{"source_url": "https://www.forbes.com", "url": "https://www.forbes.com/sites/sergeiklebnikov/2020/01/01/trump-sends-more-troops-to-the-middle-east-after-us-embassy-attack-in-baghdad/", "title": "Trump Sends More Troops To The Middle East After U.S. Embassy Attack In Baghdad", "top_image": "https://thumbor.forbes.com/thumbor/600x315/https%3A%2F%2Fspecials-images.forbesimg.com%2Fimageserve%2F1191132061%2F960x0.jpg", "meta_img": "https://thumbor.forbes.com/thumbor/600x315/https%3A%2F%2Fspecials-images.forbesimg.com%2Fimageserve%2F1191132061%2F960x0.jpg", "images": ["https://thumbor.forbes.com/thumbor/600x315/https%3A%2F%2Fspecials-images.forbesimg.com%2Fimageserve%2F1191132061%2F960x0.jpg", "https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/1191132061/960x0.jpg?fit=scale", "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/c43c7e342f36ac74709e0b228d478da3?s=400&d=mm&r=g"], "movies": [], "text": "An Iraqi soldier stands guard in front of the US embassy. Ameer Al Mohmmedaw/dpa/picture alliance via Getty Images\n\nTopline: Amid worsening U.S.-Iranian relations, President Donald Trump sent additional troops to the Middle East on Tuesday night, in response to an attack on the U.S. embassy in Baghdad earlier that day, which he was quick to blame on Iran.\n\nAfter Iraqi citizens stormed the U.S. embassy in Baghdad on Tuesday, Trump said that the attack was \u201cstraight from Iran\u2019s playbook\u201d and that the country was \u201cfully responsible.\u201d\n\nHis administration immediately responded by deploying an additional 750 soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, to the Middle East on Tuesday night, with another 3,000 on standby in the next few days. Sources told the Associated Press that they will go to Kuwait, although the official destination hasn\u2019t yet been confirmed.\n\nThat\u2019s in addition to 100 marines and two Apache attack helicopters that were deployed to reinforce the U.S. embassy earlier on Tuesday in a \u201cshow of force,\u201d according to NPR.\n\nDefense Secretary Mark Esper confirmed on Tuesday night that the deployment was \u201cin response to recent events\u201d in Iraq, as tensions between the U.S. and Iran continue to escalate.\n\nBy Wednesday, most Iran-backed militia and protestors began to withdraw from the U.S. embassy, defusing the situation somewhat.\n\nAccording to the State Department\u2019s last update, all American embassy personnel in Baghdad are safe and there are currently no plans to evacuate.\n\nCrucial quote: \u201cThis will never ever be a Benghazi,\u201d Trump told reporters at Mar-a-Lago on New Years Eve. The president also praised the \u201cfantastic job\u201d and \u201cinstantaneous\u201d response from U.S. marines, as well as the efforts of the Iraqi government in defusing the situation.\n\nBig number: 14,000 U.S. troops in total have been sent to the Gulf region since May, amid concerns about Iranian aggression, according to the Associated Press.\n\nKey background: Iraqi citizens attacked the U.S. embassy in Baghdad Tuesday morning in an enraged response to a Sunday U.S. airstrike that killed two dozen members of an Iranian-backed militia. Protesters broke into the U.S. embassy Tuesday, shattering windows, lighting fires and chanting \u201cDeath To America,\u201d in one of the worst attacks on the embassy in recent history. They were responding to U.S. airstrikes on Sunday that killed 24 members of an Iranian-backed militia, Kataib Hezbollah, on the border between Iraq and Syria. The U.S. believes Kataib Hezbollah carried out a missile attack on a Iraqi military base Friday that killed an American contractor and wounded American and Iraqi service members. Critics say the U.S. response was disproportionate and violated Iraqi sovereignty, while the New York Times reported that the weekend airstrikes resulted in the \u201cmost serious political crisis\u201d in years for the U.S. in Iraq.\n\nTrump was quick to place the blame on Iran: \u201cIran killed an American contractor, wounding many. We strongly responded, and always will. Now Iran is orchestrating an attack on the U.S. Embassy in Iraq. They will be held fully responsible. In addition, we expect Iraq to use its forces to protect the Embassy, and so notified!\u201d", "keywords": [], "meta_keywords": ["iran", "iraq", "US embassy", "Baghdad", "embassy attack", "US-Iran"], "tags": [], "authors": ["Sergei Klebnikov"], "publish_date": "Wed Jan  1 00:00:00 2020", "summary": "", "article_html": "", "meta_description": "Trump was quick to blame Iran for the attack.", "meta_lang": "en", "meta_favicon": "", "meta_data": {"viewport": "width=device-width,initial-scale=1,minimum-scale=1,maximum-scale=2,user-scalable=yes", "apple-itunes-app": "app-id=588647136", "fb": {"app_id": 123694841080850}, "og": {"site_name": "Forbes", "title": "Trump Sends More Troops To The Middle East After U.S. Embassy Attack In Baghdad", "image": "https://thumbor.forbes.com/thumbor/600x315/https%3A%2F%2Fspecials-images.forbesimg.com%2Fimageserve%2F1191132061%2F960x0.jpg", "updated_time": "2020-01-01T11:39:32-05:00", "url": "https://www.forbes.com/sites/sergeiklebnikov/2020/01/01/trump-sends-more-troops-to-the-middle-east-after-us-embassy-attack-in-baghdad/", "description": "Trump was quick to blame Iran for the attack.", "type": "article"}, "twitter": {"site": "@forbes", "card": "summary_large_image", "title": "Trump Sends More Troops To The Middle East After U.S. Embassy Attack In Baghdad", "description": "Trump was quick to blame Iran for the attack.", "image": "https://thumbor.forbes.com/thumbor/600x300/https%3A%2F%2Fspecials-images.forbesimg.com%2Fimageserve%2F1191132061%2F960x0.jpg", "creator": "@sergeiklebnikov"}, "description": "Trump was quick to blame Iran for the attack.", "keywords": "iran, iraq, US embassy, Baghdad, embassy attack, US-Iran", "author": "Sergei Klebnikov", "news_keywords": "iran, iraq, US embassy, Baghdad, embassy attack, US-Iran", "article": {"publisher": "https://www.facebook.com/forbes", "author": "Sergei Klebnikov", "section": "Money", "section_url": "https://www.forbes.com/markets/", "id": "blogAndPostId/blog/post/3781-5e0cbf503680870006cb4467", "published": "2020-01-01", "modified": "2020-01-01"}}, "canonical_link": "https://www.forbes.com/sites/sergeiklebnikov/2020/01/01/trump-sends-more-troops-to-the-middle-east-after-us-embassy-attack-in-baghdad/"}