| Trump Mocks Democrats for Criticism of Soleimani Strike Notice Posted: 09 Jan 2020 05:25 PM PST |
| An Iranian general dies in a U.S. attack, and Canada suffers Posted: 09 Jan 2020 05:25 PM PST |
| Trump now says climate change is 'serious' and not 'a hoax' Posted: 09 Jan 2020 05:22 PM PST |
| What are Iran's nuclear and military capabilities? Posted: 09 Jan 2020 05:02 PM PST  President Trump said Iran "appears to be standing down," but what threat does Iran pose to American interests at home and abroad?
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| U.K. Labor Market Shows Signs of Life After Johnson Election Win Posted: 09 Jan 2020 05:01 PM PST |
| Boris Johnson says Iran shot down Ukrainian plane, possibly by accident Posted: 09 Jan 2020 04:42 PM PST  Boris Johnson has said that Iran shot down the Ukrainian passenger plane in Tehran after Western intelligence agencies concluded that the downing of the jet was most likely an accident. US satellites reportedly picked up two surface-to-air missiles being launched shortly before the accident and US officials suspect there are missile fragments near the crash site where all 176 passenger died. Mr Johnson said: "There is now a body of information that the flight was shot down by an Iranian Surface to Air Missile. This may well have been unintentional." His comments came shortly after Justin Trudeau, the prime minister of Canada, which had 63 nationals on board, said "multiple intelligence sources" pointed to a missile strike that appeared to be accidental. British and Canadian officials said they believed the US assessment was credible, with one UK source telling The Daily Telegraph "specific details" had been shared with Britain backing up the claim. However, the head of Iran's Civil Aviation Organisation pushed back, calling the allegation "illogical" and asking why the plane had turned back towards the airport if it had been hit by a missile. Tor M1 surface–to–air missile system Ukrainian International Airlines flight 752 took off just hours after Iran had fired rockets at US soldiers stationed in Iraq, leading to speculation the accident could have come from the "fog of war". America's belief that the alleged missile launch was a mistake is underscored by the fact that 82 Iranian citizens were killed in the crash, alongside 63 Canadians and 11 Ukrainians. Four Britons were also among the dead, according to Mr Johnson – including engineer Sam Zokaei, from Surrey, Saeed Tahmasebi Khademasadi, from west London, and Mohammad Reza Kadkhoda Zadeh, from near Brighton. A video purporting to show the moment the Ukrainian plane was struck was published by numerous US media outlets on Thursday including The New York Times and CNN. BREAKING: New York Times obtains video showing missile hit Ukrainian jet that crashed near Tehran airport in Iran https://t.co/2w0EknU5Rapic.twitter.com/bFoUvZ3ens— Matthew Keys (@MatthewKeysLive) January 9, 2020 The footage appears to show an object moving quickly through the dark night sky followed an explosion. The Daily Telegraph could not verify the accuracy of the video. Newsweek, CBS and CNN first reported the US conclusion on Thursday afternoon, all referencing US officials saying they believed it was likely anti-aircraft missiles downed the plane by accident. Mr Trump declined to be explicit about how he thought the plane had crashed or who was behind it when asked during a White House event, but said: "I have my suspicions". "Some people say it was mechanical. I personally don't think that's even a question," Mr Trump said, adding: "Something very terrible happened." The Democrat-controlled US House of Representatives last night passed a war powers resolution demanding that Mr Trump not engage in military action against Iran unless authorised by Congress. It ignited a debate about whether the president has the power to declare war. The measure will now go to the Republican-controlled Senate, where its fate is uncertain. Iran crisis | Read more The Ukrainian plane left Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran at 6.10am local time on Wednesday bound for the Ukrainian capital Kyiv. Hours earlier, amid a tense stand-off between Tehran and Washington, Iran had launched rockets at US soldiers in two Iraqi bases in retaliation for the killing of its commander Qassim Soleimani. The decision to fly despite the launch of a military attack hours earlier has been called into question, with some asking why all passenger planes were not barred from passing through the airspace. Multiple US media outlets reported that satellites, radar and electronic data collected routinely by US military and intelligence lay behind America's assessment that Iran was to blame. US officials said data showed Iranian radar had been tracking the plane before the missiles were fired, according to Reuters. The plane was reportedly airborne for just two minutes before an explosion. CNN noted punctures on the aircraft's fuselage found among the wreckage, possibly indicating an explosion outside the aircraft had taken place. Mourners attend a vigil at the University of Toronto for the victims Credit: REUTERS/Chris Helgren Witnesses said the plane appeared to be on fire before it crashed. According to an Iranian initial assessment, it turned back towards the airport from before going down. A UK source told this newspaper: "The picture that seems to be emerging among all Western officials is that the plane has been accidentally downed by an anti-aircraft missile. We are not disagreeing with that." But Ali Abedzadeh, the head of Iran's of Civil Aviation Organisation, questioned the claims, saying: "Scientifically, it is impossible that a missile hit the Ukrainian plane, and such rumours are illogical." An Iranian government spokesman called the suggestion Iran shot down the aircraft "psychological warfare". The country's foreign ministry said it invited Canada to take part in the investigation and submit any information it may have to its investigative committee. Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration declined to comment on Thursday, as did the Pentagon. Ukrainian officials had no immediate comment. The tragedy has echoes of Malaysian airlines flight MH17, which was shot down by Russians as it flew over eastern Ukraine in 2014 amid an emerging civil war in the area. People stand near the wreckage after a Ukrainian plane carrying 176 passengers crashed near Imam Khomeini airport in Tehran Credit: Rouhollah VAHDATI / ISNA / AFP Iranian officials said the Ukrainian plane's black box, which tracks flight data, has been recovered. CNN reported it would be handed over to the Ukrainians on Friday. However, it is unclear if the black box alone will provide conclusive evidence about the cause of the crash, with some experts saying the wreckage itself could be more significant. Oleksei Danilov, the secretary of Ukraine's national security council, said a 45-person strong Ukrainian team had reached the crash site just outside of Tehran and would search for missing fragments. Mr Danilov said: "A strike by a missile, possibly a Tor missile system, is among the main (theories), as information has surfaced on the internet about elements of a missile being found near the site of the crash." He appeared to be referring to unverified photographs posted by a number of Iranian Twitter users of what appeared to be a missile nose cone. No survivors reported as Ukrainian passenger jet crashes in Iran Mr Danilov said the team was in "effective diplomatic talks" with Iran on the joint investigation and had "every reason to hope for full cooperation on all questions including our team's access to the black boxes." Volodymur Zelenskiy, the president of Ukraine, said Iran's president Hassan Rouhani had promised him the Ukrainian team would have full access to the crash site during a telephone call on Thursday afternoon. Mr Johnson spoke to Mr Zelenskiy on Thursday and called for a "full credible and transparent investigation". "The reports we have seen are very concerning and we are urgently looking into them," a spokesman for the Prime Minister's office said.
