01/06/20 01/06/20 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> americans should prepare themselves for a slap in the past. the americans must know due to the crime they have committed, they would face no safety or peace anywhere. amy: iranian media is reporting over a million mourners have taken to the streets of tehran for the funeral of iranian military commander qassim suleimani three days after he was assassinated in a u.s. drone strike in iraq.

fallout from his death continues to mount across the middle east. the iraqi parliament has voted to expel u.s. troops. iran has announced it is suspending its commitments under the landmark 2015 nuclear deal. the u.s. is sending thousands of more troops to the region. president trump is threatening to blow up iranian cultural sites. we will go to baghdad for the latest. plus, we will hear from cocongressmember alendndria ococas-cortez. >> this is on half of rr entire coury and tt t is wt mas ththe pential legality hi actns so flagrt,t, becse he didotot consult congress. ththis w notot de withthhe support of the unid d stat. been an act of aggression committed by the united states. amy: all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman.

global tensions are mounting following the united states' assassination of iranian commander qassim suleimani in a drone strike at the baghdad international airport friday morning. up to a million mourners poured into the streets of iran and iraq for the funeral procession of the longtime leader of the islamic revolutionary guard corps' quds force. in response to the assassination, the iraqi parliament voted sunday to expel all u.s. military forces from iraq. president trump responded by threatening to impose sanctions on iraq "like they've never seen before." iraq has already been the target of some of the harshest sanctions the world has even seen. u.s.-backed sanctions killed more than a million iraqis, including over 500,000 children, between 1990 and 2003. president trump has also threatened to target 52 locations in iran, including cultural sites, if iran retaliates against the u.s. the targeting of cultural sites

is widely viewed as an war crime. pentagon said the number 52 is for the taking of 52 hostages by karen 40 years ago. the pentagon says it's sending nearly 3000 more troops to the middle east from the 82nd airborne division. karen says it is pulling out of the 2015 nuclear deal. the united states has already pulled out of the deal. many iraqi residents that they are concerned the rising tensions between the u.s. and iran will engulf iraq. this is baghdad resident naji khathem. killingswill be more and the fight between u.s. and iran will move to iraq. they don't care that we're protesting for our rights. what is coming will be worse. amy: vermont senator bernie sanders and california congress

member ro khanna have introduced new legislation that would block funding for any military action in or against iran without congressional authorization. house speaker nancy pelosi says the house will vote thth week on a war powewers resolutioion to t trump's military a actions. meanwhile, the council on american-islamic relations says more than 60 iranian-americans were stoppeded and held for hous of questioning at the u.s.-canada border over the weekend as they were trying to return to the united states. many of them after attending a persian pop concert in vancouver. advocat say some people were denied entry into the ununited states. protesters took to the streets across the united states on saturdayay to condemn the kikilg of qassim suleimani and protest against a u.s. war with iran. the protests were organized by the groups code pink and answer, that's act now to stop war and end racism. from coast to coast, crowds gathered in washington, d.c., seattle, chicago, denver, philadelphia, san francisco, and here in new york city. this is rachel hu. >> very serious when we talk

about work, we cannot ignore the reality of how many lives have been lost in iraq and iran. we are talking about all of the people on the ground who are dying. we can't forget that. fundamentally, all of these things are not only at the war, but serious consequences and carnage for it. amy: president trump's decision to sharply escalate hostilities with iran comes as president trump's impeachment process is expected to o heat back up this week now that congress has returned from its winter recess. the democratic-controlled house and the republican-controlled senate remain in a standoff over the impeachment, with house speaker nancy pelosi refusing to send the articles of impeachment to the senate in efforts to pressure the senate to call witnesses in the trial, among other procedural demands. senate majority leader mitch mcconnell has said he will not call witnesses and that he will coordinate trump's trial with the white house. and that he cannot be an impartial juror. on sunday, massachusetts

