| | | REPORT: 11 AMERICANS INJURED IN IRAN ATTACK TRUMP DEEMED ALL GOOD
Remember when Trump said no Americans were harmed by the missile attack? Turns out that was a lie.
BY BESS LEVIN
JANUARY 17, 2020
BY WIN MCNAMEE/GETTY.
Earlier this month, after Iran launched a missile attack against an Iraqi base housing American troops in retaliation for Donald Trump’s decision to assassinate general Qasem Soleimani, the president offered a bizarrely chipper assessment of the development on Twitter. “All is well!” he wrote. “Missiles launched from Iran at two military bases located in Iraq. Assessment of casualties & damages taking place now. So far, so good! We have the most powerful and well equipped military anywhere in the world, by far! I will be making a statement tomorrow morning.” The next day, striking a similar tone, Trump told the nation during a televised address: “I am pleased to inform you, the American people should be extremely grateful and happy. No Americans were harmed in last night’s attack by the Iranian regime.” While the news that no Americans were hurt would of course always be welcome, Trump’s delivery struck many as odd considering the context, i.e. a strike by Iran, precipitated by a move seen as a dangerous escalation of tensions in the Middle East. And, as it turns out, the whole story was a lie anyway.
Politico reports that, contrary to the president’s claim that “no Americans were harmed,” 11 service members were injured during the attack. According to U.S. Central Command spokesman Captain Bill Urban, “several were treated for concussion symptoms from the blast and are still being assessed.” He added that eight troops were moved from the Al-Asad air base to a medical center in Germany, and another three were moved to Kuwait “for follow-on screening.” Following screens for traumatic brain injury, “when deemed fit for duty, the service members are expected to return to Iraq…The health and welfare of our personnel is a top priority and we will not discuss any individual’s medical status.”
Trump, of course, is known for being a pathological liar, but it’s more than a little disturbing to learn that he may have lied about an attack that affected Americans. Nor is this the first lie regarding Iran in which he may have been caught. The other one concerns his claim that Soleimani was “probably” going to attack four U.S. embassies, a threat that no one else in the administration was aware of, including his Secretary of Defense.
That credibility gap has been a major problem as the Trump administration has tried to convince the American people it’s doing the right thing in Iran. Combine it with the president’s singular ignorance, and we’re well and truly screwed. Just in case anyone was laboring under the assumption that Trump could find Iran, let alone France, on a map, here’s a fun anecdote about his complete and total lack of knowledge about the world, courtesy of the new book A Very Stable Genius by Washington Post reporters Philip Rucker and Carol D. Leonnig:
…Six months into his administration, Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, Director of the National Economic Council Gary Cohn, and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had grown alarmed by gaping holes in Trump’s knowledge of history, especially the key alliances forged following World War II. Trump had dismissed allies as worthless, cozied up to authoritarian regimes in Russia and elsewhere, and advocated withdrawing troops from strategic outposts and active theaters alike. Trump organized his unorthodox worldview under the simplistic banner of “America First,” but Mattis, Tillerson, and Cohn feared his proposals were rash, barely considered, and a danger to America’s superpower standing. They also felt that many of Trump’s impulsive ideas stemmed from his lack of familiarity with U.S. history and, even, where countries were located. To have a useful discussion with him, the trio agreed, they had to create a basic knowledge, a shared language.
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