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Zippyjuan
01-12-2020, 01:52 PM
https://thehill.com/homenews/sunday-talk-shows/477875-esper-said-he-didnt-see-intelligence-suggesting-iran-planned-to


Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said on Sunday that he did not see intelligence that supported President Trump’s comments that the Iranian commander killed in a U.S. drone strike was plotting attacks against four U.S. embassies.

Esper said on CBS's "Face the Nation" that he shared Trump’s view that planning was underway but did not cite intelligence information he saw to support the claims.

“What the president said was he believed there probably and could've been attacks against additional embassies. I shared that view. I know other members of the national security team shared that view. That’s why I deployed thousands of American paratroopers to the Middle East to reinforce our embassy in Baghdad and other sites throughout the region,” Esper said.

He added that Trump did not cite a “specific piece of evidence.”

“Are you saying there wasn't one?” host Margaret Brennan asked.

“I didn't see one with regard to four embassies,” Esper responded. “What I’m saying is I share the president's view.”

He added that administration officials "do not expect any further attacks."

Trump told Fox News in an interview that aired Friday that Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani was plotting against four U.S. embassies before he was targeted.

Members of Congress have questioned whether an attack was imminent, as administration officials have said was the case in defending their decision to carry out the strike in briefings before lawmakers.

During an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday, Esper similarly defended Trump’s comments and said he shared the president's view that Iran was planning attacks against multiple embassies.

He did not, however, go so far as to confirm intelligence supported the claim.

“I’m not going to discuss intelligence matters on the show,” Esper said.

“The president did,” host Jake Tapper responded.

Esper replied that it was the “president’s prerogative” to do so.

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Warlord
01-12-2020, 01:54 PM
http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?542877-Pentagon-chief-says-he-didn-t-see-intelligence-that-Iran-planned-to-attack-4-US-embassies

mods, merge please!

Zippyjuan
01-12-2020, 01:55 PM
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/477906-amash-trump-claim-about-us-embassy-threats-seems-to-be-totally-made


Amash: Trump claim about US embassy threats 'seems to be totally made up'

Rep. Justin Amash (Mich.), an Independent who left the Republican Party last year, said Sunday that President Trump's claim that Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani was plotting attacks against four U.S. embassies "seems to be totally made up."

"The administration didn’t present evidence to Congress regarding even one embassy," Amash tweeted.

"And they have never presented evidence of imminence — a necessary condition to act without congressional approval — with respect to any of this," he added, referencing Trump administration officials' justification for launching an airstrike that killed Soleimani.

Senior administration officials have said that Soleimani posed an imminent threat to American lives, though have not offered details on that position. Trump told Fox News on Friday that he believed four embassies, including the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, was being targeted.

Amash's statements came just hours after Defense Secretary Mark Esper said on CBS's "Face the Nation" that he had not seen any "specific evidence" that supported Trump's claim that Iran was planning attacks on four embassies. Rather, Esper argued that Trump's position was that "there probably and could've been attacks against additional embassies."

"I shared that view. I know other members of the national security team shared that view. That’s why I deployed thousands of American paratroopers to the Middle East to reinforce our embassy in Baghdad and other sites throughout the region,” Esper said, adding that Trump did not cite a “specific piece of evidence.”

Pressed on whether there was specific evidence, Esper said that he did not see any. He added that administration officials "do not expect any further attacks."



More at link.