memeorandum: Why now? Lawmakers question timing and legality of Trump's strike against Iranian commander (CNN)

7:10 PM ET, January 3, 2020

Top Items:

Pelosi Statement on Airstrike in Iraq Against High-Level Iranian Military Officials — Washington, D.C. - Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued this statement after the Trump Administration conducted a deadly airstrike targeting Iranians and Iraqis at the Baghdad International Airport:

Discussion: ABC News, The Hill, CNN, NBC News, Vanity Fair, Politico, WND, Washington Post, CNBC, NPR, VICE, Vox, Redstate, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Week, Mother Jones, TheBlaze, Breitbart, The American Independent, Daily Kos, National Review, Little Green Footballs, New York Times, Al Jazeera, Reuters, IJR and Daily Sounder

Wesley Clark / Washington Post:

Killing a top Iranian military leader was a whack-for-tat move — Soleimani was no stateless outlaw like Osama bin Laden. This U.S. action sets us on a dangerous path of escalation. — Like the killing of Osama bin Laden, the strike on Iranian Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad …

Discussion: Slate, Esquire, The Times of Israel and The Guardian

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:

Trump Thinks Attacking Iran Will Get Him Reelected. He's Wrong. — Beginning in 2011, and continuing through the next year, Donald Trump began obsessively predicting that President Obama would start a war with Iran in order to be reelected. Trump stated it publicly, on at least a half-dozen occasions …

Discussion: Redstate, New York Times, Reason, No More Mister Nice Blog, Talking Points Memo, The Gateway Pundit and CANNONFIRE

Avi Selk / Washington Post:

Soleimani posted memes antagonizing Trump on social media — Iranian Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, who was killed in a U.S. airstrike in Iraq early Friday, wasn't just an infamous terrorist organizer and one of the regime's most powerful officials — he was also one of President Trump's social media antagonists.

Discussion: The Federalist, Right Wing Watch, Daily Sounder, The Gateway Pundit and Mediaite

Nahal Toosi / Politico:

How Trump decided to kill Iran's Soleimani — Hours before the U.S. military sent a Reaper drone to kill one of the most wanted men on the planet, President Donald Trump was relaxing at his palatial Florida properties. In the morning, he played 18 holes at Trump International, his West Palm Beach golf club.

Discussion: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE, The Drive, Breitbart and Associated Press, more at Mediagazer »

David E. Sanger / New York Times:

For Trump, a Risky Gamble to Deter Iran — The goal was to prove American resolve in the face of Iranian attacks. Now, American officials have no doubt the Iranians will respond — but they don't know how quickly, or how furiously. — President Trump's decision to strike and kill …

Discussion: Axios, Associated Press, Vox, DNyuz, Reason, Quartz, VICE, Breitbart, NB Blog and Billy Penn

New York Times:

Iranian General Traveled With Impunity, Until U.S. Drones Found Him — President Trump's decision to kill General Suleimani was one that his predecessors had rejected, fearing it would lead to war. — WASHINGTON — One night in January 2007, American Special Operations commandos tracked …

Discussion: Associated Press, Politico, The Guardian, WND, Breitbart, The American Independent, The Week and DNyuz

Robin Wright / New Yorker:

The Killing of Qassem Suleimani Is Tantamount to an Act of War — On orders from President Trump, the United States killed Major General Qassem Suleimani, the leader of Iran's élite Quds Force and the mastermind of its military operations across the Middle East, in an overnight air strike at Baghdad's International Airport.

Discussion: The Guardian, Associated Press, MarketWatch, Washington Post, Mother Jones, The Diplomat, CNN, VICE and USA Today

Associated Press:

Trump says Iranian should have been ‘taken out’ years ago — PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump said Friday that the targeted killing of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani was ordered because he was “plotting to kill” many Americans. — In his first comments since the early Friday strike …

Discussion: Vanity Fair, Breitbart, The Hill, NBC News, The Gateway Pundit, HuffPost, The American Independent, WGN-TV and KTLA

NBC News:

Planned attacks against U.S. targets in Syria, Lebanon were reason for Soleimani strike, say officials — Targets in Syria under threat included military outposts, officials said. In Lebanon, Soleimani was allegedly planning attacks on diplomatic targets.