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| Pompeo to meet Japan, S.Korea on N.Korea tensions Posted: 09 Jan 2020 04:18 PM PST  US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will meet top officials from Japan and South Korea, officials said Thursday, weeks after North Korea defiantly threatened a new weapon. The State Department said that Pompeo would meet senior counterparts from the two US allies during a January 12-15 trip to the San Francisco area. The State Department did not provide further detail but said Pompeo would make public remarks, including at Stanford University.
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| US House votes to curb Trump war power on Iran Posted: 09 Jan 2020 04:00 PM PST  US lawmakers concerned about rushing to war with Iran adopted a measure Thursday aimed at reining in President Donald Trump's ability to take military action against the Islamic republic. The resolution was introduced by Democrats after Trump's order to kill an Iranian commander and retaliatory missile strikes by Tehran dramatically escalated tensions and raised fears of a devastating war between the two foes. The mostly symbolic but politically charged vote, 224 to 194, was largely along party lines, with three members of Trump's Republican Party joining Democrats in approving the measure demanding the president not engage in military action against Iran unless authorized by Congress.
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| House Votes to Curb Trump Power to Strike Iran Without Congress Posted: 09 Jan 2020 03:36 PM PST  (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. House of Representatives voted Thursday to limit President Donald Trump's authority to strike Iran, a mostly symbolic move Democrats say defends Congress's constitutional powers but Republicans say endangers national security.The resolution was adopted on a 224-194 vote, as tensions in the Middle East remain high after a U.S. drone strike killed Iranian general Qassem Soleimani. Iran retaliated with missiles striking an Iraqi base used by U.S. troops late Tuesday, without casualties, leaving uncertainty about future hostilities.With Thursday's resolution, the House is saying that Congress should be consulted before the conflict with Iran escalates. The Senate now can either consider the House-passed measure or move forward with a different version introduced by Senator Tim Kaine, a Democrat from Virginia.The effort to constrain Trump's power was backed by three Republicans but faces tough odds in the GOP-led Senate. Still, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the measure has "real teeth," citing the 1973 War Powers Act to limit a president's military options without consulting Congress.Republicans Matt Gaetz of Florida, Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Francis Rooney of Florida and independent Justin Amash of Michigan joined 220 Democrats in supporting the measure. Eight Democrats voted with 186 Republicans against it.Democrats criticized the Trump administration for failing to provide clear justification that Soleimani posed an imminent threat. Two Republican senators -- Mike Lee of Utah and Rand Paul of Kentucky -- sharply criticized Wednesday's classified briefing led by Secretary of State Michael Pompeo for failing to address their concerns about congressional authorization for the attack.Lee said the "insulting" briefing tipped his vote in favor of strengthening requirements for the president to consult Congress on military action."That briefing is what changed my mind," Lee said Wednesday. "After today, every time they pull a stunt like this, I'm willing to consider and introduce any and every War Powers Act resolution."Constitutional RequirementThe House measure, sponsored by Michigan Democrat and former CIA analyst Elissa Slotkin, would require Trump to cease military actions against Iran unless authorized by Congress or in response to an imminent threat.Republicans and at least one Democrat -- New York Representative Max Rose, an Army veteran -- criticized the House resolution as an empty gesture that plays "politics with questions of war and peace."The House version is a concurrent resolution that wouldn't require Trump's signature if passed by both chambers. The War Power Act provides for a concurrent resolution to have the force of law, although that would probably be challenged in court.The Senate version Kaine introduced is a joint resolution, which would require the president to sign it to become law. Trump vetoed a previous resolution last year to end U.S. military involvement in Yemen, and the Senate didn't have enough votes to override his veto.If either Kaine's resolution or the House version meets Senate requirements to get a privileged voting status, it would only need a simple majority to pass. With Lee and Paul saying they back Kaine's resolution, it would need support from at least two more Republicans to pass.Kaine said he dropped two paragraphs that referenced Trump directly after getting feedback from some Republicans he hopes to attract to his effort. GOP Senators Susan Collins and Todd Young, who have voted with Democrats for war powers resolutions in the past, said they are considering the Kaine resolution but haven't committed to it yet.Military AuthorizationKaine's resolution also states explicitly that the 2001 and 2002 Authorizations for the Use of Military Force don't cover military action against Iran. The Trump administration included the 2002 AUMF as part of its justification for the drone strike near the Baghdad, Iraq, airport that killed Soleimani.The White House on Thursday issued a statement challenging the House resolution, saying it's unnecessary and would lack the force of law. The statement of administration policy also said the 2002 AUMF covers any military action that would be restricted under the House measure.The statement said that if the provisions of the resolution were to become law, "they could undermine the president's ability to defend United States forces and interests in the region against ongoing threats from Iran and its proxies."Kaine said earlier that it is precisely the risk of conflict with Iran that makes it so important for Congress to defend its constitutional authority to declare war."We're at the brink of war right now," Kaine said. "It increases the necessity of the bill."(Updates with vote breakdown starting in fourth paragraph.)\--With assistance from Billy House and Erik Wasson.To contact the reporter on this story: Daniel Flatley in Washington at dflatley1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Joe Sobczyk at jsobczyk@bloomberg.net, Anna Edgerton, Laurie AsséoFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| House votes to limit Trump's Iran war powers Posted: 09 Jan 2020 03:31 PM PST |
| Ilhan Omar Talks About 'Trauma' Of War After GOP Lawmaker Dismissed Her PTSD Posted: 09 Jan 2020 03:18 PM PST  Amid tensions with Iran, Omar, who was a refugee, spoke of her post-traumatic stress. A congressman called it "offensive" to vets who "really do have" PTSD.
