Iraqi mourners try to storm US Embassy after airstrikes

[RDANGELO]

Source: 23WIFR

BAGHDAD (AP) - Hundreds of Iraqi mourners are trying to storm the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad following deadly U.S. airstrikes that killed 25 fighters from an Iran-backed Shiite militia in Iraq.
The mourners marched to the heavily fortified Green Zone in Baghdad and kept walking till they reached the sprawling U.S. Embassy complex there. (Source: Gray News)

The mourners held funerals for the killed in a Baghdad neighborhood on Tuesday, after which they marched on to the heavily fortified Green Zone and kept walking till they reached the sprawling U.S. Embassy complex there.

AP journalists saw the crowd try to storm the embassy, shouting “Down, down USA!”

The U.S. attack and the calls for retaliation represent a new escalation in the proxy war between the U.S. and Iran playing out in the Middle East.

Read more: https://www.wifr.com/content/news/Iraqi-mourners-try-to-storm-US-Embassy-after-airstrikes-566591921.html

---

This is not good.

[Pachamama]

1. Why do I feel a sense of deja vu?

Where have we seen this before?



I have a bad feeling....

[nitpicker]

4. Maybe because it's Iran-backed Shiites?

A la 1979.

[MosheFeingold]

8. Correct, this is Hezbollah

I believe. Not remotely “mourners”.

AstroTurf, Iran style.

[gab13by13]

9. You are repeating exactly what Trump just said.

It was Iraqi relatives and friends of the IRAQI'S who were murdered.

[MosheFeingold]

12. And you are repeating the official Iranian news

N/t

[hot2na]

20. Lets stop always playing Iran as the boogeyman

Why do we kiss the Saudi's asses and vilify Iran. If someone lights a fart in the middle east our politicos blame it on Iran. Meanwhile the Iraqi people are seriously pissed:[link:https://www.juancole.com/2019/12/government-reviewing-relationship.html|

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Euronews Arabic reports that the Trump administration’s strike on three bases of the Kata’ib Hizbullah in Iraq and two in Syria has provoked widespread fury among politicians, students and the public. Meanwhile the Iraqi

Outgoing Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdulmahdi said Monday that he had attempted to dissuade the Trump administration from the bombing raids, about which he was informed only hours before they were launched, but had failed. His helplessness in the face of Trump demonstrated to many Iraqis that the US still has a colonial relationship with the country.

The Iraqi government of Abdulmahdi said that it is “reviewing its relationship” with the US in the wake of the American attacks. The Baghdad government said in a statement, “This sinful attack violates the goals and the principles for the sake of which the international coalition was formed, and impels Iraq to review its relationships and its frameworks for action and its policies and laws so as to safeguard the sovereignty and security of the country, protecting the lives of its children and promoting common interests.”

[Turbineguy]

29. They are overthinking this.

Trump is a childish idiot.

[JonLP24]

30. This is unbelievable

The US invaded and occupied the country of course the people would have a right to be upset. Imagine if Iran had bases sitting inside the US.

[oldsoftie]

15. Yes, I cant believe they actually used the term "mourners". What BS.

The videos plainly show nothing but MEN, many wearing uniforms, attacking in a planned manner.

[MosheFeingold]

35. I don't know about "just men"

But the flags were Hezbollah, the uniforms a Hezbollah militia, and a general from Hezbollah that was educated, raised, trained, and often-seen-with-the -leadership-of Iran was at the head.

Not sure where these pro-Iran trolls are coming from, but they’re as transparent as the Russian trolls we get periodically.

I get Trump is a moron, but if he says a car is a Chevy, and you can see it is a Chevy with your own eyes, it’s still a Chevy.

[DashOneBravo]

36. + 1 Iran

I think we should just start showing pictures of what women were wearing before. And what they have to wear now.

[oldsoftie]

38. Precisely. And Your last sentence says it all.

Bu there are some here who would insist it was a damn Ford

[nitpicker]

2. More from BBC

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-50956111

US embassy in Iraq 'stormed' by protesters angry at air strikes on militia

56 minutes ago

Protesters angered by recent US air strikes on an Iran-backed Iraqi militia have reportedly broken into the US embassy compound in Baghdad.

US forces are said to have fired tear gas to disperse a crowd that breached the outer wall of the compound, which is in the heavily fortified Green Zone.

One of the guard towers was also apparently set alight.
(snip)

[nitpicker]

3. And The Guardian

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/dec/31/us-embassy-stormed-in-baghdad

Dozens of Iraqi Shia militia supporters have broken into the US embassy compound in Baghdad after smashing a door and storming inside, amid teargas and sounds of gunfire.

An Associated Press reporter at the scene saw flames rising from inside the compound and at least three US soldiers on the roof of the embassy. A man on a loudspeaker urged protesters not to enter the compound.

The US ambassador and staff were reportedly earlier evacuated from the embassy in Baghdad, after thousands of demonstrators gathered outside the building to protest against a US airstrike on an Iranian-backed militia group.

Two Iraqi foreign ministry officials said the chief of mission, Matthew Tueller, and several of his US colleagues had left the embassy. There was no immediate confirmation of the claim. It was unclear how many diplomats were still inside.
(snip)

[Sloumeau]

5. Is Trump trying to get the U.S. Embassy in Iraq overrun?

Former President Jimmy Carter can inform Trump that this situation would not be fun.

