Protests planned across US to condemn Trump administration actions in Iraq, Iran

  Their hatred of Trump has not only blinded them, but also made them  insane.

Soleimani killed 600 Americans and countless others and these assholes are going to protest Trump?!?

Regional analysts considered Soleimani to be the second-most-powerful leader in Iran, after only Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The U.S. has pursued him for decades — his operations within Iraq since 2003 killed more than 600 American personnel, the State Department revealed last year. Not only has Soleimani killed and maimed American soldiers he was the one who introduced IED's to Iraq killing thousands of innocent people. You see, when an IED goes off it doesn't care who it kills...man, woman, or child.

This meme I posted some time ago is becoming more and more relevant every day.

--------------------------------------------

CHICAGO – More than 70 demonstrations were planned across the U.S. on Saturday to protest the Trump administration's killing of a top Iranian general and decision to send about 3,000 more soldiers to the Middle East.

The protests are being spearheaded by Act Now to Stop War and End Racism, a U.S.-based anti-war coalition, in conjunction with more than a dozen organizations. The coalition is demanding that the U.S. withdraw all troops from Iraq and end what it says is a war on Iran, according to spokesperson Walter Smolarek.

Demonstrations were expected to happen outside the White House, in New York City's Times Square and more. Actress Jane Fonda, who has been organizing weekly protests against political inaction on climate change, was expected to join the demonstration in D.C.

An international protest is expected at Berlin's Brandenburg Gate.

"The targeted assassination and murder of a central leader of Iran is designed to initiate a new war. Unless the people of the United States rise up and stop it, this war will engulf the whole region and could quickly turn into a global conflict of unpredictable scope and potentially the gravest consequences," ANSWER said on its website.

Timeline:How tensions escalated with Iran since Trump withdrew US from nuclear dea

The Pentagon launched an airstrike Thursday night that killed a powerful Iranian military leader, Gen. Qasem Soleimani, at Baghdad’s international airport. The Defense Department said it conducted the attack as a "defensive action" against Soleimani, who it said was planning further attacks on American diplomats and service members. 

President Donald Trump has denied accusations that the assassination was designed to start a war with Iran. "We took action last night to stop a war. We did not take action to start a war," he said Friday.

Some demonstrations against U.S. actions began Friday night. Dozens of protesters gathered outside Sen. Chuck Schumer’s apartment in Brooklyn, New York. In Memphis, about eight protesters gathered in a popular entertainment district.

Kole Oakes, candidate member with the Party for Socialism and Liberation, said the Memphis protests had already been planned due to the siege of the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. However, they took on a new sense of urgency when a U.S. airstrike killed Soleimani, he said.

"We’re hoping to convey that the Iraqi people, the Irani people are not our enemies, that they are our brothers and sisters in the struggle and it is the imperialist capitalist system that is our enemy," Oakes said. 

Organizers could not say how many people were expected to attend the protests Saturday, but Facebook events suggest that hundreds of people planned to participate. More than 1,500 people indicated interest in Facebook events for protests in Chicago and San Francisco, along with nearly 700 people for protests in Madison, Wisconsin, and in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

"We’re having the protest to say no to war and to bring the troops home from Iraq," said Anamaria Meneses, an organizer with the Justice Center en El Barrio, ANSWER's New York City branch. "Our tax dollars shouldn’t be spent on killing people abroad. We should stand against senseless wars."

The ANSWER coalition formed in the wake of 9/11, organizing demonstrations against the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq that drew hundreds of thousands of protesters. While it has since led some of the biggest and most successful protests in the U.S., the coalition is not without its critics. Some groups have accused the coalition of supporting anti-Semitism; others have scrutinized its approach to supporting the rights of undocumented immigrants.

The protests come after several days of escalating tensions between the U.S. and Iran that started with the killing of an American contractor.

Democrats warn against 'march' to war:Trump orders killing of Qasem Soleimani

It's also the latest in a broader beef between the two nations, including President Donald Trump's withdrawal from the Iran nuclear pact in 2018 and subsequent sanctions he imposed on Iran in order to make them come to a new deal.

Thousands of Iranians protested against the U.S. airstrike in the nation's capital, Friday, shouting "death to America." Meanwhile, dozens of people in Iraq and Syria sang and danced to celebrate the general's death.

 WOW surprised USA TODAY would admit that!

Protests planned across US to condemn Trump administration actions in Iraq, Iran

Michael Pregent: Trump confronts Iran with strength – Obama showed weakness and Iran became more dangerous

Barry capitulated so much on the Iranian Nuke Deal Khamenei still has sucker bites on his ass.