democratic senator and presidential candidate elizabeth warren suggested president trump had chosen to kill iranian commander qassim suleimani in order to distract the american public from the impeachment proceedings. this is warren speaking on nbc's "meet the press." >> we knonothat donalald trump s very u upset about this upupcomg impeachment trial, but lookok wt he is doing now. he is taking us to the edge of war. amy: in kenya, al shabab militants killed an american soldier and two militaryry contractors in an attack on a kenyan military base sunday. the attack on the manda bay airfield was al shabab''s fifirt attack aininst u.s. foforces in kenya. this comomes after an al shababb attack in the somali capital mogadishu killed 79 people just over a week ago. in libya, at least 17 people were killed and dozens more wounded in an airstrike on a military academy in the capital, tripoli, saturday. the health ministry of the tripoli-based government said most of the victims were students. libya's capital has been the site of months of fighting

between the so-called libyan national army and the united nations-backed govovernment that controls the capital. in burkina faso, at least 14 people were killed and a dozen more wounded when a bus carrying students ran over an improvised explosive device saturday. at least seven of those killed were children. no group has taken responsibility for the blast in northern burkina faso, near the border with mali, where militants have launched increasingly deadly attacks against civilians this year. australian officials have launched the largest peacetime maritime rescue operation in the country's history in order to rescscue thousands of residents and tourists stranded on thehe beach after being forced to flee uncontrollablele wildfires. the unprecedented climate-fueled wildfire season has forced australia to deploy troops and military resources in a way not seen since world war ii. this is the new south wales premier.

this bushfireof season in living memory -- and many have been around much longer than i have who have fought fires and observed circumstances -- all agree we are in uncharteded territory. amy: thehe wildfirires have kild atateast 24 pepeople, scorched n area larger than switzerland, and killed half a billion animals. the fire season isis expected to continue for at leleast a month. and more climate news in indonesia, the death toll has risen to 53 people killed in the flooding and landslide sparked by historic rainfall on new year's eve in the capital jakarta. the torrential downpour submbmerged parts of the capita. the flooding is the worst to hit jakarta and over a decade. indonesia is moving the capital from jakarta because over a quarter of the city will be underwater within the next 10 years.

in india, students across the country have taken to the streets to protest after masked men attacked students at delhi's jawaharlal nehru university on sunday. at least 40 students and professors were hospitalized with injuries after sunday's attack. the injured students have blamed the attack on a right-wing student group linked to prime minister narendra modi's ruling bjp party. in response to the attack, protests are being staged or organized in a slew of cities across india, including in mumbai, delhi, hyderabad, chennai, and bangalore. in cambodia, at least 36 people were killed when a hotel under construction collapsed, trapping workers and their family members inside. among those killed were six children. cambodia is currently undergoing a tourism-fueled construction boom, but the industry has little regulatory oversight. in venezuela, president nicolas maduro moved to take control over the national assembly and blocked the reelection of opposition leader juan guaido as

the assembly's leader. the move comes as maduro seeks to hold on to power amid a u.s.-backed opposition movement. he has faced criticism for consolidating control over venezuela's various governmental institutions, and his critics denounced the move as a parliamentary coup d'etat. former u.s. enenergy secretary rickck perry has rejoined the board of the company that oversees energy transfer partners, one of the biggest pipeline operators in the united states. the company, ownwned byy billionaire kelcy wawarren, is best known for its dakakota accs crcrude oil l pipeline, whose constructition drew months o of massive resistance led by the standingng rock sioux x and othr native american nations. perry had previously served as a director of energy transfer partners beforore stepping downn 2016 as the corporation faced backlash over the dakota access pipeline. the guardian reports a new massive leak by data firm cambridge analytytica is set too expose tens of thousands of