[gab13by13]

7. Worse than that,

Trump is looking for an excuse to start a war with Iran.

[oldsoftie]

14. Bolton certainly wanted one

[gab13by13]

6. The bottom line is that Trump killed Iraqis,

What did anyone expect would happen when Shrub overturned a controlling Sunni minority? The majority, the Shias, took over the country.

It won't be long before Iraq gives our troops the boot from their country. Saying the people killed were backed by Iran is an excuse to kill Shias. Remember the surge in Iraq? That's when we picked a side, we picked the Sunnis and paid them not to attack us, paid them to fight Shias.

I don't see this ending well for Trump. Will he be forced to kill more Iraqis?

[Maxheader]

10. You know it takes a really astute leader..

that recognizes stability in the mideast is built around treachery...

[gopiscrap]

24. welcome to DU

[oldsoftie]

13. "Mourners" my ass. It was a planned attack by hundreds of men.

But it is what it is regardless.

[Cosmocat]

17. The idiot oking the bombing set up the pretense

nm

[oldsoftie]

18. The idiots who ok'd the attack killing the US contractor was a prelude to them being bombed.

[Cosmocat]

23. And?

They set it up.

Not sure why people here are rushing to defend them punking Trump ...

[KYBlue]

26. Private contractors are paid mercenaries

Thousands of contractors have died over the years. I've never heard of the US retaliating because of a death of a private contractor before. Seems like this contractors death is just an excuse to attack Iran and attack the shia majority in Iraq.

[Sapient Donkey]

32. Not all contractors are security contractors.

What information do you have that says this person was a security contractor and not a technical, logistics contractor, or some other non-security related job? I'm giving you the benefit that you don't consider any American who works overseas to be a mercenary.

[ripcord]

19. So reacting to an attack by a terrorist group is wrong?

A Hezbollah militia launches 30 rockets at a US military base killing an American and you think the US is going to sit around with its collective thumb up its ass?

[Cosmocat]

22. They ... set ... Trump ... up ...

You think what is happening now is organic?

[hot2na]

21. I don't get how it is a planned attack

A planned attack is when the US bombs locations in Iraq. Not when Iraqi's get pissed because we bombed them and killed their people.

We have to stop vilifying Iran for everything bad thing that happens in the middle east. We have pissed all over these poor people for many decades. It has to stop.

[ripcord]

25. Why would we not vilify Iran in this situation

Iranian backed Hezbollah attacked a US military base.

[gab13by13]

28. So why did we kill Iraqis?

[ripcord]

31. Because they killed an American in with a 30 rocket attack on a US base

I notice no one has condemned the attack by a terrorist group on a US base that resulted in a death but when the base where that attack originated receives a counter attack it is an outrage, some people just baffle me.

[okaawhatever]

37. Agreed. Although, it really isn't that baffling why some

people have chosen to spin a narrative whereby America is all at fault and they're ignoring what the Iran backed Hezbollah folks did. Because they're paid to, or they're here to push propaganda.

[oldsoftie]

33. Its OBVIOUSLY planned. They were allowed into a normally restricted area.

Iraqi security forces didnt stop them or try to stop the attack. All of the attackers were men, carrying Hezbulloh flags & weapons. They're known to be Iranian backed. Those who were bombed werent civilians, they were a militia who had attacked a US base.

[Aristus]

16. The Iraqis sound thrilled that we 'liberated' them.

Nomenclature is everything. Say 'liberate' instead of 'blitzkrieg', and the blockheads will follow you anywhere...

[KY_EnviroGuy]

27. Let's make this simple for my sake.

We buy guns, bombs and rockets for other nations who we 'think' are our friends. They kill people with those guns, bombs and rockets.

Iran, Russia, France, the UK and many other nations buy guns, bombs and rockets for other nations who they 'think' are their friends. Those nations kill people with those guns, bombs and rockets.

People get pissed and retaliate when their friends and families are killed with guns, bombs and rockets, so they in turn seek someone to buy them guns, bombs and rockets. They in turn often kill even more people.

Choosing who to blame and seek retaliation on for all the global killing is a very messy job when our planet is awash with guns, bombs and rockets.

I'm just glad elephants, whales, lions, sharks and tigers don't own guns, bombs and rockets.

KY............

[oldsoftie]

34. In a nutshell, thats pretty close

[okaawhatever]

39. They have changed the title of the article. They dropped "mourners" and

added Militiamen

Militiamen breach US Embassy in Baghdad; Trump blames Iran

Previous title was b.s.

[MasonDreams]

40. Why do we have to kill "Iran backed Shiite militia" in Iraq

Don't we have a "strong leader" in Iraq? A Sunni cutthroat who killed thousands of Iran backed Shia in both Iraq and Iran? He fought a six year war with Iran. What was his name? Oops, can't just let Saddam Hussein do it.
What about Saudi Arabia? Aren't they training lots of Sunnis to kill Shia?

I keep forgetting, why did we invade Iraq?
Hey Hey, stop! I know you're short on water, but you can't put out a fire with gasoline.