Top Items:
Washington Post:
Airstrike at Baghdad airport kills Iran's most revered military leader, Qassem Soleimani, Iraqi state television reports — BREAKING: It was not clear who carried out the strike, but the death of Soleimani, the Iranian Quds Force commander, seems certain to send tensions soaring between the United States and Iran.
Discussion:
Townhall, Daily Kos, Al Jazeera, Slate, Political Wire, The Gateway Pundit, Manila Bulletin News, Common Dreams, PJ Media Home, Mediaite, Fox News, Patterico's Pontifications, Eschaton, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Investigative Project …, Breitbart, Politico, Power Line, National Review and The National Interest
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New York Times:
U.S. Strike in Iraq Kills Qassim Suleimani, Commander of Iranian Forces — Suleimani was planning attacks on Americans across the region, leading to an airstrike in Baghdad, the Pentagon statement said. Iran's supreme leader called for vengeance. — WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. …
Discussion:
U.S. Embassy & Consulates …, Washington Post, Townhall, VICE, Redstate, HuffPost, Mediaite, Carnegie Middle East Center, Reason, Power Line, Breitbart, The Aviationist, The Gateway Pundit, Algemeiner.com, Politico, emptywheel, Outside the Beltway, Quartz, Spectator USA, DNyuz, The Drive, The Week, Denver Post and Daily Kos
Qassim Abdul-zahra / Associated Press:
Iran's Gen. Soleimani killed in airstrike at Baghdad airport — Baghdad (AP) — Gen. Qassim Soleimani, the head of Iran's elite Quds Force, was killed in an airstrike at Baghdad's international airport Friday, Iraqi television and three Iraqi officials said.
Discussion:
Al Jazeera, USA Today, The American Independent, The Gateway Pundit, Foreign Policy, Disrn, KRON4, The Week, New York Times, The Hill, PJ Media Home, Reuters, KTLA, The American Conservative, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Mediaite, Jihad Watch, Tom Cotton, Vos Iz Neias, Washington Free Beacon and Daily Mail
Andrew Exum / The Atlantic:
Iran Loses Its Indispensable Man — The United States has killed Major General Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps's Quds Force. The United States is now in a hot war with Iran after having waged war via proxies for the past several decades.
Discussion:
Washington Post and Gizmodo
Mohammad Ali Shabani / The Guardian:
Donald Trump's assassination of Qassem Suleimani will come back to haunt him — The Quds force leader had the status of national hero even among secular Iranians. His death could act as a rallying cry — The US has assassinated Qassem Suleimani, the famed leader of Iran's Quds force …
Discussion:
DNyuz
Axios:
The U.S. takes a war footing against Iran after Soleimani strike — President Trump, after warning three days ago that Iran would pay “a very BIG PRICE,” authorized a drone strike at Baghdad International Airport that killed Iran's top general and second most powerful official, Qasem Soleimani.
Discussion:
National Review, Politico, Washington Post, New York Times, The Guardian, No More Mister Nice Blog and Raw Story
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE:
Statement by the Department of Defense — At the direction of the President, the U.S. military has taken decisive defensive action to protect U.S. personnel abroad by killing Qasem Soleimani, the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force, a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization.
Discussion:
Politico, Washington Post, The Moderate Voice, Axios, The Intercept, Disrn, intelNews.org, MSNBC, New York Times, Financial Times, Quartz, NBC News, NPR and TheStreet
Stanley McChrystal / Foreign Policy:
Iran's Deadly Puppet Master — Gen. Stanley McChrystal explains exactly why Qassem Suleimani is so dangerous. — The decision not to act is often the hardest one to make—and it isn't always right. In 2007, I watched a string of vehicles pass from Iran into northern Iraq.
Discussion:
New York Times
HuffPost:
Top Senate Democrat Received No Advance Notice Of U.S. Strike On Iran General — Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) was not aware of the Trump administration's plan to escalate tensions with Iran by killing Qassem Sulaimani, an aide said. — The Trump administration did not inform Sen. Chuck Schumer …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo
Michael Doran / New York Times:
Trump's Ground Game Against Iran — The assassination of Qassim Suleimani is a seismic event in the Middle East. — Mr. Doran is a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and served in the departments of State and Defense, and on the National Security Council.
Steve Hayes / The Dispatch:
The Morning Dispatch: Qassem Suleimani Is Dead — Happy Friday.We had a whole other, entirely different Morning Dispatch ready to go for you Thursday evening, but there were some major developments in the Middle East overnight. Our analysis of Q4 fundraising numbers will have to wait!
Discussion:
Politico, The Daily Caller, Foreign Exchanges, DNyuz and The Drive
Matthew Continetti / Washington Free Beacon:
Trump Calls the Ayatollah's Bluff — The successful operation against Qassem Soleimani, head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard, is a stunning blow to international terrorism and a reassertion of American might. It will also test President Trump's Iran strategy.
Discussion:
BizPac Review and Instapundit
Zachary Basu / Axios:
Republicans celebrate death of Qasem Soleimani — The Pentagon's confirmation Thursday night that Qasem Soleimani, an Iranian military commander and one of the regime's most powerful figures, was killed in airstrike ordered by President Trump set off immediate shock waves throughout Washington.