Trump's tatics...how can I say...are a little different.

A giant question mark hangs over the Middle East as the world waits to see what action Iran will take to retaliate for the long-overdue killing Friday morning of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike ordered by President Trump.

President Trump made the right decision in ordering Soleimani killed in Iraq. I’ve been arguing for four years that we ought to take out this dangerous enemy of the United States, who was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of Americans and wanted to kill many more. Thankfully, his killing days are over.

Since the Iranian terrorist general was planning more attacks on Americans, Trump was left with a stark choice: kill Soleimani now or wait for Soleimani to kill many more Americans in the future. Like every nation, America has the right – indeed, the obligation – to defend itself against its enemies.

TRUMP SAYS SOLEIMANI WAS PLANNING 'IMMINENT AND SINISTER ATTACKS' IN FIRST PUBLIC REMARKS SINCE US AIRSTRIKE

Trump has done what President Obama should have done years ago. But Obama was so determined to reach a nuclear deal with Iran that he quite literally let Iran get away with murder with its own forces and the terrorist groups it supported.

The Iranian regime respects strength. Weakness only encourages Iran’s leaders to engage in more terrorism and killing. While the U.S. attack Friday certainly angered the regime, it must have also given Iran’s leaders newfound respect for Trump and for the United States.

-------------------

[Imagine you're Khamenei. You would have to be wondering... 

The drone was circling around waiting for Soleimani's plane to land. How did they know he was on the plane??? They even had the restraint, waiting until he was clear of the airport to kill him so there were no additional casualties. Am I in Trump's crosshairs right now? Does he know my every move? Can he pull the trigger when he chooses?]

 BTW...Wonder what Khamenei's pal Kim Jong-un is thinking? 

----------------------

We don’t know what Iran or one of its proxy militias will do next. They could attack U.S. forces or civilians in the Middle East or elsewhere, attack Israel, strike out at shipping in the Persian Gulf, take action against Saudi Arabia, engage in cyberwarfare against American targets, or take any number of other hostile actions.

The Iranians and their militia allies might also try to kidnap Americans and hold them for ransom – a favorite terrorist tactic. This explains why the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad urged all Americans Friday to leave Iraq – a prudent step.

But whatever they do, top Iranian officials have stated clearly that they will strike somewhere, at a time and method of their choosing.

Most importantly, we don’t know if Iran’s next move will set off a chain reaction of attacks and counterattacks that will subside after a short time or lead to what President Trump has called “endless wars” – like the war that continues to rage in Afghanistan, 18 years after the U.S. invaded that country following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Iranian leaders clearly feel obligated to do something to strike at the U.S. to avoid looking weak, but I’d be surprised if this escalates into a full-scale U.S.-Iran war. Iran went through a long a destructive war with Iraq from 1980 to 1988 – and American forces are lot more powerful than those of Iraq back then. Leaders of Iran don’t want to go through that kind of nightmare again.

The killing of Soleimani – who commanded the Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps – unquestionably strikes a serious blow to Iran’s efforts to extend its influence in Iraq and throughout the Middle East through terrorism and other military actions.

The U.S. has designated the Quds Force as a terrorist organization, making Soleimani one of the top terrorist leaders in the world. While no one is irreplaceable, terrorist leaders are not interchangeable – some are more effective than others. Soleimani was clearly one of the most dangerous and effective.

Past targeted U.S. killings of terrorist leaders have hurt their organizations, but there has always been a new leader to take over. This happened when the U.S. killed Al Qaeda leader Usama bin Laden and Al Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. It also happened most recently when U.S. forces attacked ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and he committed suicide when he was cornered.

Soleimani’s replacement is believed to be Iranian Brig. Gen. Esmail Qaani. But he is not

the charismatic leader or the strategist Soleimani was. Qaani will have to earn the respect and fear Soleimani had built up over the years through his ruthless terrorist murders.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR OPINION NEWSLETTER

The death of Soleimani now offers a great opportunity for Iraqis to push back against Iranian influence in their country. The remaining Islamic Revolutionary Guards-Quds Force militia commanders in Iraq are not as confident as they were with Soleimani standing next to them taking selfies. Soleimani was their muscle and their credibility. But no more.

The terrorist general’s death also creates an opportunity for those in the Iraqi government and the Iraqi Security Forces who feared Soleimani and Kataib Hezbollah terrorist militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, who was also killed in the U.S. drone strike Friday. Now the Iraqis can push back and go after the remaining militia leaders like Hadi Al-Amiri and Qays Khazali.