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| Northern Ireland May See Power Sharing Restored as Deal in Sight Posted: 09 Jan 2020 03:15 PM PST |
| Justin Trudeau: Canada 'will not rest' until it gets answers about plane crash Posted: 09 Jan 2020 03:12 PM PST  * Prime minister says evidence strengthens need for full inquiry * 138 passengers onboard were destined for CanadaJustin Trudeau has vowed that his government will not rest until it has achieved justice for the 176 people who died when a Ukrainian passenger jet near Tehran – most of whom were traveling to Canada.Speaking on Thursday, the Canadian prime minister called for a thorough investigation of the disaster as he endorsed mounting intelligence that the Ukrainian passenger jet was accidentally shot down by an Iranian anti-aircraft missile."We have intelligence from multiple sources – including our allies and our own intelligence: the evidence indicates that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile," Trudeau said. "This may well have been unintentional."He said that evidence only strengthened the need for a full investigation into the disaster."It is now more important than ever to know exactly how this tragedy happens. Canadians want answers. That means transparency, accountability and justice," he said. "This government will not rest until we get that."Iran has disputed reports it accidentally brought down the plane, and suggested mechanical failure and a fire onboard the aircraft was the cause of the crash.News that the disaster may have been caused by a missile strike caused further distress for members of the Iranian community in Canada mourning the loss of friends and relatives."This is new and incoming disturbing information – but if true, I'm not surprised; especially given the actions of the Iranian regime," said Payman Parseyan, the former president of Edmonton's Iranian Heritage Society.But Praseyan said that no amount of blame would bring back the victims. "We loved our community family and – whether the Iranian government was involved or not – they're not coming home."Sixty-three Canadians were onboard the Boeing 737-800, operated by Ukraine International Airlines, when it crashed near Tehran on Wednesday. One hundred and thirty-eight of the passengers were destined for Canada, making the crash the country's worst aviation disaster since the 1985 Air India bombing, which killed 268 citizens.Victims included Mansour Esnaashary Esfahani, 29, a civil engineering doctoral student in Ontario who had flown to Iran in December to get married.Esfahani had been due to return on 2 January to resume studies at the University of Waterloo, but decided to extend his ticket to 8 January.His wife, Hanieh, had planned to begin a new life in Canada with him in February – a reunion that is now impossible.Roja Azadian and her husband, Mohsen Ahmadipour, had expected to travel back to Ottawa together – but when they arrived at Tehran's bustling Imam Khomeini airport, airline staff told them a prior cancellation to part of Ahmadipour's ticket rendered the remainder of his journey invalid.He planned to follow his wife on a separate flight and be reunited in Canada."He couldn't get on the plane. His wife could get on the plane, unfortunately," Kevin Manesh, who knew the couple, told the Ottawa Citizen. "He was the lucky person who didn't get on the plane."Ontario resident Hamed Esmaeilion lost his wife, dentist Parisa Eghbalian, 42, and nine-year-old daughter, Reera, to the fatal crash.On Facebook, Esmaeilion posted tributes to his daughter - including a video of her playing the piano and a photo of the two reading the newspaper."What should I do? What should I do?" he wrote. "What should I do with the magazine subscriptions that are coming for you?"> Moments before takeoff on FlightPS752: Sahar Haghjoo and her daughter Elsa Jadidi in their seats ready to fly home to Toronto. @globalnewsto UkrainianPlaneCrash pic.twitter.com/5InrvWhJzr> > — Caryn Lieberman (@caryn_lieberman) January 9, 2020Sahar Haghjoo, 37, helped settle immigrant and refugee women, working at the YWCA in Toronto – a job she held for five years. She was travelling in Iran with her only child, eight-year-old Elsa. Haghjoo's husband was expecting to greet his wife and daughter on Wednesday at Pearson airport, but the pair never arrived.Across the country on Thursday, schools flew their flags at half mast, honouring the grim news that many of the victims were students, researchers and academics."It is an unspeakable loss," said Neda Maghbouleh, a sociology professor at the University of Toronto who studies Iranian migration through the US and Canada. Four University of Toronto students were killed in the crash."The people we lost in the plane truly represented the smartest young researchers in the entire world," Maghbouleh told Reuters.Late Wednesday, Canada's foreign minister, François-Philippe Champagne, spoke with his Iranian counterpart, Javad Zarif – a rare formal communication between countries with no diplomatic relations. The two nations severed diplomatic ties in 2012 under the Canada's Conservative government – rendering any investigation by Canada exceedingly difficult. Despite previous pledges to revive relations, Trudeau has failed to do so."The response by the Iranian government, the Iranian foreign minister, was open, was encouraging," said Champagne, who expressed optimism that consular officials would soon receive visas to go to Iran.A series of vigils and memorials are scheduled to take place across the country in the next few days to honour victims of the crash.
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| House Democrats pass measure limiting Trump's war powers against Iran Posted: 09 Jan 2020 03:05 PM PST  The House on Thursday approved a War Powers resolution Democrats said would limit President Donald Trump's ability to take military action against Iran but Republicans claimed was "meaningless" and would undermine his authority as commander in chief. As Democrats looked to reassert the constitutional power given Congress to authorize war, the non-binding measure passed along mostly party lines, 224-194, with eight Democrats splitting from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi – although three Republicans crossed the aisle to vote with the majority.
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| Iran plane crash: Ticket error spared man - but his wife boarded fatal flight from Tehran Posted: 09 Jan 2020 03:03 PM PST  A ticket error left a man in the airport terminal in Tehran while his wife boarded the flight that crashed soon after take-off on Wednesday, killing everyone on board. Mohsen Ahmadipour was supposed to have taken the Ukraine International Airlines flight, but his ticket had been accidentally cancelled, meaning his life was spared while his wife died. The 38-year-old was still inside the terminal when he learnt that the Kyiv-bound flight had crashed in flames just minutes after take-off and none of the 176 people on board had survived. His wife of almost six years was among the dead. Mr Ahmadipour's story is one of many heartbreaking tales emerging from relatives of those killed. The couple, who lived in Ottawa, Canada, had been visiting family in Iran, according to local news site Ottawa Citizen. Tor M1 surface–to–air missile system Roja Azadian, 43, boarded the flight, having arranged that her husband would join her when he could get another plane. It would be the last time the couple saw each other. For another couple, the flight would be the start and end of a marriage. Pouneh Gorji, 25, and Arash Pourzarabi, 26, were travelling back from their wedding in Iran, along with four other members of their wedding party. "If you met them, even once, you could tell that these two belonged together for sure," Amir Forouzandeh, a friend of the couple, told a local news website. Iran crisis | Read more The University of Alberta graduates boarded the flight days after their wedding, preparing a local celebration for friends in Canada who could not attend the wedding in Iran. "I don't have enough tears to cry for them," their friend Orod Kaveh posted on Facebook. Saeed Tahmasebi, a British national and also a newlywed, died in the crash along with his wife. The couple were only on the flight because they had waited behind in Iran to pick up their wedding photographs. Dozens of couples, families and children were aboard the flight, which was in the air for no longer than 10 minutes. Condolences flooded social media as Ukraine International Airlines released the roster of names of passengers. "One of my wonderful PhD students, Ghanimat Azhdari, was on the plane that crashed in Tehran this morning," Dr Faisal Moola of the University of Guelph tweeted. No survivors reported as Ukrainian passenger jet crashes in Iran Ms Azhdari was a PhD student in the department of geography, environment and geomatics. Her PhD research was devoted to advancing the rights of indigenous peoples in conservation and the protection of biocultural knowledge. "The students and I are in so much pain," the tweet read. Many of the passengers are thought to have been heading towards Canada, via Kyiv. One of them, 38-year-old Forough Khadem, a "promising scientist", was returning to Winnipeg after visiting family in Iran. Mourners at a vigil for the victims at the University of Toronto. All 176 people on board were killed Credit: CHRIS HELGREN/REUTERS Dr Khadem graduated with a PhD in immunology from the University of Manitoba. Her research had given rise to a new understanding of the deadly parasitic disease, leishmaniasis. "Forough was one of my best PhD trainees, an outstanding scientist and above all an amazing human being," Jude Uzonna, an associate professor at the university, told Canada's CBC. "I am utterly devastated and trying to grapple with this." Dr Khadem, the daughter of a university professor, grew up between Iran and New Zealand before moving to Canada. "She radiates love. She radiates humanity. She radiates empathy. Once you see her, you want to know who she is," Ms Uzonna said.
