Posted on 01/06/2020 9:07:25 AM PST by SeekAndFind
President Donald Trump insisted Sunday that Iranian cultural sites were fair game for the U.S. military, dismissing concerns within his own administration that doing so could constitute a war crime under international law. He also warned Iraq that he would levy punishing sanctions if it expelled American troops in retaliation for a U.S. airstrike in Baghdad that killed a top Iranian official.
Trump’s comments came amid escalating tensions in the Middle East following the killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Quds force. Iran has vowed to retaliate and Iraq’s parliament responded by voting Sunday to oust U.S. troops based in the country.
Trump first raised the prospect of targeting Iranian cultural sites Saturday in a tweet. Speaking with reporters Sunday as he returned to Washington from his holiday stay in Florida, he doubled down, despite international prohibitions.
“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,” Trump said.
The targeted killing of Soleimani sparked outrage in the Middle East, including in Iraq, where more than 5,000 American troops are still on the ground 17 years after the U.S. invasion. Iraq’s parliament voted Sunday in favor of a nonbinding resolution calling for the expulsion of the American forces.
Trump said the U.S. wouldn’t leave without being paid for its military investments in Iraq over the years — then said if the troops do have to withdraw, he would hit Baghdad with economic penalties.
(Excerpt) Read more at yahoo.com ...
Forget all that he did on the political side. His equivalent of a doctoral thesis Islamic style makes his tomb a worthy candidate for depositing a godly amount of phosphorus.
Agree 100%.
Striking cultural sites only makes the Iranians more supportive of their government, as its an attack from outside on common heritage.
The Prez explicitly did not communicate anything about “cultural heritage sites”.
These statements were very carefully worded.
Since the late 1990’s, the Russians have worked to build Iran’s nuclear capability, and have shared farely late gen cbrn technology. The conduit by which this has largely been done was through forced or voluntary collaboration of many Iranian cbrn related university professors. The controlled labs and production of the Iranian cbrn development is often within Iranian universities, and proximal cbrn weapons productiin facilities.
Iran has intentionally identified many of these modern universities and adjacent or proximal cbrn development sites as “Cultural Sites”.
As well, there are many Russian technicians and engineers who live, work, and have even collaboratively developed new cbrn weapon systems within Iran.
Additionally, many of these sites have adjacent large modern or famous mosques.
Some of these have been constructed on top of, or adjacent to cbrn and specific nuclear sites.
This. If you put a bomb facility in a Mosque... It is no longer a "religious site".
Yes, you do the worrying over the “sane Iranian people” who just happen to be chanting about killing Americans, first and foremost our president.
I’ll worry about what a nasty miserable human being I am.
But thank you for the concern.
Cultural sites to include refineries and chem plants.
Because of *on the ground Russian cbrn r&d and engineering presence at these “cultural sites”, and because Iran is literally a “loose cannon” (Moscow cannot fully predict), Trump’s messaging should be taken by Russian nationals in Iran as a possible “GET OUT OF DODGE” warning.
My pleasure. Every time.
Right in!
These facilities are the only way Russia and China can get something of value from Iran, to compensate for the weapons and military support.
I am quite sure AP is referring to people like the gutless anonymous fool who wrote the book about being a hidden never-Trumper inside the administration...
Are there United States terrorist cells at the National Mall that are preparing to reek havoc upon civilian populations in Iran and Iraq?
Missiles aimed at peaceful mosques across the world?
Is the USA using the Nat’l Mall as a human shield area?
Points to ponder.
As an aside, I imagine most of the Cultural sites in Iran are areas that Persia (Iran before the takeover by Islamic Militant Terrorists) designated long ago.
The Iranian leaders are not above having military sites disguised as “cultural” areas.
Just IMO, the Iraqi high level pols have been comprised by the high level Iranian Islamic Terrorists.
Kind of like the UK Germany etc etc who have let Islam take over to a large degree.
Now those countries must allow radical Islam to rule them.
I'm sure there is a lot of ‘arm twisting’ of Western leaders of these countries.
By arm twisting I mean treats to torture behead etc women and children if Western leadership won't capitulate to Islamic terror demands.
Remember who the Islamic terror leaders are being controlled by.
The Father of Lies.
I'm with you. The pearl-clutchers here who are aghast at Trump even mentioning cultural sites seem to have no understanding of psy-ops.
Trump, playing 3D chess, could beat them at regular chess blindfolded....
Some members here have no idea of the deeply imbedded ideas and control that the Father of Lies has.
Yes will speak out from ignorance and not using Wisdom and understanding of what is really going on here.
Agree. And I wish we’d leave.
Nah.
OUR cultural sites are under constant attack from our domestic and foreign enemies.
WTC, any Confederate or KKK monument....
(Except for KKK Kleagle Sen. Wobert Byrd, D-WVa, of course)
Thank you for the clarification
“Oh NOES, not their CULtural sites!”
Can’t we just send them a few pallets of cash instead?
The last tribute bought us almost 4 YEARS of “peace” from them!
“Please don’t kill us because of Trump!”
(Do I need the /s? Probably so)
Not in my opinion...I believe we should just give them the keys to cities, Fort Knox, the Pentagon...You name it...We give everything to the Islam of Peace and we’ll be safe forever...Oh happy day!!!!!
Now Congress will act all scared, leftards will have roundtables on CNN about what an unhinged maniac he is, prior POTUSes will express their outrage, the MSM will have conniptions, and Trump will stoke it all, and then Iran will step back from the abyss.
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