U.S. forces launch retaliatory airstrikes on Iran-backed militia in Iraq and Syria, Pentagon says

[milestogo]

Source: Washington Post

The U.S. military has launched a series of strikes on five facilities in Iraq and Syria belonging to a militia considered to be backed by Iran, the Pentagon said Sunday, two days after an American contractor was killed in an attack on an Iraqi base. The strikes came after repeated attacks on Iraqi bases by Kitaeb Hezbollah, Jonathan Hoffman, the chief Pentagon spokesman, said in a statement. The American operations will “degrade KH’s ability to conduct future attacks” against coalition forces, he said.

The actions underscore the continued unpredictability of U.S. involvement in Iraq and Syria, and raise the possibility of an escalation with the militia. The Pentagon says the group has links to Iran’s Quds Force, a special operations unit that U.S. officials say provides weapons and other support to proxy forces that help Iran extend its reach. “Iran and their KH proxy forces must cease their attacks on U.S. and coalition forces, and respect Iraq’s sovereignty, to prevent additional defensive actions by U.S. forces,” Hoffman said. The targets that U.S. forces struck include three in Iraq and two in Syria, the Pentagon said. They include weapons storage facilities and locations the militia uses to plan attacks against coalition forces, Hoffman said.

Pentagon officials have raised concerns for weeks that Iranian-backed groups in Iraq were likely to attack U.S. forces. On Friday, more than 30 rockets were launched on an Iraqi base near the city of Kirkuk, killing the contractor and wounding several U.S. personnel. Earlier this month, Defense Secretary Mark Esper asked Iraqi officials to respond to an uptick in attacks on U.S. bases in Iraq.

“My suspicion would be that Iran is behind these attacks, much like they’re behind a lot of malign behavior throughout the region, but it’s hard to pin down,” Esper told reporters. “So again, we need their help in terms of getting the security situation under control and stabilized, but we also still retain our right of self-defense.”




Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/world/wp/2019/12/29/u-s-forces-launch-retaliatory-airstrikes-on-iran-backed-militia-in-iraq-and-syria-pentagon-says/

[Yonnie3]

1. Pompeo and Esper went to Florida this evening.

https://apnews.com/e3fcb2b9f3c42625f4bc08c807aa5654

Pompeo, Esper and Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, flew to Palm Beach, Florida, after the operation to brief President Donald Trump.

Esper said they discussed with Trump “other options that are available” to respond to Iran.

“I would note also that we will take additional actions as necessary to ensure that we act in our own self-defense and we deter further bad behavior from militia groups or from Iran,” Esper, who was accompanied by Pompeo and Milley, said in a brief statement to reporters in a ballroom at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, where the president is on a more than two-week winter break.

<snip>

Trump was at Mar-a-Lago but did not appear with his top national security officials. After Pompeo and Esper spoke, the president traveled to his private golf club in West Palm Beach. The White House did not immediately say why Trump returned to the club after spending nearly six hours there earlier Sunday.

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Why did Trump go back to the club? Is that where he has his Russian provided encrypted phone and needed a chat with Putin. To discuss the options provided by Pompeo and Esper? Who will he tell?

Edit to add: The motorcade left the golf club after two hours. The press didn't see tRump.

[maxrandb]

2. Impeached MFer wagging the dog?