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| Video Reportedly Shows Iranian Missile Hitting Ukrainian Plane Before 176 Died in Crash Posted: 09 Jan 2020 02:42 PM PST  Video Purportedly Shows Missile Striking Plane That Crashed in Iran
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| Trump turns to those he has scorned for help on Iran Posted: 09 Jan 2020 02:28 PM PST |
| Trump seeks support in Iran crisis but Europe skeptical Posted: 09 Jan 2020 02:23 PM PST  With tensions soaring after he ordered the killing of a top Iranian general, US President Donald Trump publicly urged all other powers to abandon a 2015 nuclear accord with Tehran. Within hours, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, one of Trump's closest international allies, was on the phone with Iran's president. The January 3 drone strike that killed Qasem Soleimani, Iran's most powerful general and a longtime US nemesis, has only exacerbated tensions between the United States and Europe in a showdown that has turned into a crisis.
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| A day after skewering Trump officials for the Iran strike, GOP Sen. Mike Lee heaps praise on Trump for showing 'restraint' in assassinating a foreign government official Posted: 09 Jan 2020 02:19 PM PST  Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah dramatically walked back his comments this week about President Donald Trump's decision to order an airstrike that killed Iran's top military general, Qassem Soleimani. On Wednesday, following a Senate briefing on the matter, Lee skewered Trump officials, said it was "the worst briefing" on a military issue he'd seen in his congressional career, and said he would support a War Powers Resolution that would dramatically curtail Trump's military powers.
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| 'Highly likely' Iran shot down Ukrainian airliner: US official Posted: 09 Jan 2020 02:13 PM PST  It's "highly likely" the Ukrainian passenger plane that crashed Wednesday morning in Iran, killing all 176 on board, was shot down by Iran, a U.S. official told ABC News. The crash was just hours after Iran had launched more than 20 missiles at U.S. military facilities in Iraq, which fueled speculation the plane might have been shot down inadvertently by the Iranian military.
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| Trump, like Obama, tests the limits of presidential war powers Posted: 09 Jan 2020 02:12 PM PST  To many observers, President Donald Trump's decision to kill a senior Iranian general is yet another example of his unique impetuousness and determination to go it alone in his foreign policy. Congress has begun to take steps to reel in Trump's independence.There are important similarities between Trump's action and the decision by President Barack Obama to attack Libya in 2011.Both acted unilaterally without much apparent concern for Congress' role in military actions, a topic I discuss in my recent book, "The Politics of War Powers."But there are some pretty significant differences, too. Congressional powerThe Constitution reserves for Congress the power to declare war. However, after World War II, several presidents – including John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon – initiated military operations without congressional approval. They claimed that they could take military action short of actual war through their constitutional capacity as commander-in-chief of the military. Often they also said they needed to support U.N. or NATO allies who were using force.By 1973, Congress wanted to reclaim its authority. Over President Nixon's veto, bipartisan supermajorities passed the War Powers Resolution, requiring presidents to get congressional permission in advance of military action that goes beyond defending against an actual attack.There are two loopholes, though: If the president does take unilateral action, he must inform Congress within 48 hours. And the president can initiate and carry out military operations for up to 90 days even without congressional approval. Obama attacks Libya and Congress wags a fingerIn 2011, the Arab Spring movement saw citizens across North Africa and the Middle East call on authoritarian regimes to become more democratic.Many leaders in the region responded with violent crackdowns on protests, some of which appeared to violate the protesters' human rights. Due to the especially violent repression in Libya, the United Nations Security Council authorized countries to take "all necessary measures" to protect the protesters there.Without informing or consulting Congress, as the Constitution and the War Powers Resolution require, Obama launched airstrikes against Libyan armed forces on March 19, 2011, alongside NATO allies. Two days later, the president formally informed Congress of his action.Only a few hawkish Republicans supported the president's unilateral action. Most Republicans criticized the move. Sens. Richard Lugar and Rand Paul decried Obama's actions as unconstitutional, claiming he had encroached on legislators' war powers. Michigan Congressman Justin Amash said, "When there is no imminent threat to our country, he cannot launch strikes without authorization from the American people, through our elected representatives in Congress." Some Democrats also criticized Obama's action. Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich and other liberal Democrats went so far as to file a lawsuit against him, objecting to the use of military force without congressional approval.Obama's Cabinet members and the Pentagon coordinated with each other and NATO allies to organize the operation, but the operation took time. As the airstrikes passed the 90-day mark, Obama didn't follow the War Powers Resolution's requirement to pull troops out. Instead, he sent a State Department lawyer, Harold Koh, to Congress to explain that their U.S. military actions didn't actually amount to the sort of "hostilities" defined by the law. Koh's testimony took a certain amount of criticism, but beyond wagging their fingers, senators did nothing to impede or authorize Obama's actions. The House chastised Obama for failing to notify Congress, but a motion to pull all U.S. forces out of Libyan action failed – with most Democrats choosing not to limit Obama's unilateral action, even though it encroached on their legislative powers. Trump's drone strikePresident Trump's decision to order a lethal drone strike against Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani on Jan. 3 has some similarities. They include both sudden, unilateral action by a president and sharp criticism from his political opponents. But there are important differences that show how much farther Trump is willing to push the boundaries of his own individual power.First, with Obama's action, there was a humanitarian crisis and broad multilateral support. But with Trump's killing of Soleimani, there was no U.N. resolution calling for Soleimani's death nor a humanitarian crisis. Congress had already been worried about Trump taking unilateral military action: In April 2019, Congress tried to invoke the War Powers Resolution to pull U.S. support out of Yemen.And in December 2019, Congress tried to pass a defense spending bill that limited Trump's ability to engage militarily with Iran. Missouri Republican Sen. Roy Blunt, along with others, objected to that proposal, however, saying he favored "flexibility" for the president. That objection won out over Congress asserting its war powers.When Trump exercised that "flexibility" and ordered Soleimani killed, there was – as with Obama – a great deal of congressional criticism. But this time, it was split along partisan lines. Republican Sen. Jim Risch from Idaho praised Trump's "decisive action" and the "successful outcome." South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham tweeted a threat to the Iranian government saying, "if you want more, you will get more."Conversely, Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi worried that Trump's action "risks provoking further dangerous escalation of violence." Democrats demanded Trump consult with Congress and called on their fellow legislators to reassert their authority under the War Powers Resolution.The House may vote soon on a bill that would limit Trump's ability to fight against Iran. It is likely to pass in the Democrat-controlled House, but unlikely to make it through the Republican-controlled Senate. A new view of presidential powerTrump's unilateral action stands out from his predecessors' in part because of his apparent disregard for congressional power. A week after the killing of Soleimani, Trump's administration began to formally tell Congress about the strike on Soleimani. In the meantime, the president unilaterally decided to send troops to Kuwait. He also claimed that sending a tweet about military force could serve as a formal notification of Congress.Trump has claimed various authorities for the drone strike, including a 2002 law authorizing the president – then George W. Bush – to use military force in Iraq. Trump has also said he acted against Soleimani to stop "imminent and sinister attacks on American diplomats and military personnel," a justification that isn't allowed under the War Powers Resolution, which only authorizes a response to an actual attack after it happens. Public opinion may be a factorWith Congress bitterly divided along partisan lines, it's clear the majority of senators – Republicans – will have veto power over any congressional effort to check Trump's actions. If lawmakers do nothing, Congress will have effectively ceded its war powers to the president. If the dispute goes deeper, the Supreme Court would likely avoid getting involved, because it's a dispute between the other two branches about their respective claims to constitutional powers.The only remaining check would be popular opinion, which can rise and fall as national security crises unfold. But Trump's popularity is unusually stable, leaving him free to act with the confidence that his base won't abandon him. The executive branch will continue to determine the course of action with Iran. On Jan. 8, Trump himself told the nation, "As long as I'm president of the United States, Iran will never be allowed to have a nuclear weapon." Without congressional restraint, what that means – and how he carries out that promise – rests entirely in Trump's hands.[ You're smart and curious about the world. So are The Conversation's authors and editors. You can get our highlights each weekend. ]This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts.Read more: * Congressional oversight is at the heart of America's democracy * In Iran showdown, conflict could explode quickly – and disastrouslySarah Burns is a fellow at the Quincy Institute and receives funding from the Institute for Humane Studies.
