The U.S. military is bracing for a possible attack on American personnel and interests in Iraq, U.S. defense officials said, days before the first anniversary of an American drone strike that killed an Iranian general in Baghdad, launches B-52H Stratofortress bombers over Persian Gulf.
My, oh my, but aren't a whole bunch of random events all starting to fire at the same time? Global lockdowns, a new and more contagious strain of COVID-19 suddenly appearing as Joe Biden says he will make masks mandatory in the United States, Spain creating a 'vaccine refusers' blacklist and now B-52H Stratofortress bombers flying just this afternoon over the Persian Gulf as the United States evacuates all but mission critical personnel from our embassy in Iraq.
"Behold ye among the heathen, and regard, and wonder marvellously: for I will work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be told you." Habakkuk 1:5 (KJB)
President Trump is not sure if his upcoming January 6th gambit will be successful, so it is more than likely that he is right now readying an attack on Iran and their nuclear ambitions, seeing as Joe Biden has already promised to re-enslave the United States back under the preposterous Iranian Nuclear Treaty of Obama. Whatever is actually being planned, I think it is a safe bet to say that the next three weeks will contain skyrockets, and maybe a Patriot missile or two. Stay tuned.
DEATH TO AMERICA: TENS OF THOUSANDS OF MUSLIMS JAM THE STREETS IN BAGHDAD AS IRAN VOWS REVENGE FOR THE KILLING OF TOP GENERAL QASSEM SOLEIMANI | JANUARY 2020
U.S. officials warn of potential Iran-linked attack
FROM SF GATE: The officials spoke as two B-52H Stratofortress bombers carried out a round-trip, 30-hour mission from Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota to the Middle East ending on Wednesday, in an effort to show American presence and military might in the region to deter Iran. The Air Force carried out similar missions twice before in the last 45 days.
"The United States continues to deploy combat-ready capabilities into the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility to deter any potential adversary, and make clear that we are ready and able to respond to any aggression directed at Americans or our interests," said Gen. Frank McKenzie, chief of U.S. Central Command. "We do not seek conflict, but no one should underestimate our ability to defend our forces or to act decisively in response to any attack."
The latest bomber deployment, disclosed after the aircraft left the Middle East, was carried out as supporters of the Iranian regime continue to mourn for Qasem Soleimani, the influential leader of Iran's Quds Force, the elite special operations wing of the Revolutionary Guard Corps. He was killed Jan. 3 in a drone strike along with Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the leader of Kataib Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed militia that U.S. officials have said was responsible for numerous attacks on U.S. facilities in Iraq.
TOP IRANIAN GENERAL QASSEM SOLEIMANI TELLS IRAN-LINKED IRAQI MILITIAS IN BAGHDAD TO ‘PREPARE FOR PROXY WAR’ | MAY 2019
President Donald Trump approved the operation amid escalating violence in the region, eliminating a longtime nemesis, Soleimani, who had coordinated attacks against U.S. troops and interests for years, according to U.S. officials and reports. Iran, expressing outrage, responded five days later by launching a ballistic missile attack that injured more than 100 U.S. troops and damaged several facilities.
But tensions have escalated again in recent weeks, as Washington prepares for a presidential transition following President-elect Joe Biden's victory over Trump.
On Nov. 17, rockets were launched at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. Another armed group in Iraq, Ashab al-Kahf, said it was responsible. On Nov. 27, a senior official in Iran's nuclear program, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, was assassinated near Tehran. U.S. officials denied knowing of the attack, and Iran blamed it on Israel. But given the close relationship between Israel and the United States, U.S. officials have assumed that Iran also might hold the United States responsible.
One senior U.S. defense official said leaders of Iranian-backed militias in Iraq have met with Quds Force leaders and a "fair amount of advanced conventional weaponry" has flowed over the border from Iran into Iraq. He declined to say how the United States observed those developments, citing the classified means by which he said the intelligence was collected.
"I would tell you that the threat streams are very real," the senior official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue. He characterized the situation as the "most concerning that I have seen" since Soleimani's killing, and said there are worries of a complex attack.
The United States has reduced the number of staff at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and warned of consequences if any Americans are killed. Iraqi officials, meanwhile, have expressed concern about a possible confrontation between the United States and Iran on Iraqi soil in the closing days of the Trump administration.
On Dec. 20, more than 20 rockets were launched at the diplomatic compound housing the embassy. At least one Iraqi civilian living nearby was killed, and vehicles and buildings on the American site were damaged, the senior U.S. official said. READ MORE
Trump issues stern warning to Iran after rocket attack on US Embassy in Baghdad
President Trump issued a stern warning to Iran Wednesday after a rocket attack earlier this week on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and said if one American is killed, he will hold Tehran responsible.
