Trump administration briefed Israel on the Suleimani attack before it briefed Congress: report

Authored by rawstory.com and submitted by FitRun

Speaking on Israel’s Channel 13, journalist Barak Ravid said that the “United States informed Israel” about the operation in Iraq to kill Iranian military leader Gen. Qassem Suleimani “a few days ago.” Additionally, The Los Angeles Times reports that an “Israeli army officer with knowledge of Israeli military assessments, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he did not have permission to speak to reporters,” said that the attack that killed Suleimani “did not come as a surprise.”

Also noteworthy is a Friday tweet from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who revealed that he discussed the attack with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as a means to “protect American lives.”

“I emphasized that de-escalation is the United States’ principal goal,” Pompeo wrote.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and I discussed the decisive defensive action @realDonaldTrump employed in Baghdad to protect American lives. I emphasized that de-escalation is the United States’ principal goal. — Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) January 3, 2020

Read the full report over at The Los Angeles Times.

AngryGoose on January 4th, 2020 at 00:13 UTC »

Did Obama inform Congress before taking out Bin Laden? I'm not trolling, I'm curious and would like a serious answer. Thanks

Jenova66 on January 3rd, 2020 at 23:18 UTC »

This is a business man’s approach to foreign policy. In his mind he is CEO and doesn’t need to brief Congress. They work for him.

He told his business partners (Russia, Israel, Saudi Arabia) because he might need them for something later. These are people he relies on that don’t work for him, so they get a courtesy call.

Trump probably views Congress like any traditional executive might view HR, Legal, or Accounting. He doesn’t need their opinion. He needs them to write checks and take care of the paperwork.

AldousKing on January 3rd, 2020 at 22:53 UTC »

Isn't Netanyahu facing criminal charges? I thought Trump was a champion of fighting corruption abroad after witholding Ukraine's aid? Now he's debriefing Israel before congress? Do these people have any actual standards?