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| It looks like Iran is ready to start bombing its fake aircraft carrier again Posted: 09 Jan 2020 02:12 PM PST  Iran looks to have fixed its fake aircraft carrier after using it for target practice years ago, meaning it may be planning to start hitting it again.
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| Americans are bad at geography. So bad that some think Canada is Iran, study finds Posted: 09 Jan 2020 01:58 PM PST |
| Here’s how the no-fly zone over Iran and Iraq is disrupting flights worldwide Posted: 09 Jan 2020 01:57 PM PST |
| Mueller probe witness considers child sex trafficking plea Posted: 09 Jan 2020 01:39 PM PST |
| Trump news: President calls for whistleblower and Bidens to testify in impeachment trial as reports say Iran 'accidentally' shot down Ukraine plane Posted: 09 Jan 2020 01:33 PM PST  Donald Trump has moved to soothe the tensions he inflamed with Iran by assassinating Quds commander Qassem Soleimani, saying the regime is "standing down" after fears a ballistic missile strike on two US military bases in Iraq could escalate into a full blown war.But the president's address to the nation on Wednesday, flanked by senior cabinet members and top generals at the White House, was criticised by many for the slurred nature of much of his speech, with commentators again questioning Mr Trump's fitness for office after he stumbled over simple words.
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| Pence Says Iran Sought to Kill Americans in Strike, Contradicting Pentagon Assessment Posted: 09 Jan 2020 01:29 PM PST |
| 'I lived for her': Husband of Iran plane crash victim mourns wife of 10 years Posted: 09 Jan 2020 01:26 PM PST  Hassan Shadkhoo spoke with his wife 20 minutes before her Ukraine International Airlines flight took off from Iran on Wednesday.
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| House votes to rein in Trump on Iran Posted: 09 Jan 2020 01:22 PM PST |
| UN to vote Friday on new Syria cross-border aid resolution Posted: 09 Jan 2020 01:08 PM PST |
| On streets of Tehran, relief for now at no wider conflict Posted: 09 Jan 2020 01:07 PM PST |
| Justin Trudeau says intelligence indicates Iran shot down Ukrainian plane Posted: 09 Jan 2020 12:44 PM PST  Intelligence from "multiple sources" indicates that Iran shot down the Ukrainian passenger plane that crashed near Tehran this week, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced.Reports emerged Thursday that U.S. officials are "confident" that Iran's anti-aircraft missile system shot down the passenger plane that crashed after taking off from Tehran, killing 176 people including at least 63 Canadians. In a news conference on Thursday afternoon, Trudeau confirmed that Canada's intelligence suggests as much."We have intelligence from multiple sources, including our allies and our own intelligence," Trudeau said. "The evidence indicates that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile."Trudeau added that "this may well have been unintentional." CBS News previously reported "the plane was believed to have been mistakenly targeted," while CNN reports that "one possibility being considered is that an Iranian missile unit saw something on their radar, thought they were under attack and fired." The new information, Trudeau said, "reinforces the need for a thorough investigation into this matter." Trudeau did not provide further details about the intelligence. Speaking Thursday at the White House, President Trump said he has "suspicions" about what caused the plane crash and speculated that "somebody could have made a mistake."Shortly after Trudeau spoke, The New York Times published video apparently showing an Iranian missile hitting a plane near Tehran's airport, with other videos showing that "the plane flew toward the airport ablaze before it exploded and crashed quickly." > BREAKING: Justin Trudeau: "We have intelligence from multiple sources, including our allies and our own intelligence. The evidence indicates that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile." > > "This may well have been unintentional." https://t.co/0lUcvfqWfZ pic.twitter.com/3et3sP9MtK> > -- ABC News (@ABC) January 9, 2020More stories from theweek.com The world is abandoning America 37 TV shows to watch in 2020 5 scathing cartoons about Trump's Iran mess
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| Hanukkah stabbing suspect indicted on federal hate crimes Posted: 09 Jan 2020 12:39 PM PST |
| US border arrests drop as focus turns to Mexicans Posted: 09 Jan 2020 12:32 PM PST |
| Justin Trudeau says intelligence indicates that an Iranian missile took down the Ukrainian flight with 63 Canadians on board Posted: 09 Jan 2020 12:32 PM PST  Reporters grilled the prime minister on whether he blamed the US or President Donald Trump for escalating tensions with Iran before the crash.
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| Trump is claiming victory over Iran, but his escalation has alienated allies, hurt US-Iraq relations, provoked Iran to leave the nuclear deal, and jeopardized efforts against ISIS Posted: 09 Jan 2020 12:32 PM PST  President Donald Trump claimed victory over Iran after taking the US to the brink of war in a matter of days.
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| The week's good news: January 9, 2020 Posted: 09 Jan 2020 12:30 PM PST |
| Iran's president tweeted about an Iranian plane the US shot down in 1988 2 days before a Ukrainian plane was downed in Tehran Posted: 09 Jan 2020 12:22 PM PST  Iran Air Flight 655 was shot down by a US warship, the USS Vincennes, in 1988. All 290 passengers were killed.
