More News, Rumors and Opinions Monday Evening 1-6-2020
TNT:
Makeitsow: It is Iran and those who support them who have held up this RV until now. The general who had huge amount of blood on his hands killing all kinds of people flew into Baghdad to plan attacks on the Americans and those against Iran. Guess that would have been another reason to hold the RV up! The Americans and Iraqis want Iran out of THEIR country so we can have an RV.... PERIOD!!!!
Slick50: They weren’t ready to RV yet anyway. They just blame it on a terrorist bitting the dust to get more time to steal more money from the auctions……If they were ready they would do it to calm things down. People spending money are usually happy people.
NWMontana: pentagon just announced are troops are leaving Iraq???
Greatlyblessed: U.S.-led coalition says it will withdraw from Iraq: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iraq-security-withdrawal/u-s-led-coalition-says-it-will-withdraw-from-iraq-letter-idUSKBN1Z520A
G8way2k: We have a billion dollar embassy in Iraq. I doubt we'll just up and leave that.
Makeitsow: The order to leave Iraq must come from the commander and chief... I think
Makeitsow: Do you think possibly the statements from Gov and CBI were referred to by Tony are equivalent to China’s full page ad saying they are NEVER doing something and then doing it the next day??? Hmmmm
GreatlyBlessed: It was a mistake': Pentagon backtracks on Iraq troop withdrawal amid chaos over general's letter....https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/defense-national-security/it-was-a-mistake-pentagon-backtracks-on-iraq-troop-withdrawal-amid-chaos-over-generals-letter
Elmerf123456: So you know; It appears the summary of what happened regarding the leaked American message regarding the withdrawal that a draft message was sent to the Iraqi side without realizing that the official papers are being published even before their completion. The draft is to the movement of soldiers and parts of the so-called redeployment inside Iraq in anticipation of possible attacks, that is, there is no current withdrawal of US Troops from Iraq.
Breaking: Mark Esper says the letter saying they were leaving is inaccurate. "We have no plans to leave Iraq anytime soon"
Esper says Iraq withdrawal memo is not accurate Secretary of defense Mark Esper has now said the memo on US troops’ “onward movement” from Iraq is not accurate.
“There’s been no decision whatsoever to leave Iraq,” Esper said.
********************
Trump Says "US Will Not Leave" Iraq Unless Billions For Air Base Are Repaid, Threatens Baghdad With "Very Big" Sanctions
by Tyler Durden
Mon, 01/06/2020 - 04:49
Just hours after Iraq voted to expel US troops stationed in Iraq, Trump made it clear that he has no interest in vacating the nation that has been a stalwart US military outpost in the middle east for nearly two decades ever since it was invaded by, well, the US in search of non-existent weapons of mass destruction, and speaking to reporters on Air Force One said "we’re not leaving" unless Iraq "pays us back" for a US air base built in Iraq.
"We have a very extraordinarily expensive air base that’s there. It cost billions of dollars to build. Long before my time. We’re not leaving unless they pay us back for it." Trump told the AF1 reporter pool.
That, however, wasn't enough, and Trump also made it clear that that in addition to billions in reimbursements, unless the US left on a "very friendly basis", the US would hit Iraq with "very big" sanctions like "they’ve never seen before ever."
"If they do ask us to leave, if we don’t do it in a very friendly basis. We will charge them sanctions like they’ve never seen before ever. It’ll make Iranian sanctions look somewhat tame."
And just to make it abundantly clear, Trump also added that "if there’s any hostility, that they do anything we think is inappropriate, we are going to put sanctions on Iraq, very big sanctions on Iraq."
Trump also addressed his Saturday threat to attack various Iranian cultural sites in retaliation to any escalation out of Tehran, threatening "major retaliation" on Iran if they "do anything" and saying that "they’re allowed to kill our people. They’re allowed to torture and maim our people. they’re allowed to use roadside bombs and blow up our people. And we’re not allowed to touch their cultural sites? It doesn’t work that way."
“We will charge them sanctions like they’ve never seen before ever,” Trump says if Iraq’s government demands US leave. “It’ll make Iranian sanctions look somewhat tame.”
— Steven Portnoy (@stevenportnoy) January 6, 2020
Amusingly, if Trump is indeed serious that Iraq will have to reimburse the US for its countless military bases, camps and other installations, the US will be able to repay its $23 trillion in debt (and have money leftover), when all is said and done: here is a partial list of the US camps in iraq:
Camp Abu Naji / FOB Garry Owen (Al Amarah)
Camp Adder also known as Tallil Air Base and Ali Air Base located in Nasiriyah
Camp Al Adala / Camp Justice / Camp Bonzai (Kadhamiyah / Baghdad)
Camp Al Amal / Camp Hope (Baghdad)
Camp Al Asad (Al Asad Air Base)
Camp Al-Hurya Al-Awal / Camp Freedom I / Camp Warhorse (Baqubah Air Field)
Camp Al-Hurya Al-Thani (Green Zone)
Camp Al-Isdehar (Al Salam)
Camp Al-Istiglal (Baghdad Air Base)
Camp Al-Khalis (Rock City F.O.B.)
