Here in one cartoon is what ‘red lines’ drawn by former President Obama looked like compared to what a ‘red line’ drawn by President Trump looks like:
Does that about sum it up?
Here’s the latest on the Iran situation.
Lebanese Terror Group Hezbollah Threatens to Turn U.S. Military Bases in Iraq into ‘Rubble’
Hezbollah leaders are threatening to turn U.S. military bases in Iraq to “rubble” in retaliation for the killing of Iranian terrorist General Soleimani, as the Daily Mail reports:
“Kataib Hezbollah, an Iran-backed militia at the center of current tensions between Washington and Tehran, threatened attacks on American bases in Iraq after the country’s parliament voted to expel foreign forces on Sunday.
Meanwhile Hassan Nasrallah, the Lebanese secretary-general of Hezbollah, said all US bases, all warships and every single soldier in the region is now a target.
The true, just retribution for those who conducted this assassination is an institution, which is the U.S. military,’ he said during a ceremony to mourn Soleimani’s assassination in Beirut on Sunday.
‘We will launch a battle against those killers, those criminals.’
If they keep up the threats the leaders of Hezbollah are likely to find out, sooner rather than later, that this President does not stand by when American lives or assets are threatened.
Here’s more on the threats from Hezbollah leaders, via Reuters:
“President Trump does not shy away from protecting America and Americans, unlike former President Obama, former Secretary of State Clinton, former Vice-President Biden or any of the current crop of 2020 Democrat candidates.
“Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said on Sunday the U.S. military in the Middle East would pay the price for the assassination of Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani, calling this the just punishment for his killing.
Nasrallah, speaking in a televised addressed commemorating Soleimani’s death in a U.S. attack, said responding to the killing was not only Iran’s responsibility but the responsibility of its allies in the region too.
Nasrallah said that U.S. civilians in the region “should not be touched,” saying this would serve U.S. President Donald Trump’s agenda.”
In addition Americans in Israel are being warned to be wary of potential rocket-fire:
“The United States warned its citizens in Israel and the Palestinian territories on Monday to be vigilant, citing the risk of rocket fire, three days after a U.S. drone strike killed an Iranian military commander in Iraq.
The alert issued on the websites of the U.S. State Department and the U.S. embassy in Israel did not specifically mention the killing of Qassem Soleimani but referred to heightened tensions in the Middle East.
Israel has not issued a similar warning to its own citizens, though Army Radio reported the military had been put on alert.
Israel’s security cabinet, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, met on Monday for the first time since Soleimani was killed.
Rare leaks from inside the forum to Israeli media quoted unidentified Israeli intelligence officials as saying the probability of an imminent Iranian attack on Israel was low.
The U.S. message said it “strongly encourages U.S. citizens to remain vigilant and take appropriate steps to increase their security awareness, as security incidents, including rocket fire, often take place without warning.”
It said Israel’s “red alert” siren system may be activated in the event of “mortar or rocket fire.” Such attacks have been launched against Israel periodically from the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, where the Islamic Jihad group is backed by Iran.
Israel is also concerned about possible retaliation for Soleimani’s death by other Iranian proxies and allies in the region, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas.
But aside from a one-day closure of a ski resort in the occupied Golan Heights on the Syrian frontier after Friday’s attack on Soleimani, there has been no sign of any disruption of normal life in Israel.”
Reuters contributed to this report.