>> Following the launch of U.S. air strikes against an Iranian-backed militia group in
Iraq, thousands of Iraqi protesters demonstrated at the U.S.embassy in Baghdad.
Now, demonstrated might be a little bit of a euphemism to be fair, because some of these
protests actually became pretty violent and one area of the compound was actually set
ablaze.
So, some of the demonstrators allegedly attempted to break into the embassy, although that is
being reported by mainstream media outlets and take that with a grain of salt.
However, we do have video evidence showing that some of these protestors did light the
compound on fire.
Luckily, based on reports, no one was hurt.
Now, the attacks are a response to U.S. airstrikes against an Iran-backed militia that formally
sits under the control of Iraq's prime minister.
The airstrikes have caused tensions with Baghdad, where officials accused the U.S. of attacking
without sufficient evidence, violating Iraqi sovereignty and threatening the country's
security.
Now, the Iranian-backed militia group is known Kata'ib Hezbollah and it seems like the group
is accepted by the Iraqi government.
However, the Iraqi government does have an obligation to protect the U.S. embassy and
U.S.workers within the country.
Now, exactly how many U.S. workers are there in the country?
Well, it's not clear how many people are inside the embassy, but it is the U.S.'s largest
diplomatic mission in the world, with around 16,000 staff.
The compound covers around 100 acres, around the same size as the Vatican City.
And in addition to that, you have about 5000 active U.S. military members in Iraq as well.
So there is growing frustration among Iraqis regarding U.S. presence in the country.
They feel that the sovereign nature of their country is being jeopardized, that the U.S.
has absolutely no intentions of leaving.
And it's understandable that they think that way because we have 16,000 people working
in the embassy alone.
That's insane!
>> Yeah, so let me start by giving just a little extra detail on the current state of
affairs, then I wanna back up and tell you how we got here.
So you saw with the video that they lit a small part of the outside of the embassy on
fire.
There's a little fog of war here.
Some outlets are reporting that they broke into the reception area of the embassy and
set that ablaze as well.
Others are saying that nothing was breached.
But either way guys, imagine you're in that situation, it is super scary.
So you've got fires, you've got people throwing stones.
And so, this is not a normal protest, this is definitely a bit of a riot.
And so you can understand why we're very concerned about the folks that are in the embassy.
Now, let's back up and how did this get to where it is today?
And that's the important context.
So, first part of this was the Trump Administration broke the deal that we had with Iran and all
the other major powers in the world.
So, the major powers did not agree with us.
They agreed with Iran.
Okay, so that's very important context.
We're the ones who broke the deal and for no apparent reason other than the fact that
Obama signed it and we'd like to start another war in the Middle East.
So then Iran starts to retaliate in different ways.
>> Mm-hm.
>> Now, lately, I'm gonna fast forward to what started this particular uprising, if
you will.
So, Iran-backed groups, now gotta get into the details of that, cuz that's important
too, according to us, attacked some of our basics including one in Kirkuk, and a defense
contractor, an American defense contractor was killed and four US troops were injured.
Now, I don't want any percentage chance of a war there, but at the same time, I actually
do think you need a response for for that.
But it's really, really important that, that response be commensurate with what we suffered.
Okay.
Why is it important?
Because we're weak-kneed liberals?
No.
It's really important that it be proportional.
Cuz, otherwise, things are going to spin out of control like they are now, and more of
our troops, and our contractors and our embassy personnel are going to be in danger.
Now, that's exactly what's happening, and I think it is only going to get worse.
So what did we do in retaliation that was not proportional?
We launched massive missile strikes, killing 25 and injuring 51.
Now, here's another part of the problem, it turns out some are reporting, again, fog of
war here, but some media outlets are reporting that Iraqi police and military were among
the killed.
Now, the Iraqi Government obviously is not going to like that.
In fact, the Iraqi Prime Minister while saying, yeah, we'll protect the embassy.
First of all, in the beginning it doesn't look like they had a security perimeter, so
I'm not sure they did protect the embassy.
But also said that all the people who were killed, all the people who were killed by
American airstrikes were, quote martyrs.
So now, not only have we gone after Iran in our minds, but we've significantly pissed
off the Iraqi government, which is supposed to be our allies.
Now, the very important part is something that Anna alluded to, the group that we bombed
actually is recognized by the Iraqi government.
And back in 2014, it was formed to fight Isis.
Well, that's a good thing, right?
And it should be on our side in a sense, right?
In 2016, two years later, the Iraqi government recognized it as a private, private's not
quite the right word, but an independent military unit, but that reports to the Iraqi government,
not to the Iranian government, to the Iraqi government.
So technically, legally and literally, we attacked the Iraqi government on Sunday.
So, that is, it was not proportional.
And it was potentially directed at not a great target.
They might or might not have been the people who attacked us.
So the Pentagon and State Department say they were.
They don't have a great history of telling the truth.
But even if that were the case, that is why you have to be extraordinarily careful about
how you strike back, cuz you're targeting a group tied to the Iraqi government, a government
that has to protect your embassy with 16,000 people inside of it.
>> So- >> So that's why it was a terrible idea!
Why did Trump do it?
He said, we needed a very strong response.
God!
This is why you need a smart person in charge and not an idiot.
>> Well, I have some of his reaction in just a minute, but I actually wanna respond to
what you said.
Because, you argue, well, there needs to be a response, if there is a U.S. contractor
who is killed as a result of a militia group, well then there needs to be appropriate action
taken.
But here's the thing, why are we in Iraq right now?
Right?
The Iraqi people don't want us there.
The Iraqi government increasingly doesn't want us there.
They want us out.
And look, this isn't something that happened on U.S. soil, this is something that happened
in a sovereign country, right?
And so people want us out, but we're still there.
