January 13, 2020
Congress has to figure out whether Trump's four embassy claim is real
The targeted killing of Qasem Soleimani, head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force, carried with it significant potential to serve as a catalyst for a broader overt and covert military conflict with Iran. Now, Congress and the American public need an honest explanation for the reasons behind the President's order authorizing the military action against Soleimani, particularly in light of Trump's claim that four embassies were targeted for terrorist attacks at Soleimani's direction. It's time for the intelligence committees to call the intelligence chiefs to testify under oath.
The intelligence committees of Congress were designed for this moment.
In just the first two weeks after the attack, Iran has launched a counterattack at a US and allied forces base in Iraq, at least 56 Iranians were killed in stampedes during funeral processions for Soleimani and 176 souls from at least seven different countries were killed when an Iranian missile struck a Ukrainian passenger jet during the tense days after the Soleimani strike.
Read the full article in CNN.
More from CNAS
-
Russia in the Middle East with Jonathan Lord and Hanna Notte
Podcast
One year after the October 7 attacks by Hamas, the crisis in the Middle East has grown more and more complex. With the region teetering on the brink of broader conflict, the B...
By Jonathan Lord, Hanna Notte, Andrea Kendall-Taylor & Jim Townsend
-
Biden Urges Israel Not to Attack Iran Nuclear Sites
Video
Rachel Ziemba joins Bloomberg Television to discuss oil rising for a third day as traders watch for supply risks in the Middle East. Watch the full episode from Bloomberg Tel...
By Rachel Ziemba
-
The Fury of History
Commentary
Even manifestly unpopular regimes do not end on their own. There has to be a trigger....
By Robert D. Kaplan
-
The Axis of Upheaval
Commentary
The West has been too quick to dismiss the coordination among China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia....
By Andrea Kendall-Taylor & Richard Fontaine
