Monday Night KTFA CC and Iraq News 1-6-2020
KTFA:
Fch1962: Is there going to be a CC tonight or something else??
MW: He’s on YouTube instead.... issues with Livestream!!
Clare: THE CC IS NOW ON YOUTUBE BECAUSE LIVESTREAM KEEPS SHUTTING DOWN...
Frank26: 1-6-20
Monday Night CC with Walkingstick and FF77
Don961: The US Secretary of Defense denies the news of the withdrawal from Iraq
- 43 Minutes Past
US Defense Secretary Mark Esper denied reports circulated about US plans to withdraw from Iraq, after reports to Reuters and other media about a message from the US military stating the withdrawal.
"There is absolutely no decision to withdraw from Iraq," Reuters quoted Esber when asked about the letter, adding that there were not even plans to prepare for withdrawal.
For his part, US Chief of Staff Mark Miley said that the circulating message was a draft aimed at coordination, and it should not have been published.
In turn, the Pentagon spokesman confirmed that there is no change in the policy of the United States of America regarding the presence of its forces in Iraq.
He said that we are continuing to consult with the government of Iraq on defeating the Islamic State and supporting the Iraqi security forces.
The French press agencies and Reuters reported that American forces within the international coalition had informed Baghdad in an official message that they would relocate their forces outside Iraq in the coming weeks
The French Press Agency quoted a statement issued by the Joint Task Force in Iraq as saying that the decision came out of respect for the request of the Iraqi Parliament and Prime Minister, and the sovereign decision that called for the departure of the American forces.
In the letter signed by the Commander of the American Task Force in Iraq, Brigadier General William Sealy III, which was confirmed by a US military official and another Iraqi to the French news agency, the American army stated that the coalition forces - led by the United States - "will reposition their forces in the coming weeks."
For its part, the Iraqi Joint Operations Command said that it cannot confirm or deny the authenticity of the message that the American forces intend to withdraw.
The head of the caretaker government in Iraq, Adel Abdul-Mahdi, stressed in a statement to his office after receiving the American ambassador to Iraq, Matthew Tooler, on the necessity of joint work to implement the withdrawal of foreign forces according to the decision of the Iraqi parliament, and to put relations with the United States on sound grounds, as he put it.
Source: Agencies LINK
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Don961: Trump administration begins drafting possible sanctions against Iraq following Trump’s economic threat
No decision has been made on whether to implement the penalties, but aides scrambled following presidential warning to Baghdad
Jan. 6, 2020 at 8:23 p.m. CST LINK
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Don961: The American administration threatens Saleh and Abdul-Mahdi .. Exit from Iraq will not bear the cost of Baghdad
Monday 06 January 2020 Baghdad - Writings
Local media said that the US administration sent to Iraqi President Barham Salih a copy of the sanctions to be imposed on Iraq if Baghdad insisted on expelling US forces from the country.
The American administration, through its ambassador to Baghdad, Matthew Toller, also resigned to Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi about what pressure Washington could exert against Baghdad if it was decided to end the American presence in the country.
The two sides also discussed ways to reduce tension, as well as warn the American ambassador about the danger of the withdrawal of American forces and its impact on the return of ISIS and terrorist organizations. LINK
MoeApollo: Ha!! Awesome! I saw the video posted on Twitter and it was eye-opening to those that spoke Arabic. Folks were shocked lol The vote was an optics play meant to drive the Iranian narrative that the Iraqi people want the US out. They knew the media would run with a perceived Trump failure...true or false, it doesn't matter to them. As soon as the vote took place, the usual cast of characters tried pushing that narrative.
Don961: Al-Halbousi reveals only the Shiites ’vote to expel the Americans and warns of the financial fall of Iraq
Monday 06 January 2020 Baghdad - Writings
Leaked footage from the voting session on the expulsion of American forces from Iraq revealed how the speaker of the Iraqi parliament underwent one component without the presence of the rest of the components.
The leak, which was circulated on social media, on Monday, January 6, 2020, showed Muhammad al-Halbousi, the speaker of parliament, following the instructions of Shi'a MPs by invalid voting on the decision to expel foreign forces from Iraq.
Al-Halbousi said: “Let us speak frankly. The vote here today is Shi’ite. I would have hoped that Iraq would unite today with a decision approved by Sunnis, Kurds and minorities, which reveals that voting to expel the Americans is a null decision dominated by deputies who follow Iran without any calculations in favor of the Iraqis.
Al-Halbousi said openly that the decision to agree to expel American and foreign forces means cutting off international financial dealings with Iraq, as well as the absence of salaries paid to employees.
These leaks coincide with the escalation of the attack on the House of Representatives by the rebels and the assertion that it does not represent the Iraqis with its decisions that serve Iran and harm Iraq.
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Samson: Economist: Implementing US Sanctions On Iraq Means "Famine"
7th January, 2020
The economist Hammam Al-Shamaa stressed that the application of the US economic sanctions on Iraq will lead to a complete economic collapse and thus lead to "famine" due to the high food prices.
Al-Shamaa said in a press statement that the independent said today, Tuesday, that "if the United States removes protection from Iraqi money , the country will lose billions, and that if it disables the transfers, the trade in Iraq will be delayed a lot", indicating that "America if it reduced or prevented the flow of the dollar The heat to the Iraqi market will increase the exchange of the dollar against the Iraqi dinar, which means higher prices, and here we fall into an economic disaster. LINK
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Samson: Trump: America is safer after Soleimani's death
11:10 - 07/01/20
TUS President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that the United States of America has become safer after the assassination of the commander of the Quds Force in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Qassem Soleimani.
"The United States has become safer after the killing of Qasim Soleimani," Trump said in statements followed by "The Information," noting that "Soleimani should have been eliminated more than 15 years ago."
Trump attacked the Democrats, saying they were "openly supporting Iran."
The International Crisis Group had confirmed earlier, that the assassination of the deputy head of the Popular Mobilization Authority, Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis, and the commander of the Quds Force, Lieutenant-General Qassem Soleimani, united the voices calling for the expulsion of the American forces, indicating that the assassination was counter-productive to America. LINK
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Samson: Pompeo publishes a missile clip near the US embassy
7th January, 2020
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo released, on Tuesday, a video clip filmed from inside a Baghdad house the moment rockets landed in the Green and Jadriya area last Sunday.
Pompeo commented on the video clip in a tweet on his Twitter account, saying: “While ordinary Iraqis were meeting with their families, the Hezbollah brigades fired Katyusha rockets around Baghdad, I am angry. The supported terrorists are still threatening the safety of the Iraqis ... ? ”
Unidentified persons launched rockets last Sunday, one of which landed near the US embassy in the Green Zone, while another landed in the Jadiriya area.
Security sources said that one of the rockets landed on a house and killed an entire family. LINK