Posted on 01/03/2020 3:42:36 PM PST by RandFan
DOWNING Street was last night livid with Donald Trump for endangering British troops by assassinating Iranian military chief Qasem Soleimani without any warning.
In a serious breach of protocol between key allies, the US president didn’t tell Boris Johnson about the Baghdad missile strike on the terror mastermind.
The attack sparked immediate overnight concern for the safety of 400 British troops stationed in Iraq and fears they could be targeted for revenge.
In a snub to the White House, the British Government refused to give any public support for the killing yesterday.
As fears also rose for the precarious deal with Tehran to stop it building a nuclear arsenal, one angry senior British official even accused Mr Trump of behaving “like a mafia boss”.
In a pattern that has alarmed military bosses, The Sun can also reveal the US administration also gave London no warning about the raid to kill ISIS chief Abū Bakr al-Baghdadi in October.
Defence chiefs were forced to issue urgent orders in the middle of the night to halt movement in the country, as well as hike base security.
The UK service personnel are based in three locations across Iraq – at Camp Taji north of Baghdad on a traning mission, in the capital itself and in the Kurdish city of Erbil.
A further 500 British troops and airmen are operating in and around Syria, on Operation Shader.
While condemning terror mastermind Soleimani’s long and murderous career, the Foreign Secretary did not condone the attack in a terse public statement.
Instead, Dominic Raab called for calm, alongside France and Germany.
Mr Raab said: “We have always recognised the aggressive threat posed by the Iranian Quds force led by Qasem Soleimani.
“Following his death, we urge all parties to de-escalate. Further conflict is in none of our interests.”
The PM’s New Year holiday on the Caribbean island of Mustique was interrupted for a series of phone briefings throughout yesterday.
But the PM decided not to cut short his holiday after Mr Raab and Defence Secretary Ben Wallace both rushed back to London yesterday morning to handle the crisis instead.
Mr Johnson is expected back in the country by Sunday morning.
Senior officials held a rolling meeting of the government’s emergency committee COBRA through out the day to closely monitor Iran’s response to the killing.
Dubbing it “a very fragile situation”, a No10 source added: “We are watching things very closely and the PM will intervene if and when we think we can help”.
Commons Foreign Affairs Committee chair Tom Tugendhat dubbed the White House’s failure to inform No10 of the assassination plan as “a concern”.
The senior Tory MP and former Army officer added: “Having allies means we can surprise our enemies not each other. I would urge our US allies to share more with us”.
Asked whether UK troops based in the region are in danger, former Foreign Office minister Alistair Burt said: “Any of the actions that have been taken in the region could have had a consequence of starting a direct confrontation, and therefore military personnel in the region could have been at risk.
“But there’s no doubt that risks and consequences are much greater this morning than they were before.”
In a bid to defuse a full blown war, the government carefully coordinated its response with Paris and Berlin.
Mr Raab also called US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to urge restraint.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Mass added: “The US military operation followed a series of dangerous provocations by Iran.
“However, this action has not made it easier to reduce tensions. I made this point clearly to Secretary Pompeo as well.”
No10 also dismissed some Labour MPs’ demands for Parliament to be recalled, as its due back from the Christmas holiday on Tuesday anyway.
It seems so. OTOH, the less people you tell, the less likely any info will leak. I can understand their anger in one respect in that having troops exposed in that country, the UK would want the option of warning them in case something goes wrong.
“But the PM decided not to cut short his holiday after Mr Raab and Defence Secretary Ben Wallace both rushed back to London yesterday morning to handle the crisis instead. “
Boris probably though “Righto” and let a couple lackeys go back to stand in front of those who are upset about a non-crisis...
All we have is a quotation from one angry senior British official. That’s enough to be ascribed to “10 Downing Street”. You might as well ascribe the rantings of the senior officials in the State Department to the White House.
—
Excellent point
With the MASTERMIND of most of the ME terrorist attacks GONE, who is going to plan the retaliation. We cut off the right arm, and probably the left arm, too.
Want to be a good ally? Arrest Christopher Steele. Otherwise, STFU.
What have they done about Christopher Steele? AND the Brit ‘intelligence’ thugs who worked against OUR President?
To be fair, their troops are in more danger - The Al Quds force is an organized military as opposed to the ragtag terrorists of the Islamic state.
If you expect the uk to stand behind you, its only common courtesy that consult, or st least warn, about what is about to happen first, is it not?
We have troops and assets in the region supporting the us, dont try to justify this blatant lack of courtesy.
Don’t these people suffer from outrage fatigue? They are always so very concerned.
Their defense minister just came out and said we’re all on the same page.
When you are striking a target that is elusive and of high importance, sometimes you shoot first and ask for forgiveness later.
Yet Israele was informed and consulted? They are hardly trustworthy allies considering all the military tech they have supplied to China over the years.
The Israelis are high on the list when terrorists counterstrike. They are the most vulnerable and our only allies in the middle east.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.