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Security concerns have forced the US to withdraw some of its staff from its embassy in the Iraq capital Baghdad, AFP reported, citing an unnamed Iraqi official on December 3rd.
A US State Department spokesperson declined to comment on the withdrawal but said the safety of US officials, citizens and facilities in Iraq “remains our highest priority.”
“The State Department continually adjusts its diplomatic presence at Embassies and Consulates throughout the world in line with its mission, the local security environment, the health situation, and even the holidays,” a department official said.
US Ambassador Matthew Tueller remains in Iraq, the State Department said, and that the embassy continues to operate.
Washington Post cited another unnamed source, familiar with the situation, who said that the withdrawal was a temporary “de-risking” that will continue after the January 3rd anniversary of the assassination of IRGC’s commander Major General Qassem Soleimani by a US drone strike.
Reportedly, US and Israeli military officials have stepped up their coordination in preparation for a potential Iranian retaliation to the assassination of its senior nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh.
Both Israel’s army and the US Central Command have reportedly taken measures that include the detection of missile and rocket fire on US and Israeli targets in the Middle East.
A pedestrian walks past banners showing portrait of Iranian Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a U.S. airstrike early Friday in Iraq, in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2020. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
On December 2nd, US President Donald Trump’s administration ordered the scaling down of its presence in Iraq and the Middle East, according to Politico.
US aircraft and heavy bombers were stationed in the Gulf to secure and protect the withdrawal of US forces from Iraq and Afghanistan.
Israel has not commented on Fakhrizadeh’s killing, an unnamed senior official in the Trump administration told US media that Mossad, Israel’s external intelligence agency, was behind the operation.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader vowed to retaliate. Former air force commander in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Hossein Dehghan said after the killing that “we will strike as thunder at the killers of this oppressed martyr and will make them regret their action”.
As mentioned earlier, the anniversary of Major General Qassem Soleimani’s killing is nearing, and a retaliation might come.
Furthermore, there are still expectations and reports of a farewell strike ordered by US President Donald Trump to take place, which would prompt an immediate and sharp Iranian response.
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I see it more commonsense but if fear prevails so be it,george w bush is the war criminal:
Usually you withdraw high ranking personnel before an attack. The US may do something serious soon.
Serious,yes!Usa paved the way for some of their ambassadors to be slaughtered by their isis to pave the way to narrative to rid gaddafi,low balling to the highest degree,yes nothing is impossible with nwo swines,then again gaddafi like sadman insane played into their game,
conversely Iraq has alot to answer for before assuming independance,without the bullsht,
Can they achieve this? Time will tell.
Some thing bad coming for Iranians in december.
This is not something to celebrate. Rather retrench yourself and focus.
Expect a false flag in the beginning of Jan., (Soleimani).
The few high-ranking staff would be easier to guard and can be evacuated in an emergency if need be. The smaller number of troops can easily consolidate under the few defense systems and limited bunkers in the military base. It is necessary to leave a residual force and diplomats so the U.S can quickly return without it looking like a new invasion or war. They’ll just say the environment is now safer for embassy staff to return. And for added protection just in case, America will deploy more forces than it withdrew.
Those who think the U.S would leave Iraq for Iran are beyond delusion. America views Iraq primarily as its price for the 2003 war. Iran could not deal with Saddam Hussein (drive him from power). And now Iran thinks the U.S will one day get tired of being harassed in Iraq and just leave so Iran’s terror army of militias would take over the country? Well, keep dreaming. But 10 years from now, America will still be in Iraq, provided the Shiite army of terror militias aren’t dismantled. This was what Soleimani and Muhandis were working towards. They were trying to eject the U.S from Iraq. But when they got too close, look what happened.
This sudden withdrawal of embassy staff doesn’t look good for Iran and its militias. The excuse given for the withdrawal is not convincing at all. Everyone knows Iran won’t dare attack any U.S targets in Iraq as long as Trump is in office. They won’t give Trump the excuse he’s looking for to rain death on the militias. That would hurt any future negotiations with the U.S and tie Iran’s hands at the negotiations table. Hence, the excuse that Iran is planning some attack is a complete lie.
So what can we expect?
Well, Trump is kind of unpredictable. He might decide to just rattle Iran without actually doing anything. He may attack Iran’s militias without any provocation. He may even do the unexpected: Drop MOABs on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure. We can all only wait and see what happens.
Iran already DID attack the US in Iraq you Tit,they gave several hundred US soldiers a headache,more like brain damage when those missiles slammed into the bases.
I think the U.S may be just about to settle that score, even though they actually cheated Iran by taking out Iran’s greatest military strategist at a time the country needed people like him most.
Dropping MOABs on nuclear facilities will have two effects:
1) If the reactors are active, then there would be mass nuclear fall out
2) Or there won’t be nuclear fall out because Iranians were using the known facilities as a front. Real one might be imbedded underground.
Who knows!!
It is highly unlikely that US military will commit mass suicide. Nothing will happen. It is a just a Wahhabi and Zionist pipe dream. Pathetic Americans are dying every ten seconds now due to Covid and starting war with the regions paramount military power is even beyond Trump’s bombastic loser insanity
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/7936e16dbf5b77eb2e95eafea414ee7c66444d7a39d91344e80e0138a70f193c.jpg
amerikan unfreedom crawling away—their colonies terrified
Hah – they U.S. doesn’t have any ‘diplomatic staff’ in Baghdad. They’re all CIA supervising their Iraqi counterparts they placed in Iraqi intelligence = the REAL Iraqi government. The CIA doesn’t even NEED to be in Baghdad anymore – the country is a poverty-stricken, self-sustaining terrorist shithole slum exactly as the U.S. had planned. The CIA can take a month or two off – nobody needs to ‘run’ Iraq anymore as long as the few clowns in its government are obedient and all of them are kept under U.S. surveillance. Remote Imperialist Tyranny – perfect for the CIA staff during these difficult COVID times.
Most of the US military are drug addicts, criminals and degenerates.
U.S. Marines Won’t Stop Taking LSD
The Pentagon has conducted almost 4,000 drug tests for acid since this summer.
How quickly we forget those who died for speaking to save humanity https://archive.org/details/davidgoldbergsfinalwordsclassifieddocsrevealdeadlyprojectzyphr