documents detailing the work of a global operation involving at least 68 countries used to manipupulate voters on an inindustrial scacale. the docucuments will b be relead over the nexext months. cambridge ananalytica collllapsn may 2018 a after the observer newspaper revealedhehe compa had harvested some 87 millio faceok p proles withthout e users' knowledge or consent. cambridge analytica then used the data to sway voters to support president trump during the 2016 campaign. the most recent leak began on new year's day through an anonymous twitter account with links to documents on elections in brazil, malaysia, and kenya.. "the new york times" reports boeing has discovered yet another massive flaw with its troubled 737 max jets. a december audit of the plane's safety, ordered by the federal aviation administration, or the faa, found previously unreported concerns with the wiring in 737

max airplanes which could potentntially cause a short circuit and a crasash if pilots did not rerespond adequately. last month, boeing ceo dennis -- the boeing ceo was fired just weeks after the corporation halted production of the jet, following outrage over two crashes in ethiopia and indonesia that killed all 346 people on bod. and in new york city, the trial against disgraced hollywood mogul and accused sexual predator harvey weinstein begins today in a manhattan court. he faces life in prison. the trial comes more than two years after initial accusations against the film producer were yorker"d in "the new and "the new york times," fueling the #metoo movement that swept hollywood and beyond. since then, over 100 women have accused weinstein of rape, sexual assault, and sexual harassment. weinstein faces five felonies based on accusations by two women. last year, he pleaded not guilty to multiple charges of rape, sexual assault, and predatory sexual assault. and those are some of the headlines.

this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. fallout continues to mount following the u.s. assassination of iran's top military commander qassim suleimani in baghdad last week. iranian media is reporting over a million mourners took to the streets of tehran today for the funeral of suleimani, who headed iran's elite quds force. on sunday, iran announced it would suspend its commitments under the landmark 2015 nuclear deal which the u.s. pulled out of in 2018. the iraqi parliament voted sunday to expel all u.s. military forces from iraq. president trump responded by threatening to impose sanctions on iraq "like they've never seen before." iraq has already been the target of some of the harshest sanctions the world has even seen. u.s.-backed sanctions killed more than a million iraqis, including more than half a million children, between 1990 and 2003. trump has also threatened to

target 52 locations in error and , including cultural sites, if iran retaliates against the u.s. the targeting of cultural sites is widely viewed as an international war crime. meanwhile, more information has come to light about the timing of suleimani's assassination. iraq's caretaker prime minister adel abdul mahdi has revealed he had plans to meet with suleimani on the d day he was kikilled to discususs a saudi proposal to defufuse tension in the region. mahdhdi said -- "he cameo deliver a message from in, respondg to the message we delivered from saudi arabia to iran." thisomes as thu.s. conties toncrease itpresence ithe middle et. the s. is seing nearly 300 more troops from fort bragg to the region. meanwhile, the u.s. has announced it is temporarily halting its fight against isis in iraq and syria so it can redirect it focus in the region. we begin today's show with

narges bajoghli, professor of middle east studies at johns hopkins university. her recent opinion piece for "the new york times" is headlined "suleimani's death changes nothing for iran." she is the author of "iran reframed: anxieties of power in the islamic republic." in baghdad ghaith abdul-ahad, , correspondent for the guardian newspaper is back with us. his latest piece is headlined "iran ends nuclear deal commitments as fallout from suleimani killing spreads." let's begin with professor narges bajoghli. reports are up to a million people are in the streets of tehran. the body of suleimani has been returned and a funeral is underway. can you talk about the significance of the assassination and what has since?d then -- >> week ago, he would have been unthinkable to have crowds like this in iran.

yesterdaytehranan, elsewhere, tomorrow the body will move on. after the violent crackdown that the ststate orchestrated gets prototesters in novembmber 2019, there were so much anger in iran because of the violent crackdown the state that there really was another crisis of legitimacy within the islamic republic in dealing with the fallout of the maximum pressure campaign and the severe sanctions the trump administration has put on them. so to think these numbers of people are coming outut onto the streetets really signalsls to things. one, qassim suleimani was seen as a national hero because he was ines keep an eye says that they. and because of trump's tweets that he would target iranian cultural sites, and is creating a sense of national unity within the country and this is no longer about support for the regime, but really about stananding up to a a foreign agaggressor.