The strength of the pro-Iranian militia leaders came from Soleimani and al-Muhandis. The skills of the remaining militia leaders pale in comparison.

If Iraqi leaders want to rid their country of Iran’s malign influence, now is the time to arrest Al-Amiri and Khazali and make clear there is no place in Iraq for militia leaders who kill innocent civilians.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

By boldly attacking Soleimani and al-Muhandis and several other terrorists gathered with them, President Trump made it clear to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that the U.S. is not afraid of him and his brutal regime. Khamenei must now realize that no one in his government is safe from the U.S. if Iran continues its role as the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism.

That’s a very positive development for the Middle East, for the U.S. and for the world.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE BY MICHAEL PREGENT

Michael Pregent is a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and a terrorism expert for the National Defense University. He is a former Army intelligence soldier and later worked for the Defense Intelligence Agency.

Michael Pregent: Trump confronts Iran with strength – Obama showed weakness and Iran became more dangerous

Paul Krugman... a purported economic genius

Columnist for The New York Times (That's probably all you needed to know right there.) 

Alma mater Massachusetts Institute of Technology (BA)

Yale University (PhD)

Centenary Professor at the London School of Economics.

Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences

 Is among the most influential economists in the world.

And yet after all these accolades...

Paul Krugman... a purported economic genius

Trump orders attack that kills Iranian Gen. Qassim Soleimani, other military officials in Baghdad, Pentagon says

[Warning gruesome photo below]

Trump retaliates!

Trump won't allow another Benghazi folks. But I am surprised he held off this long. 

BTW... WaPo called Baghdadi an ‘Austere Religious Scholar’ so I guess  Soleimani will be depicted as the male version of Mother Teresa.

--------------------------

Head of Iran's Quds Force killed in an airstrike

General Soleimani killed in airstrike amid U.S.-Iran tensions; reaction from 'The American Conservative' writer Curt Mills.

President Trump ordered a game-changing U.S. military attack that killed Iranian Gen. Qassim Soleimani, the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' elite Quds Force, among other military officials at Baghdad International Airport early Friday, the Pentagon confirmed.

Soleimani is the military mastermind whom Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had deemed equally as dangerous as Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. In October, Baghdadi killed himself during a U.S. raid on a compound in northwest Syria, seven months after the so-called ISIS "caliphate" crumbled as the terrorist group lost its final swath of Syrian territory in March.

Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif tweeted after the attack "The US' act of international terrorism, targeting & assassinating General Soleimani—THE most effective force fighting Daesh (ISIS), Al Nusrah, Al Qaeda et al—is extremely dangerous & a foolish escalation."

He added that the U.S. "bears responsibility for all consequences of its rogue adventurism."

In April 2019, the State Department announced Iran was responsible for killing 608 U.S. troops during the Iraq War. Soleimani was the head of the Iranian and Iranian-backed forces carrying out those operations killing American troops. According to the State Department, 17 percent of all deaths of U.S. personnel in Iraq from 2003 to 2011 were orchestrated by Soleimani.

As recently as 2015, a travel ban and United Nations Security Council resolutions had barred Soleimani from leaving Iran.

Friday's Baghdad strike also killed Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy commander of Iran-backed militias known as the Popular Mobilization Forces, a source told Fox News.

In all, at least seven people were killed and at least three rockets were fired, officials told The Associated Press. An official with the Popular Mobilization Forces said its airport protocol officer, Mohammed Reda, also died.

Hours after the attack was announced, President Trump tweeted a simple image of the American flag.

Soleimani was the long-running leader of the elite intelligence wing called Quds Force – which itself has been a designated terror group since 2007, and is estimated to be 20,000 strong. Considered one of the most powerful men in Iran, he routinely was referred to as its "shadow commander" or "spymaster."

"Soleimani is our leader" had been photographed spray-painted on windows by Iran-backed militiamen at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.

Their deaths marked a potential turning point in the Middle East, and are expected to draw severe retaliation from Iran and the forces it's backed in the Middle East against Israel and American interests.

An official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press that Muhandis had arrived to the airport in a convoy to receive Soleimani whose plane had arrived from either Lebanon or Syria. The air strike occurred as soon as he descended from the plane to be greeted by Muhandis and his companions, killing them all.

A senior politician said Soleimani's body was identified by the ring he wore.

Via https://earloftaint.com/2020/01/02/he-blowed-up-good/

He was an evil SOB, responsible for thousands of our troops killed, maimed and disabled by his introduction of IEDs in Iraq, along with countless others killed in terrorist attacks, bombings and assassinations around the globe He was Iran’s best general. Not anymore.