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| Iranian missile commander claims strikes were 'start of big operations' Posted: 09 Jan 2020 12:19 PM PST  Amir Ali Hajizadeh also claimed the strikes were aimed at damaging the US 'military machine' and not inflicting casualties An Iranian missile commander has claimed this week's strikes aimed US troops at military bases in Iraq were just the start of "big operations" across the region.The remarks by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) aerospace commander Brig Gen Amir Ali Hajizadeh, who is in charge of missile forces, marked a much more aggressive tone that the official line pursued by Iran's foreign ministry.The country's diplomats have insisted that the missile strikes on two bases "concluded" the Iranian response to the US drone strike killing of top IRGC general, Qassem Suleimani. Hajizadeh suggested they were just the start."The missile strikes on one of the United States' most important bases within the framework of martyr Suleimani operation were the start of big operations which will continue in the entire region," the general told reporters in Tehran on Thursday.Hajizadeh gave the press conference in front of the flags of Iran-aligned militia groups including those of Lebanon's Hezbollah, Iraq's Popular Mobilisation Forces and Yemen's Houthis, an unusual piece of symbolism of Iran's reach through regional networks – networks that Suleimani had established as the head of the Quds force, the elite external wing of the IRGC.Hajizadeh claimed the ballistic missile strikes on the al-Asad and Erbil bases, both Iraqi facilities hosting a US presence, were aimed at damaging the American "military machine" and not inflicting US casualties, though he repeated apparently false Iranian claims that some Americans had been killed."If we were looking to kill, we could have designed the operation in a way such that 500 [Americans] would be killed in the first step, and if they had responded, a further 4,000 to 5,000 would be killed in the next steps within 48 hours," he claimed.According to Jeffrey Lewis, at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, which published satellite images of the missile damage, it was a carefully calibrated attack."It was meant to be a proportional legalistic response aimed at a military target," Lewis said. "I don't think they were trying to avoid casualties. They saw it as a legitimate target, without worrying whether they killed American service personnel."He added that the Iranians used ballistic missiles, rather than cruise missiles, "because they wanted it to be clear where the missiles came from".In Washington, the House of Representatives passed a war powers resolution, demanding that the administration halt any further US military action against Iran, beyond self-defence, without congressional approval. However the resolution is non-binding and it looked unlikely that Democrats had won over enough Republicans to win a similar vote in the Senate.Efforts by senior officials to justify the killing of Suleimani in a closed-door congressional briefing on Wednesday backfired when members of Congress complained that the administration was not providing sufficient details about its claim that the drone strike prevented an imminent attack.The Republican senator Mike Lee called it the "probably the worst briefing I have seen, at least on a military issue, in the nine years I've served in the United States Senate".Lee said the officials would not even answer a hypothetical question on whether the administration would need congressional authority to carry out an assassination of Iran's supreme leader."The fact that there was nothing but a refusal to answer that question was perhaps the most deeply upsetting thing to me in that meeting," Lee told National Public Radio.In seeking to justify the Suleimani killing, Donald Trump made a new claim on Thursday about the Iranian general's plans to attack Americans in Iraq."We caught a total monster, and we took him out," the president said. "They were looking to blow up our embassy." Asked for more details, Trump said "I think it was obvious," adding that Suleimani "had more than that particular embassy in mind".Trump expanded on his suggestion made in his televised address the previous day that Nato could play an expanded role in the Middle East, in place of US troops.On Thursday, he even suggested a name for such a force: Natome."If you add the two words Middle East at the end of it," Trump said, "doesn't that work beautifully? It's Nato plus me."We can come home, or largely come home and use Nato. This is an international problem," Trump said.The Nato secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, said he was open to the suggestion."What President Trump called for yesterday was more Nato involvement and we are looking into what more we can do," he said. "I will not speculate about the outcome but I will say that I think Nato has the potential to do more."
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| The majority of Americans feel 'less safe' after Iranian general Qassem Soleimani's death, according to new poll Posted: 09 Jan 2020 12:13 PM PST  In a recent USA Today poll, a majority of Americans say they felt Trump's behavior with Iran was "reckless" and that the country now feels "less safe"
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| Iran's Military Response May Be 'Concluded' but Cyberwarfare Threat Grows Posted: 09 Jan 2020 12:10 PM PST  WASHINGTON -- Iran's declaration Wednesday that a missile attack on Iraq had "concluded proportionate measures" against the United States in response to the killing of its most important general may amplify the Trump administration's attention on computer systems as the next battlefield in its showdown with the country.Cybersecurity experts and government officials are already monitoring an uptick of malicious activity by pro-Iranian hackers and social media users that they believe are harbingers of more serious cyberattacks from Iran, including possible efforts aimed at destroying government databases."Iran has the capability and the tendency to launch destructive attacks," said Christopher Krebs, director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the Department of Homeland Security's computer security arm. "You need to get in the head space that the next breach could be your last."A battle cloaked in computer systems is more in keeping with Iran's history of attacking the United States and its allies by clandestine means or through proxies. And mischief-making has already begun. In recent days, hackers have defaced government websites and pursued divisive disinformation campaigns on social media. Members of Iran's Miqdad Cyber Base have used official state texting channels to threaten retaliatory cyber strikes on the United States and Israel after the targeted killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani.Cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike warned customers in an alert obtained by The Times that it observed hackers supporting Iran's Revolutionary Guard deface local city websites in Minneapolis and Tulsa, Oklahoma, with images honoring Soleimani. Over the weekend, hackers claiming to be associated with Iran replaced the homepage of the Federal Depository Library Program, a division of the Government Publishing Office, with a doctored image of a bloodied President Donald Trump getting punched in the face.An adviser to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, in a series of messages on Twitter, posted a link to Trump's properties and said, "Our sole problem is Trump. In the event of war, it is he who will bear full responsibility."The public should be prepared for worse, Krebs said in an interview. Iran has the ability to not only access private-sector and government computers in the United States but to "burn down the system," he said."This is a capable actor that has demonstrated prior capability in the region," Krebs said. "They're known to be pretty aggressive."While most of the activity so far has been limited to anti-Trump threats on social media and government websites, cybersecurity experts have said that true retaliatory attacks could still be coming. A member of a chat group supportive of the Guard told members to "await a final decision" from Iran's leadership before launching attacks. The hackers of the federal library site included a message with their defacement that warned it was "only a small part of Iran's cyber ability."Former and current government officials predicted that Iran's first method of retaliation would be a physical attack. Early Wednesday in Iraq, Iran fired more than a dozen missiles at two bases housing U.S. troops. Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's foreign minister, said after the attack that Iran "concluded proportionate measures in self-defense."Trump responded Wednesday by announcing new economic sanctions against Iran. Jamil Jaffer, executive director of the National Security Institute at George Mason University's law school, said the Iranians would not want their next move to provoke a large-scale retaliation from the United States. It could be more difficult for the United States to point to the culprit of an attack on computer systems."Conducting terrorists attacks and killing people is binary," said Jaffer. "On the other hand, cyberattacks can be ratcheted up and down dynamically. As a result, cyberattacks give the Iranians more room in the event they want to engage in a further response."Iran's capabilities are much more advanced than they were in 2009, when a classified U.S. intelligence assessment concluded that Iran had the motivation to inflict harm but lacked the skills and resources to do so.Since then, Iranian hackers used data-destroying malware to target 30,000 computers at Saudi Aramco -- the world's largest oil company -- destroying Aramco's data, replacing it with the image of a burning American flag, and upending the market for computer hard drives as a result. Iranian hackers took U.S. banks offline in 2013 by flooding them with traffic in a so-called denial-of-service attack.They also destroyed data on thousands of computers at the casino and resort company Las Vegas Sands Corp. after its chief executive, Sheldon Adelson, a Republican megadonor, suggested that the United States bomb Iran.Krebs hosted a call last Friday with more than 1,700 members of the private sector and state and local governments, encouraging them to back up their data on storage sites not connected to the internet and alert security personnel to be on the lookout for signs of breaches in their computer systems. While hackers have conducted cyberattacks for ransom, Krebs warned that future attacks could simply be to cause mayhem.Krebs' agency serves mainly to advise private companies and local governments of risks before attacks are launched. While the U.S. government can assist in the event of a breach, private computer security firms and companies themselves are expected to be able to handle the initial response and rebuild their networks.Iranian hackers backed off from such destructive cyberattacks in the lead-up to the signing of the Iran nuclear deal in 2015 and afterward. But Iranian hacking units never ceased; they moved to quieter espionage campaigns with increasing sophistication.After Trump backed out of the Iran nuclear deal in 2018, private security experts and U.S. officials braced for a renewed campaign of Iranian computer warfare. At the time, Gen. Keith Alexander, former director of the National Security Agency, told the Times, "With the nuclear deal ripped up, our nation and our allies should be prepared for what we've seen in the past."Last year, the Department of Homeland Security grew alarmed by a series of successful hackings on the internet's underlying computer coding, called the Domain Name System. Private researchers at FireEye and other security firms found a connection between the hackers and Iran.The hackers stole thousands of credentials from telecommunications companies, government agencies and internet infrastructure companies in the United States, Europe and Middle East. Months later, as private researchers noticed an uptick in Iranian hackings, the Department of Homeland Security's cybersecurity division issued a statement warning that Iran was looking to do more than "just steal money and data."The division released a new advisory Monday night warning that "Iran and its proxies and sympathizers" have the ability to conduct disruptive computer attacks, espionage and drone attacks. Customs and Border Protection, another arm of the Department of Homeland Security that employs agents at ports throughout the country, has instructed officers to enhance security.Over the past year, Iranian hackers have been quietly probing U.S. infrastructure and government networks, according to private researchers and the U.S. Cyber Command, the Defense Department agency responsible for carrying out attacks on computer systems.Iranian hackers may use their access to destroy databases, or they may choose to try to gain access to the electricity grid that powers Silicon Valley "as a way of saying, 'You may want to retaliate, but there will be consequences,'" said Suzanne Spaulding, former undersecretary for cybersecurity and critical infrastructure at the Department of Homeland Security. "'We're sitting here with a gun to your head.'"In the past, Iran has used Hezbollah and Hamas for cyber actions, said James Lewis, a cybersecurity expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, which gives Iran a degree of deniability should they retaliate with cyberattacks.It has also had some misfires. In 2016, the Justice Department indicted several Iranian hackers for penetrating the controls of the Bowman Avenue dam in Westchester County, New York. U.S. officials had panicked that the incursion had been at the towering Arthur R. Bowman Dam in Oregon, where a breach could have been catastrophic. Instead, Iranian hackers hit a 20-foot-high structure, where a sudden water release could have flooded the ground floors of some houses but not much more."They didn't have situational awareness to realize they wouldn't have any impact at all," Spaulding said.This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2020 The New York Times Company
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| Election security officials brace for possible Iran cyber retaliation Posted: 09 Jan 2020 12:05 PM PST  With tensions between Washington and Tehran on the rise, election security officials are warning of possible retaliation from Iran in the form of election meddling -- a familiar threat in the wake of Russia's efforts in the 2016 presidential election. "The thing I'm most worried about are a repeat of some of the types of attacks we say in 2016 against larger election infrastructure," said Matt Blaze, a Georgetown University Law Center professor, during a Thursday hearing before the Committee on House Administration.
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| The Ukrainian flight that crashed in Iran was 'highly likely' shot down by a missile, according to reported US intelligence Posted: 09 Jan 2020 12:03 PM PST  US officials have said that Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 appears to have been accidentally shot down by Iran, multiple reports said.
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| Iraq is caught in the middle as Iran and U.S. trade blows Posted: 09 Jan 2020 12:02 PM PST |
| U.K.’s ‘Boring’ Politics Still Hold Plenty of Risks for Boris Johnson Posted: 09 Jan 2020 11:53 AM PST |
| Nervous Saudis try to ease Middle East tensions Posted: 09 Jan 2020 11:45 AM PST  Riyadh fears it will be in the frontline of any war in the Gulf – and it cannot rely on Trump Saudi Arabia has sent a message to Washington and London that it wants to see a de-escalation of the United States' struggle with Iran, in a sign that Saudi is nervous about its vulnerability to Iranian missile strikes – and still uncertain about the reliability of Donald Trump's long-term commitment to his Gulf allies.The tone has been sent out in an array of diplomatic tweets since the assassination of General Qassem Suleimani, but also conveyed personally by the Saudi Arabian deputy defence minister, Prince Khalid bin Salman.He held meetings this week with Trump and Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law, in Washington and then in London with the defence secretary, Ben Wallace; Britain's senior defence adviser for the Middle East, Lt Gen Sir John Lorimer; and the prime minister's foreign policy adviser, David Quarrey. He also met senior figures in the Foreign Office.The White House, in a break with protocol, only confirmed the meeting with Trump after the Saudi side had tweeted pictures of the meeting.> �������� | Prince @kbsalsaud and President @RealDonaldTrump held a meeting at the @WhiteHouse pic.twitter.com/FKAMCp76Li> > — Foreign Ministry ���� (@KSAmofaEN) January 7, 2020The meetings, and de-escalation message, echoed by other oil-rich Gulf states such asthe United Arab Emirates (UAE), came at the point of maximum concern that the Iran-US standoff could turn into a full-scale conflagration.Analysts said the message from Riyadh would have been that it did not want its territory to be in the frontline of any assault on Iran – even if it knew it could not avoid involvement if the conflict developed.In the critical days after the assassination of Suleimani, many Iranian commanders warned the Gulf states of the consequences if their territories became a launchpad for strikes on Tehran. Dubai would be the first city targeted, one said.Saudi Arabia's vulnerability to Iran was exposed in September by the drone and missile attack on Saudi Aramco oil facilities in Abqaiq and Khurais. Riyadh was surprised the attack did not prompt any military response from the Trump administration, even though US intelligence declared Iran was responsible and the White House described the attack as a declaration of war.An as-yet unpublished UN report is expected shortly to confirm the American assessment indirectly by rejecting the claim by Houthi rebels in Yemen that they had been responsible for the attack. The UN report also concluded that the attack came from the north, and the weaponry