Warlord
01-15-2020, 03:44 PM
This is a bit strange.. I wonder what their up to :confused:
The State Department abruptly canceled two classified congressional briefings Wednesday that were supposed to focus on embassy security and the U.S. relationship with Iran, Capitol Hill aides said, infuriating lawmakers and staffers seeking answers on the fallout from President Donald Trump's decision to kill a senior Iranian general.
“Staff are furious,” a House aide said about the scuttled embassy security session. “This briefing is required by law every month, and today's was the most important we've had scheduled in a long time. The State Department has given us no explanation whatsoever.”
A Senate aide said the Iran briefing was scheduled for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. It was supposed to be given by senior State Department officials, including Iran special envoy Brian Hook and David Schenker, the assistant secretary of State for the Middle East.
"We know they will vaguely claim it was a logistical issue, even though this briefing had been already locked into the schedule for days," the Senate aide said.
Press aides to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.
The canceled briefing on embassy security was originally going to focus on the situation in the African country of Burundi. It was supposed to be held for lawmakers and staff of various national security-focused committees and House and Senate leadership, the House aide said.
At congressional staff’s request, the topic was broadened to cover embassy security in the wake of the U.S. drone strike that killed Iranian general Qassem Soleimani earlier this month, the House aide said.
The Trump administration has given varying explanations for why it decided to kill Soleimani, at times claiming the Iranian general was planning “imminent” attacks on Americans.
Trump has said he believes that Soleimani may have been plotting attacks on as many as four U.S. embassies. But Defense Secretary Mark Esper said on Sunday that he hadn't seen intelligence saying so.
Congressional staffers had planned to ask questions about the shifting explanations and wanted to receive a global threat assessment for U.S. personnel. The State Department agreed to provide the embassy security briefing, then said Tuesday that it would not do so, the House aide said.
Pompeo has already been the target of ire from House Democrats who asked him to appear for a public hearing earlier this week. He did not appear, instead traveling to California to deliver speeches, including an address about the U.S. relationship with Iran at Stanford University's Hoover Institute
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/01/15/state-department-cancels-embassy-security-meeting-099296
The State Department abruptly canceled two classified congressional briefings Wednesday that were supposed to focus on embassy security and the U.S. relationship with Iran, Capitol Hill aides said, infuriating lawmakers and staffers seeking answers on the fallout from President Donald Trump's decision to kill a senior Iranian general.
“Staff are furious,” a House aide said about the scuttled embassy security session. “This briefing is required by law every month, and today's was the most important we've had scheduled in a long time. The State Department has given us no explanation whatsoever.”
A Senate aide said the Iran briefing was scheduled for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. It was supposed to be given by senior State Department officials, including Iran special envoy Brian Hook and David Schenker, the assistant secretary of State for the Middle East.
"We know they will vaguely claim it was a logistical issue, even though this briefing had been already locked into the schedule for days," the Senate aide said.
Press aides to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.
The canceled briefing on embassy security was originally going to focus on the situation in the African country of Burundi. It was supposed to be held for lawmakers and staff of various national security-focused committees and House and Senate leadership, the House aide said.
At congressional staff’s request, the topic was broadened to cover embassy security in the wake of the U.S. drone strike that killed Iranian general Qassem Soleimani earlier this month, the House aide said.
The Trump administration has given varying explanations for why it decided to kill Soleimani, at times claiming the Iranian general was planning “imminent” attacks on Americans.
Trump has said he believes that Soleimani may have been plotting attacks on as many as four U.S. embassies. But Defense Secretary Mark Esper said on Sunday that he hadn't seen intelligence saying so.
Congressional staffers had planned to ask questions about the shifting explanations and wanted to receive a global threat assessment for U.S. personnel. The State Department agreed to provide the embassy security briefing, then said Tuesday that it would not do so, the House aide said.
Pompeo has already been the target of ire from House Democrats who asked him to appear for a public hearing earlier this week. He did not appear, instead traveling to California to deliver speeches, including an address about the U.S. relationship with Iran at Stanford University's Hoover Institute
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/01/15/state-department-cancels-embassy-security-meeting-099296