this is something that t the killing of -- the assassisinatin of s suleimani and trump's repeateded pleas and threats is doing two things. one, rallying a transnational shia c community, especially the th arere loyal to the e islamic rerepublic in iranan and two, rallying national since within iran against the united states. amy: this threatening to blow up mean,n cultural sites, i it is as of someone is threatening to blow up the empire state building or -- well, on saturday, trump tweeted -- john "iran has been nothing but problems for many years. let this serve as a warning that if iran strikes any americans or american assets, we have rain sites" representing the 52 american hostages taken by iran 40 years

ago" some at a very high level and important to iran and the iranian culture, and those targets, and iran itself, will be hit very fast and very hard. the usa wants no more threats!" talk about this and him going back 40 years to say that is how he chose that number 52. and what this means for the iranian people. >> two things. for me, what this signifies is ththe continued misunderstandingng of the united states and u.s. policymakers when it comes to iran and the iranian r revolution and what it has produced. i think because there has been such an obsession in the u.s. during and after the hostage crisis, in particulalar, with understandinththe iraniann revolution of 1979, like us obsession of it solely being in islamic republic and islamic revolution, has meant that much of our analylysis in this county and fofor the west in particular really undermines and does not

think about the complexities history.an and iranian the 1979 revolution itself was a revolution, a popular revolution first and foremost. this is not a revolution led by vanguard or an elite. this is one of the most popular revolutions of the 20th century, revolution l led from below inin which thehe main thrust of f ad one of the m maced -- main slogs was neither east nor west, meaning not of the soviet union or the united states. it really was a revolution that was about c creating independene and sosovereignty in irann and t having it be under the sway of imimperial powers. ththat is firsrst and foremosts. that is a continuation of a centuries long movement in iran to e establish independencnce wn the country. what hapappens afterer the revolution i in iran and the islamic republic coming about, there are a lot of iranians in the country and outside to

disagree with the islamic republic. however, i think what is important to understand -- and this is where trump, for all of the things he has been doing on think r regimee change in regime collapse is the policy of this administration when it comes to iran - -- a hue mistake, with a tweet the other night by claiming to want to attack iranian cultural heritage sites, he is now bringing up that sentiment again within the iranian population ththat as muh as some e within iraran they die the islamicic republic, they wil not stand fofor foreign aggression, espepecially from te sole superpower in the world, ,o cocome and attack their country and attack hihistorical sites tt haveve nothing to even do with e regime. it is about iranian culture, which is thousands of years old. amy: n narges bajoghlili, teluso qassim s suleimani was. >> qassim suleimani was the major general quds of the quds forces of the revolutionary

guard in iran. the quds force is the main force which is in charge off operations of the revolutionary guard, meaning operations outsidede of iran. theimani himself during 1980's was a veteran of the 1980 -- 1980 it were, the longest conventional work the 20th century. that is where he learned how to fight. that is where you begins to learn and develop his understanding of international politics. one of the things i think is important to remember is the war of the 1980's, which was an extremely bloody were, one of the wars in which trans warfare was fought on the first time after world war i, this is a war in which -- for all of the of theal and elites islamic republic, especially those who fought in the war,

they began to understand their viewpoint of international politics in that time in which they saw how the united states and western powers were supporting and supplying iraq with weapons and i ielligencee during thahat time. so he comes about in that battlefieldd and in n those war. frfrom that point on, he ththens on into thehe cld forcece what is important to understand here is that importantf a general as heas, and he was sisignificant, nonetetheless win the revolutionaryuard, one of the things that the revolutitionary guard d has bece so adept at because e it sort of had to is asymmetrical warfare. what that means on the ground is decicision-making within the revolutionarary guard - -- and i studied it for 10 years in iran and i saw this no matter what area they were fashioning in -- the decision power is very much done in an ad hoc way. that is the legacy of the 1980's