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, The Hill, Breitbart and One America News Network
Daniel Byman / Vox:
Killing Iran's Qassem Suleimani changes the game in the Middle East
Killing Iran's Qassem Suleimani changes the game in the Middle East
Discussion:
FDD's Long War Journal, CNBC and The Atlantic
Mehdi Hasan / The Intercept:
Four Years Ago, Trump Had No Clue who Iran's Suleimani Was. Now, He May Have Kicked Off WWIII.
Four Years Ago, Trump Had No Clue who Iran's Suleimani Was. Now, He May Have Kicked Off WWIII.
Discussion:
CNN, fox13now.com and DNyuz
The Daily Beast:
U.S. Strike Kills Iran's Most Important Military Commander
U.S. Strike Kills Iran's Most Important Military Commander
Discussion:
Slate, Politico, Associated Press, CNN, Axios, The Hill, The Miscellanies, One America News Network and Breitbart
Jake Novak / CNBC:
Op-Ed: America just took out a man many consider the world's No. 1 bad guy
Op-Ed: America just took out a man many consider the world's No. 1 bad guy
Discussion:
Vox, Commentary and Defense One
Heather Hurlburt / New York Magazine:
What Comes Next After the Killing of Qasem Suleimani
What Comes Next After the Killing of Qasem Suleimani
Discussion:
BizPac Review, Politico, DNyuz and NBC News
Marc Thiessen / Fox News:
Trump's Iran strategy is working. Pompeo right to call out ex-Obama team members
Trump's Iran strategy is working. Pompeo right to call out ex-Obama team members
Discussion:
Power Line, Breitbart and The Gateway Pundit
Speaker Nancy Pelosi:
Pelosi Statement on Airstrike in Iraq Against High-Level Iranian Military Officials
Pelosi Statement on Airstrike in Iraq Against High-Level Iranian Military Officials
Washington Examiner:
Iranian malevolence justified Trump's order to kill Qassim Soleimani
Iranian malevolence justified Trump's order to kill Qassim Soleimani
Discussion:
The Daily Wire, Redstate and Washington Post
Jon Gambrell / Associated Press:
AP Explains: Rising Iran, US tension after general's killing
AP Explains: Rising Iran, US tension after general's killing
Discussion:
Associated Press, Florida Politics, KTLA, The Daily Beast and The Gateway Pundit
Wendy R. Sherman / USA Today:
Attack on US Embassy in Iraq shows Trump is failing. He walked into Iran's trap.
Attack on US Embassy in Iraq shows Trump is failing. He walked into Iran's trap.
Discussion:
Hullabaloo, Breitbart and Raw Story
Jason Leopold / BuzzFeed News:
Robert Mueller's Secret Memos, Part 3: The Documents The Justice Department Didn't Want Congress To See — BuzzFeed News sued the US government for the right to see all the work that Robert Mueller's team kept secret. Today we are publishing the third installment of the FBI's summaries of interviews with key witnesses.
Discussion:
DNyuz, HuffPost, Associated Press, Contemptor and Raw Story
RELATED:
New York Times:
Elizabeth Warren's Fourth-Quarter Total Is $21.2 Million, Her Campaign Says — Ms. Warren's fund-raising haul for the last three months of the year represented a slight dip and placed her behind three top rivals. — Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts raised $21.2 million …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Daily Kos and Outside the Beltway
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Elena Schneider / Politico:
Klobuchar posts personal-best $11.4 million fundraising quarter
Klobuchar posts personal-best $11.4 million fundraising quarter
Discussion:
Fox News, Axios, Associated Press, The Hill, One America News Network and The Week
FiveThirtyEight:
Our Poll Finds A Majority Of Americans Think The Evidence Supports Trump's Removal — After the House of Representatives voted to impeach President Trump on Dec. 18, the president's fate is in the Senate's hands. The process for the trial still isn't clear, but there are signs that it will likely …
Discussion:
Raw Story
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Richard Flanagan / New York Times:
Australia Is Committing Climate Suicide — As record fires rage, the country's leaders seem intent on sending it to its doom. — Mr. Flanagan is an Australian novelist. — BRUNY ISLAND, Tasmania — Australia today is ground zero for the climate catastrophe.
Discussion:
Common Dreams, The Courier Mail, New York Post and Raw Story
Wall Street Journal:
Police Tracked a Terror Suspect—Until His Phone Went Dark After a Facebook Warning — Faced with strong encryption, law-enforcement agencies in Western Europe turned to Israeli company NSO Group to pursue data on WhatsApp messaging tool — A team of European law-enforcement officials …
Discussion:
Instapundit
Andrew Bradford / Deep Left Field:
Congressman Accuses Trump Of Stock Market Fraud And Opens Investigation — The House of Representatives may soon be able to add a new high crime and misdemeanor to the growing list of articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump. — Specifically, Trump is suspected of manipulating futures …
David Brooks / New York Times:
A Ridiculously Optimistic History of the Next Decade — A fantasy of what could come true. — Looking back at the 2020s from our vantage point in 2030, the first great event was the complete destruction of Donald Trump's Republican Party. As the former Republican consultant Mike Murphy had noticed …