was of a sophistication that ruled out the Houthis.But the publication of the UN report, four months after the attack, will only serve as a reminder to Riyadh of American unreliability. Trump was not prepared to strike to defend Saudi oil infrastructure, but was willing to risk killing Iran's most senior military figure after the US embassy compound was stormed in Baghdad. The episode only confirmed Trump's claim in October that Saudi Arabia "would not last more than two weeks" without US military protection. Even in celebrating the killing of Suleimani on Wednesday, an episode the Saudis instinctively celebrate, Trump underlined he wanted Nato to replace some US troops in the Middle East – an idea he referred to as "Nato ME". He also stressed that the umbilical cord tying the US to the Middle East – oil – had been cut. The US was self-sufficient in energy, he said – a half-truth but one he believes.This does not leave the Sunni states facing an immediate American withdrawal – the actual number of US troops in the region is increasing – but it may require rebuilding some damaged alliances.Indeed, there has been a year-long trend in Riyadh to try slowly to dial down some of the conflicts in which it has embroiled itself including Yemen, with its Gulf neighbour Qatar, and, more broadly, with Iran. In the context of the Saudis chairing the G20 this year, Riyadh wants a less confrontational image. Female drivers, concerts by Swedish House Mafia and the promise of mass tourism is not enough.So Riyadh has emphasised it can see a role for the Houthis in a future Yemen government. The number of Saudi airstrikes has been cut by 80%, and the UAE has largely pulled its troops out.Riyadh has edged closer to ending the fruitless two-year boycott of Qatar, a dispute as much about prestige as substance, as it seeks to prevent its neighbour cementing an alliance with Iran. It will not escape Saudi Arabia's notice that Qatar – home to a US airbase that would be a potential launchpad for any American war against Iran – did not hide its loyalties. Within a day of the killing, Qatar's foreign minister visited Tehran, met President Hassan Rouhani and offered his condolences. "Qatar understands the deep pain and sadness that the Iranian people and government are enduring," he said.As to easing Saudi-Iranian tensions, it has even been claimed by the admittedly pro-Iranian Iraqi prime minister, Adel Abdul-Mahdi, that he had been scheduled to meet Suleimani the morning he was killed. He said Suleimani was carrying a message from Iran's supreme leader in response to a Saudi message relayed through Iraq to Iran about "important agreements and breakthroughs in Iraq and the region". The account has been ridiculed by Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state, and not verified by the Saudis.But it has been the persistent theme of Iranian foreign policy that the whole region would benefit from the removal of US troops from the region, starting in Iraq. Javad Zarif, Iran's foreign minister, appealed this week to all countries situated around the strait of Hormuz to form an alliance, saying: "We – all of us, let me underline – should abandon the paradigm of elimination and antagonism premised on the illusion of purchasing security and development from without."Global thinktanks are littered with reports setting out the path to a Saudi-Iran rapprochement, and perhaps the best that can be secured in the foreseeable future is a limited non-aggression pact. That would be an advance on all-out war.
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| Tammy Duckworth rips Doug Collins' claim Democrats are 'in love with terrorists': 'I left parts of my body in Iraq fighting terrorists' Posted: 09 Jan 2020 11:42 AM PST  Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), an Iraq war veteran, just offered a striking rebuke of one Republican's claim that Democrats are "in love with terrorists."Duckworth in a Thursday appearance on CNN was asked to comment on a recent statement by Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.) that Democrats "are in love with terrorists" and that they are supposedly mourning Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a drone strike authorized by President Trump last week, "more than they mourn our gold star families."But Duckworth found this claim far too absurd to be worth a detailed takedown, telling CNN, "I'm not going to dignify that with a response. I left parts of my body in Iraq fighting terrorists. I don't need to justify myself to anyone."This came after President Trump similarly claimed Friday that Democrats like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) are "trying to defend" Soleimani, even though Pelosi has only criticized the strike authorized by Trump as "provocative and disproportionate." Duckworth has similarly criticized Trump's actions toward Iran, on Thursday arguing his "rash decision" didn't make the United States safer.Duckworth also told CNN she's "disgusted" by Collins' comments, suggesting he's using gold star families as a "pawn" in a "political game" while noting of Soleimani, "I am not sad that this man is dead. I'm glad that he's gone to meet his maker and that he will get his just deserts." > "I'm not going to dignify that with a response. I left parts of my body in Iraq fighting terrorists. I don't need to justify myself to anyone."@SenDuckworth responds to GOP Rep. Doug Collins' unfounded claims that Democrats are "in love with terrorists."https://t.co/V0DEAgzTM2 pic.twitter.com/fy2aj9ZBU5> > -- CNN Newsroom (@CNNnewsroom) January 9, 2020More stories from theweek.com The world is abandoning America 37 TV shows to watch in 2020 5 scathing cartoons about Trump's Iran mess
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| Trump boasts Iranian general's death was 'American justice' Posted: 09 Jan 2020 11:30 AM PST  President Donald Trump used his first campaign election rally of 2020 to argue that he served up "American justice" by ordering a drone strike to take out Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, while jeering Democratic leaders for questioning his decision to carry out the attack without first consulting Congress. Trump's remarks on Thursday careened from mockery of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Adam Schiff, who heads the House Intelligence Committee, to a suggestion that he should have won the Nobel Prize, a preview of the sharp-edged reelection campaign that he will wage. The president made his comments shortly after the Democratic-controlled House approved a resolution asserting that Trump must seek approval from Congress before engaging in further military action against Iran.
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| British lawmakers finally approve historic Brexit deal Posted: 09 Jan 2020 11:20 AM PST  Britain's parliament finally approved Brexit on Thursday, allowing it to become the first country to leave the European Union later this month, ending years of arguments that toppled two governments and splintered society. The House of Commons erupted in cheers after MPs ratified Prime Minister Boris Johnson's divorce deal with Brussels by 330 votes to 231, turning the page on an extraordinary era of political drama and chaos. For much of the time since the 2016 Brexit referendum, lawmakers have been at each others' throats over how, when or even if Britain should leave its closest trading partners after nearly 50 years.
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| U.S. officials are reportedly 'confident' Iran shot down the Ukrainian passenger plane Posted: 09 Jan 2020 11:01 AM PST  The Ukrainian passenger plane that crashed near Tehran on Tuesday may have something to do with this U.S.-Iran crisis after all.The plane was shot down by Iran's anti-aircraft missile system, a Pentagon official, a senior U.S. intelligence official, and an Iraqi intelligence official have told Newsweek. CBS News, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal have all backed up that reporting, with U.S. officials saying they're "confident" Iran shot down the plane.The Boeing 737 bound for Kiev crashed Tuesday night just after taking off from Tehran, killing the 176 people onboard. While originally thought to be an engine failure, Ukraine declined to rule out any possibilities Thursday after finding the plane had turned back toward the airport before it burst into flames in the air.Iran has since invited the U.S.'s NTSB to help investigate the matter, two people familiar with the matter told the Times. U.S. intelligence had "picked up signals of a radar being turned on," and U.S. satellites "also detected two surface-to-air missile launches," CBS News reports. That evidence led a U.S. official to say "we had a high level of confidence that this was shot down by Iran," the Journal reports. Investigators also reportedly found missile pieces near the crash site. "The plane was believed to have been mistakenly targeted," CBS News continued.More stories from theweek.com The world is abandoning America 37 TV shows to watch in 2020 5 scathing cartoons about Trump's Iran mess
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