war. qassim suleimani was in charge of the revolutionary guards relationship, especially in the middle east and with iraqi and lebanese forces, shia forces. but he was not the only one who was able t to create these relationships, nor was he the only one who is doing these strategic maneuvering within the region. he rose to prominence as a 2013.3. andure around part o of the asonon f that t is there was a a very large media campaign created for q qassim suleimani within iran. i followed around d his media tm for a few years and saw how they made documumentaries about him, music videdeos, films. there are fiction comes about him now made i in iran. and films and d documentaries ad music videdeos made arabic as

we foror ab auaudiences. the reason they were doing that at the time e was to shore up fight againstan's isis. bebecause e of that,t, he becoms prominenent public figure, whihh is somhingng we ofteten don't se withthin iran. ininorder to s sort of undndersd suleimani, youou have to understand his hero-like status that h he begins to o have is nt very, within the culture of the isislamic republic. they make heroes out of martyrs, but not necessarily out of livi f figures qaqassimuleimamaniid become a hero because of this concerted media effort in orr to rally up support for the fight against isis. amy: so talk about the significance of him being assassinated and what this means. one thing is very important to note. as many arabians were protesting against the government in noveveer and havave them protestiting againstst the government for decades now, therere is a very lararge contingency within iran that

does not support the islamic republicic one significacant res to the islamic republic. however, qassim suleimani, because of t the depictions with him in iriran and because of his role in fighting against isis anand iraq and syria, he was sot of seen as being above the fray of the internal politics of the islamic republic for two reasons. one is his activities were focused outside of iran and not insidede, so he therefore was nt sort of caught up in the politics of the islamic republic. andd two, he was not a corrupt peperson. soso within the revolutionary guard in particular, there been a lot of corruption scandals in iran with different folks embezzling money, especiallyy when it comes to the sanctions and thinings like that. he sort of stayed about that. as you see images from the supreme leader and the president and all these other dignitaries

visiting his family home in tehran theheast few dadays, you will also be ablble to see vivisually his home is very humble. hehe stayed abouout that. and for those reasons, hee remainexextremelpopupular within iran. very heroso had a liketatus outse of iran as well. among shia armed groros and among shshia groups in a and lia because of the way in which he helped the direct forces against the islamic state, which one of their main goals and one of -- they said over and over again they saw the shia as their main enemy. and because of that, he was seen as this main protector. ofhin iran for years, one the man's luggage would hehear over and over agaiain is that if tehran and qassim suleleimani we not in d damascus, then isis wod be in tehran.

because of that, he really was an important national l and symbolic figure. the importatance of his assassination is that because he was seen as this r really important militaryry hero that kept the homeland safe and worked a against isis and ultimately u.s. forces in the is what i wroteis ininthe new yoyork times" piece, there is n nobody that t the isc -- or the united states couldd have assasassinated with a symbl that was sort of higher than him in a way. and ththat would have unified people in the way that it has. i dodon't think the trumumpet administration fully understands what it has done in this regagad whenen it comes to iran and shia community'y's across the region. as a symbol,l, qassim suleimanai will have and has proven in the past two days to be a symbol that will move people to action.

amy: let's talk about the nuclear. speaking to cnn's jake tapper, mike pompeo suggested obama's landmark iran nuclear deal was tatantamount to starting a war. this is pompeo referring to the jcpoa, or joint comprehensive plan of action, w which has been heralded by many as a major international diplomatic for peace. >> people talk about the war. this work kicked off when the jcpoa was entered into. he told the arabians they had freedom to extend from yemen to iraq to syria into lebanon, surrounding our ally israel and threatening american lives as well. we have taken a very different approach. the approach has been succccsful. amamy: if you can respond to th, professor, and also that iran has just announced that they, too, will no longer abide by the iran nuclear deal. ththe u.s. pulled out of it in 2018, but the iran was resisting