Discussion: The Economic Collapse and Common Dreams

Mehdi Hasan / The Intercept:

Four Years Ago, Trump Had No Clue Who Iran's Suleimani Was. Now He May Have Kicked Off WWIII. — President Donald Trump makes a video call to the troops stationed worldwide at the Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., on Dec. 24, 2019. — Photo: Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images

Discussion: The Week, New York Times, Associated Press, CNN, DNyuz, New Republic, FOX31 Denver and LabourList

CBS News:

“There will be dead Americans” as a result of Iran general being killed, ex-CIA deputy director says — The targeted killing of Qassem Soleimani, one of Iran's top military leaders, has escalated tensions between the U.S. and Iran, with Iran vowing revenge.

Discussion: Washington Post, CBS Boston, Associated Press, Breitbart and BizPac Review

CNN:
Why now? Lawmakers question timing and legality of Trump's strike against Iranian commander

Discussion: Q13 FOX News, The Daily Caller, KTLA and FOX2now.com

George Packer / The Atlantic:
Killing Soleimani Was Worse Than a Crime

Discussion: Los Angeles Times and Associated Press

Ray Takeyh / Politico:
Why the Death of an Iranian Commander Won't Mean World War III

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Associated Press, One America News Network, Jacobin, The Miscellanies, The Hill and Breitbart

Peter Nicholas / The Atlantic:
Trump Cultivated His Own Credibility Crisis on Iran

Discussion: HuffPost, Raw Story, BBC, The Daily Wire and Townhall

Ryan C. Brooks / BuzzFeed News:
Trump's Strike Has Drawn A Sharp Line Between The Democrats Running For President

Discussion: IJR and The Week

Suzanne Maloney / Washington Post: Iran knows how to bide its time. Don't expect immediate retaliation for Soleimani.

Noga Tarnopolsky / Los Angeles Times:
Israel had advance notice of U.S. plan to kill Iranian general Suleimani, report says

Discussion: Raw Story

Marc Champion / Bloomberg:
Iran Options Seem Narrow as It Seeks to Avenge Slain General

Discussion: DNyuz

Richard Sisk / Military.com:
Thousands More US Troops Deploying to Middle East in Response to Iranian Threats

Discussion: Task & Purpose

Barbara Slavin / New York Times:
Qassim Suleimani's Killing Will Unleash Chaos

Discussion: Washington Post, Vox, Lawyers, Guns & Money and NPR

Sean Illing / Vox:
An expert on why the Soleimani assassination was almost certainly illegal

Discussion: National Review, The Hill and Raw Story

New York Times:
Qassim Suleimani, Master of Iran's Intrigue, Built a Shiite Axis of Power in Mideast

Discussion: Mother Jones, Breitbart, NB Blog, Townhall, americamagazine.org, VICE, DNyuz, Faithwire, The National Interest, The Week, Algemeiner.com, Atlantic Council, JustOneMinute and Althouse, more at Mediagazer »

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE:
Statement by the Department of Defense

McClatchy Washington Bureau:
Trump has considered killing Iran's Soleimani since last summer, sources say

Discussion: Raw Story

New York Times:
U.S. and Iran Exchange More Threats as Democrats Question Timing of Strike

Discussion: The Mahablog, DNyuz and Raw Story

Mohammad Ali Shabani / The Guardian:
Donald Trump's assassination of Qassem Suleimani will come back to haunt him

Discussion: DNyuz

U.S. Embassy / U.S. Embassy & Consulates in Iraq:
Security Alert - U.S. Embassy Baghdad, Iraq, January 3, 2020

Discussion: Associated Press, CNN, Daily Kos, Talking Points Memo, DNyuz, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE, Gizmodo, New York Times, KTLA, Sara A. Carter, Task & Purpose and WTVR-TV

Julia Ioffe / GQ:
Trump's Faithful Will Follow Him to War

Discussion: New York Times, Washington Post, Vox and Alternet.org

Kim Ghattas / The Atlantic:
Qassem Soleimani Haunted the Arab World

Discussion: Washington Post, Washington Free Beacon, Spectator USA, MarketWatch, The Week and Damian J. Penny