>> So those two things are separate, though, Anna.
>> I know they're separate.
>> No, so if you're asking me would I take out the 5,000 troops from Iraq?
Yeah, yesterday.
Not literally yesterday, because I don't want to do something abrupt like Trump did in northern
Syria, but a careful, deliberate withdrawal.
Because all we have is those 5000 troops sitting there as a sitting duck.
For what reason?
To instigate a war in Iran?
Well, I don't want a war in Iran.
And by the way, it's not just us.
Republican voters don't want a war with Iran.
Overwhelming majority of Americans don't want to war with Iran.
So the only purpose of those 5000 soldiers there and ISIS, Trump says is defeated, so
we don't need them for ISIS.
The Iraqi government doesn't really want them there.
And so they're sitting there waiting to get killed so we can start a bigger conflict in
the Middle East.
So, I totally agree on removing the troops.
>> Right.
>> And, by the way, a large chunk of that embassy staff.
It doesn't need to be that gigantic.
>> Yeah, exactly, 16,000 people.
>> Okay.
>> That's not a joke.
And, look, all I'm saying is think of the frustration of the Iraqi people and the Iraqi
government, the way that you would feel if someone just broke into your house and refuse
to leave, right?
So if you retaliate against the person who refuses to leave, well, that'son the person
who refuses to leave.
And I am not saying like,- >> Nah, nah.
>> I am not saying the contractors deserved it.
I am saying we never think about the consequences of this war machine, right?
And by the way, U.S. soldiers all the time, and there isn't like this insane outrage in
the State Department, because who cares?
They're just our soldiers.
We put them in all these unnecessary wars all the time, but there was a U.S.contractor
that got killed, right?
So we need to have a disproportionate response and do these airstrikes, which I believe purposely
continues to fuel these wars abroad.
>> So look, it's only gonna get worse.
So whether it's contractors or U.S. military personnel, why are they getting killed?
Because they're there.
>> Exactly.
>> And whether it's Iraq or Afghanistan, bring ' home.
Bring ' home.
They're sitting ducks and there's no point, other than to provoke more wars to get more
of our troops killed.
So bring our guys home.
Okay, now last thing, guys, as part of this is, at least from my perspective, I know we've
got Trump's response too, but is what's next?
Well, here we go.
We might have opened up a Pandora's box and there's no good way to get out of this.
So, Iraqi President Barham Salih has called the U.S. actions harmful to Iraq and unacceptable.
And guess who's back?
Muqtada al-Sadr.
So he had won recent elections.
There was some sort of deal made so that he wouldn't be prime minister.
But he is a very powerful force within Iraq.
And he is now leading a campaign to expel US forces by quote legal and political means.
The last time he tried to expel US forces, he did it by military means and killed tons
of our troops.
So Muqtada al-Sadr and his brigade in the Iraq War was an unbelievable menace to us.
And now he's back saying, hey, listen, man, I won the election.
You wanted democracy, you got a democracy.
And now I'm telling you, you better get the hell out, otherwise things are gonna get really
ugly.
And Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, who, Americans are scared by the title Grand Ayatollah and
any Muslim name.
The Ayatollah is usually in Iraq, not in Iran, but in Iraq a moderating force.
And Grand Ayatollah just basically means Cardinal Callahan for you to begin to understand it.
So anyway, Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani says, that the US action was, quote, sinful and
without justification.
So he's less harsh than the others, again, cuz he's a little bit of a moderating force
in that country.
But when you piss him off, he's like the basically pope of Iraq so then everybody's mad and now
we've got all of, forget Iran, we've got all of Iraq mad at us.
So what the hell are we doing there?
>> Exactly, exactly.
>> There is no good way out of this other than get our troops out of there and get as
much of our embassy staff out as possible, cuz this is totally counterproductive.
>> So I want to read a member comment, and this comes from Mayo Pete's 39th Billionaire
Donor, that's the member's handle.
I venture to say that invading Iraq was, in the first place, disproportionate to anything
they as a nation state have done to the United States.
So our members, for the most part, based on this comment, seem to understand and agree
that we have no reason to be in that country at this point.
If the government doesn't want us there, we should leave.
We're not assisting them.
We're just they're fueling the war machine.
>> Remember what the original excuse was?
There was a couple of them, but one of them was, and Bush declared this when he started
the war, the liberation of Iraq has begun, right?
>> Yeah.
Right.
>> Okay, well, great.
They're liberated and now they're telling us to get the hell out.
Okay, so we should listen to that because they're supposed to be a free democracy that
we were so proud to set up.
Is it real, or is it not real?
So let's make up our minds.
But one more thing, of course so we read members' comments every once in awhile throughout the
show, tyt.com/join to become a member, be part of the show.
But our members are so much smarter than the rest of the media, because the media says,
my God, we got tricked in the Iraq war and they wring their hands.
But do they ever learn any lessons?
No, they don't learn any lessons.
So right now, they have untold praise over and over again for who?
Joe Biden, who voted for what?
The Iraq war.
I mean, disproportionate.
Iraq didn't do anything to us.
Iraq did not attack us on 911.
It was al Qaeda.
Iraq hated al Qaeda.
So I mean, if you're not smart, you don't know anything.
Okay, that's one thing.
>> Didn't have weapons of mass destruction.
>> They didn't have any of that.
No, we picked them because they have oil.
But the media will never, ever, ever admit that, even though it's the most obvious thing
in the world.
And by the way, Joe Biden doesn't admit that.
So what are we in the middle of?
This is not ancient history.
The attacks are happening right now in Iraq, and we have a presidential candidate leading
the Democratic field who was in favor of the Iraq war and has learned no lessons whatsoever.
So whether it's Trump or Biden, we might still be in the same exact mess in
this situation.