pulling out entirely until now, until the number two man in iran , suleimani, was assassinated by trump. >> one thing i'm going to say real quickck is iran has not pupulled o of f the jcpopoa yet. the announcement that iran made yesterday is within the confines of the jcpoa and they have stated clearly that if o other parties cocombat to the jcpoa, they will also reversehe steps they have taken. they have not pupulled out of te jcpoa. it is very strtrategic and surprisingng move. i did expect them to pull out, but they have not. it shows they are actually being very strategicic about the reactions they are having to suleimani's death at this p poi. going to pompeo's statements, i frankly,t statement,

doesn't undererstand the u.s. re in the region not only since 2003 witith the e invasion of i, but longer than that, by going specifically to what he saiaid about the jcpoa. the jcpoa itself, whatever critiques folks on the right may and thist, it was s -- is something the obama administration said over and over again -- an initial framework for engagement with iran. trumpr folks within the administration like it or not, iran is a country that were the iranian civilization is one that has been in the region for thousands of years. it is not gogoing anywhere. it is one that no matter how much they try y to isolate, will not disappppear. by pushing it further into the corner as the trump administration has done with pulling out of the iran nuclear deal imposing such harsh sanctions and not only imposing sanctions, but also undertakinig covert actions, doing cyber

warfare against iran - -- what l of t this hahas produced is a situtuation inin which iran fees completely cornered. that is part of the reasason why we saw iraran lash out as we did over the summer in the months over the fault -- a few months over the fall. the jcpoa was the framewowo in which the obama administratioion was trying to slowowly norormale ties with iriran in a so they could then begin to talk about other issues that the u.s.s. or europepean powers may hahave had with iran. it is the trump administration in the with a pulled out of the deal that hahave begun to apply this maximum pressure policy againsnst iran that has in effet produced the conditions ofof war with iran. amy: according to "the washington post," qassim suleimani multiple times used means on social media to my in july of 2018

after trump threatened iranian president hassan rouhani on twitter, suleimani responded by telling iran's tasnim news agency -- "if you begin the war, we will end the war. you know that this war will destroy all that you possess." a few days later, suleimani posted an edited image of himself standing with a walkie talkie in front of an exploding white house onto instagram. text on the image read "we will crush the usa under our feet." in november of that same year, after trump tweeted "i games have thrown inspired image of himself with the text "sanctions are coming," suleimani posted his own meme. in april 2019, twitter suspended suleimani's account. your response as we wrapap up? has had a very large media team around him. andrevolutionary guard

esespecially when it c comes toe threats the trump admininistratn has been making onone suppose et of the i iran -- one thing is important to point out here, the rolele of john bolton within the administratition andnd him being vevery adamant for many, many years about the reregime changen iran. wewe have been telling w with admininistrati h here in the united statates that has h had s the on weakening iran to point of either regime collapse or regime change. a and theeimani revolutionary guard and the media teams that the revolutionary guguard have, whih are extremely big. theyey receive a lot of state funding. the revolutionary guard itself has a lot of funding that pours into its media production. i have studied it for years. they have been responding in this way and they will continue to respond in this way. this is also, again, remember, as much as the united statates

sortrt of tries to control the narrative, the public narrative, when it comes to iran, within the west, iran tries to control the public narrative,e, espececy internalally and among arab shia populations as well. we will continue to see these words of tit for tats whether in narrative or internet culture. amy: narges bajoghli, thank you for being with us professor of , middle east studies at johns hopkins university. we will link to your piece in "the new york times" headlined "suleimani's death changes nothing for iran." other of "iran reframed: anxieties of power in the islamic republic." also the director of "the skin that burns," a documentary film about survivors of chemical warfare in iran. when we come back, we go to baghdad. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman.