Nancy Dillon / New York Daily News:

Ex-Fox News reporter Courtney Friel claims Donald Trump invited her to Trump Tower to ‘kiss’ — Former Fox News reporter Courtney Friel says Donald Trump called her with a creepy come-on before he became president — while they were both married. — Friel, who sometimes worked as a fill …

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA, The Hill, Alternet.org, Mediaite, HuffPost and The Week

Jamie Ross / The Daily Beast:
Ex-Fox Reporter Says Trump Asked Her to Visit His Office for a ‘Kiss’

Discussion: Mediaite

Edward Helmore / The Guardian: Former Fox News reporter says Trump invited her to his office ‘so we can kiss’

Julie Zauzmer / Washington Post:

United Methodist Church is expected to split over gay marriage, fracturing the nation's third-largest denomination — Church leaders said Friday they had agreed to spin off a “traditionalist Methodist” denomination, and allow the remainder of the denomination to permit same-sex marriage …

Discussion: The Hill, The Daily Caller, Meduza.io, National Review, IJR, Disrn and WND

New York Times:
United Methodist Church Announces Plan to Split Over Same-Sex Marriage

Discussion: The Week and TheBlaze

Lisa Friedman / New York Times:

Trump Rule Would Exclude Climate Change in Infrastructure Planning — WASHINGTON — Federal agencies would no longer have to take climate change into account when they assess the environmental impacts of highways, pipelines and other major infrastructure projects, according to a Trump administration plan …

Wall Street Journal:

Carlos Ghosn Sneaked Out of Japan in Box Used for Audio Gear — Two men, providing names matching those of private security contractors, flew with Ghosn to Turkey — A pair of men with names matching those of American security contractors accompanied former auto executive Carlos Ghosn …

Discussion: Law & Crime, Al Jazeera, Financial Times and Bloomberg

Whitley Alexander / U.S. Representative Phil Roe, M.D.:

Congressman Roe: “Thank you for giving me the opportunity to represent East Tennessee.” — f t # e — JOHNSON CITY, TENN.- Today, Rep. Phil Roe, M.D. (R-Tenn.) released the following statement after announcing he will retire at the end of the 116th Congress:

Discussion: The Hill, New York Times, Talking Points Memo, HuffPost and IJR

Preston Ayres / WCYB:
Roe Retiring: Congressman won't seek another term

Discussion: Axios, Raw Story and The Daily Caller

Politico:

The Hill's owner seeks potential buyers, investors — Under fire for its role in promoting alleged Ukraine conspiracy theories, the D.C.-based publication faces new questions about its future. — Jimmy Finkelstein in 2012. Jimmy Finkelstein, owner of The Hill, is shopping his publication …

more at Mediagazer »

Sarah Gamard / delawareonline:

Two Delaware GOP leaders under fire for Facebook posts called ‘homophobic,’ ‘anti-Semitic’ — Two of Delaware's Republican leaders are under fire after posting comments on Facebook that fellow party members have deemed “homophobic” and “anti-Semitic.” — New Castle County Republican Party …

Discussion: The Hill

Harmeet Kaur / CNN:
Two Delaware GOP leaders are facing backlash over homophobic and anti-Semitic comments

Discussion: PinkNews and Blue Delaware

Adeel Hassan / New York Times:

‘A Different Era’: Anti-Semitic Crimes, and Efforts to Track Them, Climb — Attacks have been traditionally underreported, but fighting the scourge in hate crimes begins with better data, experts say. — When slurs were spray-painted on a kosher market in West Los Angeles …

Jane Coaston / Vox:
The conspiracy theories behind the anti-Semitic violence in New York

Discussion: NB Blog and Washington Post

United States Department of State:

Senior State Department Officials On the Situation in Iraq — WASHINGTON, D.C. — MODERATOR: So I'm going to have [Senior State Department Official One] start out and just give a very - a very - we actually mostly want to make this Q&A, so [Senior State Department Official One] is just going to have a few remarks here.