Camp Al-Nasr (Abu Ghurayb)
Camp Al Qa'im (Al Qa'im train station, Al Anbar)
Camp Al-Saqr (Rasheed Air Base)
Camp Al-Sharaf / Camp Honor (Green Zone)
Camp Al-Tadamum (Adhamiyah / Baghdad)
Camp Al-Tahreer (Abu Ghurayb)
Camp Al-Tawheed Al-Awal (Al Sijood)
Camp Al-Tawheef Al-Thani (Al Sijood)
Camp Al Watani (Green Zone)
Camp Anaconda (Balad Air Base)
Camp Anah / COP Anah
Camp Andaluz (Kufa)
Camp Anderson (Diwaniyah)
Camp Apache / Camp Gunner Main
Camp Arkansas (Al Salam)
Camp Arrow (Ad Dawr)
Camp Ashraf, also known as Camp New Iraq, located near Khalis
Camp Avalanche (Abu Ghurayb)
Camp Babylon
Camp Baharia (Fallujah)
Camp Balad (Bala Air Base)
Camp Basilone (Qalat Sikar Air Base)
Camp Basrah
Camp Bastard / Camp Ellis (near Haqlaniyah / Barwanah ?)
Camp Black Jack
Camp Blackjack (Abu Ghurayb)
Camp Blue Diamond (Ar Ramadi)
Camp Bonzai (Kadhamiyah / Baghdad)
Camp Boom (Baqubah)
Camp Brassfield Mora (Samarra)
Camp Bristol (BIAP)
Camp Bucca, located near Umm Qasr
Camp Buffalo (Tikrit)
Camp Bulldog (Baghdad)
Camp Bushmaster (Najaf)
Camp Bushwaker
Camp Buzz
Camp Caldwell (Kirkush)
... This is just through the letter C - clearly there are many, many more. Click here for the full list.
In any event, earlier, Axios reported that The Trump administration tried to stop an Iraqi vote to expel the U.S. military from the country and citing unnamed sources, said that the Trump administration tried to persuade top Iraqi officials to kill the parliamentary effort. As a reminder, earlier on Sunday, Iraq's parliament voted to approve of the expulsion of the U.S. military following last week’s attack that killed Soleimani.
A US official told Axios that expelling the U.S. military from Iraq "would be inconvenient for us, but it would be catastrophic for Iraq", adding that "it's our concern that Iraq would take a short-term decision that would have catastrophic long-term implications for the country and its security."
"But it's also what would happen to them financially if they allowed Iran to take advantage of their economy to such an extent that they would fall under the sanctions that are on Iran," the official added. "We don't want to see that. We're trying very hard to work to have that not happen."
A senior Iraqi official told Axios that many Kurdish and Sunni members of parliament, who tend to be more supportive of the U.S. presence in Iraq, did not attend the vote to expel the U.S. presence.
"This is a temporary victory for the parties which are pro-Iranian," the official told Axios. "But it's also a clear message from the Sunnis and from the Kurds [who didn't vote] and from some Iraqi Shia for the Americans to tell them we want you to stay in Iraq.
WTF: What The Fed?! - Mike Maloney, Chris Martenson, Grant Williams, Charles Hugh Smith, A. Taggart
Jan 6, 2020
“The plain truth is… we are in the middle of QE4 right now” – Grant Williams during WTF: What the Fed. The Federal Reserve looks to be pumping a healthy patient of full of drugs… Something is not adding up. And Mike Maloney agrees…
He recently recorded a free event dedicated exclusively to the topic of the Fed’s recent actions... to help you understand what it’s doing and what it means to your wallet. It’s called, “WTF: What the Fed.” And it’s hosted by our good friends Peak Prosperity Chris Martenson and Adam Taggart.
They are joined on the event by acclaimed economists and sought-after speakers Grant Williams and Charles Hugh Smith.
This event is completely free and during its 90 minutes, you will learn: The direct link between Federal Reserve policy and election outcomes The truth about today’s economy – and where it’s headed from here How the Fed’s grave errors have made life harder for regular Americans
The #1 mistake most people are making with their investments now How the panel is allocating their portfolios for the months and years ahead
Watch WTF: The Fed now to hear all this and more candor from like-minded thinkers.