump

@HanifJazayeri

https://thegatewaypundit.com/2019/12/iraqi-badr-corps-chief-who-led-todays-raid-on-us-embassy-in-baghdad-was-once-invited-to-white-house-by-barack-obama/ via

@gatewaypundit

 

Dan Lamothe@DanLamothe

46m  The Marines reinforcing the U.S. embassy in Baghdad are with the special-purpose crisis response task force that commanders in the Middle East have available to them, U.S. military officials says. They work out of Kuwait.

 

 Reuters@Reuters

24m The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad was stormed by thousands of protesters enraged by U.S. air strikes on Iraq. Embassy guards fired tear gas and stun grenades on protesters who set fires and hurled stones. American troops and some staff were still inside https://reut.rs/2F8jCwT

 

Lindsey Graham@LindseyGrahamSC

 

5hVery proud of President @realDonaldTrump

acting decisively in the face of threats to our embassy in Baghdad. He has put the world on notice – there will be no Benghazis on his watch. (1/4)

cnn.com

Protesters try to storm US embassy in Baghdad after airstrikes

 

Baxtiyar Goran@BaxtiyarGoran

 

1h US Embassy in Baghdad now. Main gate and reception on fire. Hezbollah flags raised on the wall. #Iraq #Iran

 

John Bolton@AmbJohnBolton·

5h The attack on the U.S. embassy in Baghdad is straight from Iran’s playbook in 1979. It’s a sign of Iranian control over Shia militia groups, not a sign of Iraqi anti-Americanism. We must protect our citizens from Iranian belligerence.

al, NYC & RI.

 

Secretary of Defense Dr. Mark T. Esper@EsperDoD

2h The Department of Defense is working closely with the State Department to ensure the security of our Embassy and personnel in Baghdad.

Show this thread

 

Joyce Karam@Joyce_Karam·

5h #Iraq Protesters in Streets since October want world to know they are not ones attacking US embassy in Baghdad. Two different protest movements in Iraq right now. One anti Government, one pro-Iran Militia (attacking embassy).

 

Omar Habeeb || عمر حبيب@TheOmarHabeeb 6h

يرجى من الجميع الكتابة بالردود ان هذه المظاهرات لا تمت الى مظاهرات #ساحة_التحرير بصلة و انما هذه مظاهرات سياسية .. فأن الخبر يتحدث عن توجه المتظاهرين الى السفارة الأمريكية https://twitter.com/nytimes/status/1211979341837602816

 

Lee Zeldin@RepLeeZeldin

@RepLeeZeldin 5h

Our US Embassy in Baghdad has US military personnel and diplomats who are very important to our country and especially their families back home. Iran supporting terrorist acts to directly harm their safety today must be met with an appropriate, fierce and powerful response.

 

Imam of Peace@Imamofpeace

3h Iran tries to deny its relationship with the militias surrounding the US Embassy in Baghdad. Yet these “Iraqi Protestors” wrote “Soleimani is my commander” on the wall of the US Embassy! Qasem Soleimani is the Iranian Major general in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

 

Lucas Tomlinson@LucasFoxNews

3h~100 U.S. Marines being sent to U.S. Embassy in Baghdad to bolster security: U.S. defense official. No plans to evacuate embassy personnel.

Show this thread

 

Lucas Tomlinson@LucasFoxNews

 

  • 3h U.S. Army Apache helicopter gunship dropped flares over U.S. Embassy in Baghdad minutes ago in ‘show of force,’ officials say

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MESOPOTAMIA NEWS BAGHDAD: WATCH  THE DIFFERENCE !

31 Dec 2019 –  6h

Odd how tens of thousands of Iraqis who protested since October couldn’t get near Green Zone without being shot at but that suddenly the protesters who are pro-militias can waltz in…

 

Rudaw English@RudawEnglish  6h

Protests outside the U.S. embassy in #Baghdad in response to U.S. airstrikes on Iran-backed group. https://pscp.tv/w/cNsDiTFXZ0tnYVBEblJCRXZ8MWRSSlpMTk5qQm1LQiDfCzAkLuL5jPiIPv1MNJPshJOmyBmbRhf7NLhbtUle

 

MESOPOTAMIA NEWS TOP OF THE AGENDA & ALL RELEVANT SOURCES: Iraqi Protesters Storm U.S. Embassy in Baghdad

 
Protesters denouncing U.S. strikes on the Iran-backed Kata’ib Hezbollah militant group attempted to break into (CNN) the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, prompting security personnel to fire tear gas and stun grenades. Iraq’s government said the U.S. air strikes forced it to review (WSJ) its security partnership with the United States.
 
The events stoked fears of a proxy war in Iraq between Iran and the United States. The U.S. ambassador to Iraq and other staff were evacuated (Reuters) from the embassy, and Iraq’s caretaker Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi called for protesters to depart (Reuters) or suffer consequences. U.S. President Donald J. Trump tweeted that those who attacked the embassy would be held fully responsible.
 
Analysis
 
“Iran-orchestrated violence a response to US eco[nomic] warfare. [Trump] needs to be ready to go to war w Iran or provide a diplomatic off-ramp, linking partial sanctions relief to Iran’s regional, nuclear, domestic actions. Latter path clearly preferable,” tweets CFR President Richard N. Haass.
 
“Iraq has long struggled to balance its ties with the U.S. and Iran, both allies of the Iraqi government. But the government’s angry reaction to the U.S. airstrikes and its apparent decision not to prevent the protesters from reaching the embassy signaled a sharp deterioration of U.S.-Iraq relations,” Qassim Abdul-Zahra writes for the Associated Press.
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