Posted on Protests against the US Embassy in Baghdad have ended on Wednesday, with the Iraqi government and the leadership of the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) militias urging a pullback from the site, and amid US guards firing tear gas against them.
The protests came after Sunday’s US attacks on five PMU bases in Iraq and Syria. The PMU, part of Iraq’s security forces, had a number of representatives at the protest, to the point that the US was blaming them for it.
The PMU issued a statement on the protests, saying that the “message has been received” by the US. One of the protesters said they had “achieved the intended aim” and “pulled out from this place triumphantly.”
The US has threatened more attacks against PMU targets, and has also threatened Iran. The specific PMU militia attacked, Ketaib Hezbollah, has threatened to retaliate against US forces for the weekend attack.Beyond that, nothing has really been resolved, and nothing agreed to. The US is moving hastily to get more troops into Kuwait, likely anticipating further blowups going forward.
Published at https://news.antiwar.com/2020/01/01/protesters-withdraw-from-us-embassy-in-iraq-but-tensions-remain/
Trump Stumbling Into Neocon Trap In Iraq
January 2, 2020
President Trump is swallowing the neocon line on the Iraqi protests at the US embassy in Baghdad, blaming the whole incident on Iran. Suddenly everyone who doesn’t want the US military to continue to occupy Iraq – nearly 17 years after an invasion based on lies – is an “Iranian proxy.” Will Trump continue to take the neocon bait and stumble his way into a war on Iran? Starting a war based on neocon lies is likely the only thing that would prevent his re-election. Watch today’s Liberty Report:
Published at http://ronpaulinstitute.org/archives/featured-articles/2020/january/02/trump-stumbling-into-neocon-trap-in-iraq/