Now, if you’d like to see what’s left of him...

The doctors say they don't think he's going to make it.

Iraq’s Security Media Cell, which released information regarding Iraqi security, said the three rockets landed near the cargo hall.

Iraqi security also said two cars were on fire.

The nighttime attack occurred amid tensions with the U.S. after an Iran-backed militia attacked the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, which was targeted Tuesday by angry mobs who were protesting recent U.S. airstrikes.

The two-day siege outside of the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad came to an end Wednesday afternoon after dozens of pro-Iran militiamen and their supporters withdrew from the compound.

U.S. EMBASSY IN BAGHDAD FIRE DAMAGE SEEN IN NEW PHOTOS FOLLOWING MILITANTS' ATTACK

The crisis started early Tuesday, when, in an orchestrated assault, hundreds of protesters stormed the embassy compound, one of the most heavily fortified U.S. diplomatic missions in the world.

President Trump, who on Tuesday night vowed that the situation "will not be a Benghazi" -- a pointed reference to the deadly 2012 attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya on the Obama administration's watch, ordered deployment of about 750 U.S. soldiers to the Middle East.

The embassy attack, one of the worst in recent memory, followed deadly U.S. airstrikes on Sunday that killed 25 fighters of the Iran-backed group, the Kataeb Hezbollah. The U.S. military said the airstrikes were retaliation for last week's killing of an American contractor in a rocket attack on an Iraqi military base, which the U.S. blamed on the militia.

Secretary of Defense Mark Esper reacted on Thursday to the U.S. Embassy attack in Iraq earlier this week, saying that it's time for Iran to start "acting like a normal country.”

“We are there in Iraq working with our Iraqi partners to ensure the enduring defeat of ISIS,” Esper said on “America’s Newsroom” on Thursday.

“Through the president's direction, we were able to physically defeat the caliphate that remains physically defeated, if you will," he added. "And now, our aim is to deter further Iranian bad behavior that has been going on now for over 40 years. It's time that Iran started acting like a normal country.”

Update:

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appointed Esmail Qaani the successor to Soleimani as the commander of the Quds Force. Qaani was described by Khamenei as one of the 'most decorated commanders' of the Guards during the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war

Trump orders attack that kills Iranian Gen. Qassim Soleimani, other military officials in Baghdad, Pentagon says

So much for a President Castro

Julián Castro Drops Out of Presidential Race

The idiots who donated to his campaign could have saved themselves a stamp by simply flushing their donation down the toilet.

Spartacus is on the ropes and should be next.

Longshot Democrat presidential candidate Julián Castro ended his flailing White House campaign on Thursday after struggling to achieve a breakthrough in the polls in a crowded Democrat primary field.

“Today, it’s with a heavy heart and profound gratitude that I will suspend my campaign for president,” Castro said in a video statement shared to Twitter, adding it “simply isn’t our time” to clinch the Democrat nomination. “I’m so proud of everything we’ve accomplished together. I’m going to keep fighting for an America where everyone counts—I hope you’ll join me in that fight,” he added.

Castro, the sole Latino to mount a bid for the White House this cycle, was hampered for months by poor fundraising, and failed to qualify for the most recent Democrat presidential primary debate in Los Angeles, California. While he ran an overtly progressive campaign, championing far-left positions on issues such as immigration, his candidacy was often overshadowed by rivals like former Rep. Robert Francis “Beto” O’Rourke (D-TX) and former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor, Pete Buttigieg (D).

Trying to show he could go to-to-toe with Trump, Castro swung for big moments on debate stages, and flirted with a much-needed breakout in June after confronting O’Rourke over not supporting decriminalization of illegal border crossings.

But turning his sights on Biden on a later stage brought swift backlash. During the September debate in Houston, Castro appeared to touch on concerns about the age of the then-76-year-old former vice president and added a parting shot at him.

“I’m fulfilling the legacy of Barack Obama, and you’re not,” Castro said.

Castro — who was Obama’s housing secretary in his second term — denied taking a personal dig at Biden as others in the field condemned the exchange. Three days later, Castro lost one of his three backers in Congress, Rep. Vicente González of Texas, who switched his endorsement to Biden.

Castro had warned supporters in a fundraising appeal that failing to make the November debate stage would spell the end of his campaign. He needed to hit at least 3% polling in four early state or national polls but didn’t get even one.

What is next for Castro is unclear. Back home in Texas, Democrats had long viewed Castro as their biggest star in waiting and some have urged him to run for governor as the state trends more diverse and liberal.

So much for a President Castro