Pentagon launched airstrike that killed Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani, Defense Secretary Mark Es
Source: WaPo
BAGHDAD — A U.S. airstrike killed Iranian Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad late Thursday, the Pentagon said, a dramatic escalation of tensions between the two countries that could lead to widespread violence in the region and beyond.
Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper said the Pentagon had taken “decisive defensive action” against Soleimani, the revered military figure who had close links to a network of armed groups backed by Iran across the Middle East and, according to the United States, bore responsibility for hundreds of American deaths.
“Gen. Soleimani was actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region,” Esper said in a statement. “This strike was aimed at deterring future Iranian attack plans.”
Earlier, Iraqi militia officials and the country’s state TV channel announced that Soleimani had been killed in an airstrike alongside a top Iraqi militia leader just outside the country’s main airport. The Iraqi, Jamal Jaafar Ibrahimi, who is better known by his nom de guerre, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, is closely associated with attacks against the United States dating to 1982.
On Jan. 1, the siege on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad appeared to come to an end after supporters of the Iranian-backed Kataib Hezbollah militia retreated. (Liz Sly, Joyce Lee, Mustafa Salim/The Washington Post)
A video circulated by Shiite militia groups showed, accompanied by the sound of wailing, the crumpled wreckage of the vehicle in which Soleimani purportedly was traveling. A photograph claimed to show his bloodied, ash-covered hand wearing the same blood-red ring seen in earlier photos of him alive.
A U.S. official, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment on the record, said the attack was conducted by a U.S. drone and struck a two-car convoy carrying Soleimani and others on an access road near Baghdad International Airport. At least half a dozen people were believed to have been killed.
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Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/defense-secretary-says-iran-and-its-proxies-may-be-planning-fresh-attacks-on-us-personnel-in-iraq/2020/01/02/53b63f00-2d89-11ea-bcb3-ac6482c4a92f_story.html
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Good vibes to you and your son... 
My great nephew starts basic training next week at Fort Benning. He walked away from a scholarship to Columbia University just weeks into his sophomore year.
My nephew (his stepfather) has told him that he can change his mind and not get on the plane. That was surprising because my nephew spent four years in the Army about 20 years ago. Fortunately, he spent his time after Benning in Hawaii. It was a very cushy posting and we all thanked his lucky stars.
Best of luck with your DIL and the coming baby. I'm sure that they're happy that you're there.
Get ready to hear that for months, possibly years from now on, until people wake up and in the post-mortem of Trump's presidency, see he was wagging the dog.
People fall for it so easily. No wonder he is kicking a hornet's nest. It is just enough to get everyone to panic and forget all about all of the horrid stuff Trump is doing to people inside of America. Nope, can't criticize a president at war. 
Bumping off their "MacArthur" is a lot more than a button push back. 
There's no way this ends well...for anyone.
He's an Army Ranger, and communications instructor. They live in military housing. She's pregnant.
There could be retaliation for this moronic move anywhere in the world. Who will be the first to die for another tRump narcissistic and self-serving stunt?