we continue to look at the file out of the u.s. assassination of iran's top military commander qassim suleimani and baghdad last week. on sunday, the iraqi parliament voted to expel all u.s. military forces from iraq. president trump responded by threatening to impose sanctions on iraq "like they have never seen before." iraq has already been the target i've severe sanctions. children were killed between 1990 and 2003. we go to baghdad where we're joined by ghaith abdul-ahad, correspondent for the guardian newspaper. latest piece is headlined "iran ends nuclear deal commitments as fallout from suleimani killing spreads." we spoke you last week in turkey. he made it to baghdad. talk about what you are paying, the response in the streets to the assassination of the iranian leader at baghdad airporort last friday. morning.ood

first, i i would like a slight correction. this was written by my colleague and not me. asrrived and baghdad just the day for the funeral for general qassim suleimani and his iraq associates was taking place. i stood there among tens of thousands of people. many of them were militia men. many of them were waving the flags of the respected militias. impressive scene, i have to say. these militias, we have to remember, the last three months were on the -- they were accused of oppressing demonstrators. a lot of the demonstrations and baghdad were targeting these militia men as oppressive, pro-iranian of a government. but since the assassination, we have seen these militias come back into the streets in force.

the narrative change from demonstrations versus the in theent into iraq is middle of a confrontation. you like it or you don't, but iraq is in the middle of a confrontation between the united states and iran. politicians are asking, either you or with the united states where you are with iran. that was the scene we have seen with parliament. the parliament held an emergency "expel all foreign troops." -- the seen the people sunnis and the kurds. this is where you see the clear divide within iraq at the moment. and then you see even some elements within the shia bloc for the past few months was trying to position himself if not under iranian, anti-iranian

power. sadly, all of these different shia factions stumbling upon themselves to figure two is pro iran service. calling for the declaration of the formation of international resistant brigades against the americans. you see the parliamentarians ,hanting "yes, yes to suleimani no, no to america" within parliament. then they passed a resolution, which is is not clear as ending american presence in iraq neatly, basically calls to and agreement -- end agreement upon which america's started providing aid in 2014. it leaves in place the strategic framework agreement of 2008. but with the consumption, local

consumption, the objects are clear. these powers, these shia militias, these forces in iraq are willing to go even further than the measured arena in response we heard up until today. they're willing to go and declare themselves s as soldiers in defense of iran iraq and iraq . amy: can you comment on this new information that is come to light about the timing of suleimani's assassination friday morning? his caretaker has revealed he had plans to meet with suleimani the day was killed to discuss a saudi proposal to defuse tension in the region. he said -- "he came to deliver me a message from iran responding to the message we delivered from saudi iran."to was he setet up? talk about the significance of this.

significant that it is actual general qassim suleimani came to iraq to deliver this message. there was a process of negotiations in the region. trying toehdi had been position iraq as this middle power, asas this power were bot, as a country that has elation ship with both iran and the united states. hashat awkward place, iraq tried to maximize on this. in summer andack fall when there was an escalation between iran and iraq and the american drone, we saw mehd try to mediatei. we saw open channels of communication. if the killing of general suleimani ended that peace

initiative, it would be kinda disastrous in the region because is -- said eararlier, it pompeo speaking about iran being this ultimate people in the the shia this -- as if s just arrived in the region in the last 10 years. the fact we see iran's reactions, it is always reaction to american provocation. you have seen it in 2003, iran declared as an excess of people. if you see it from the iranian perspective, it is always this substantial threat coming from the united states. i don't think there is more potential threat than the past year. the government were trying to find the ground. even the person who is trying to find this middle ground ,mehdi

was the person he proposed this law yesterday and pararliament o expel all american troops s from the country. i would like to adddd another thing. the killing of qassim suleimani iran an era in which both and u.s. -- from 2013, 2014, we as journalists have seen on the frontlines how the p proxies of each power have been helping each other. we have seen the iranian advisors helping the american trained iraqi army unit or counterterrorism unit in the fight against isis. in the same sense we have seen an american airstrikes on whoats to these -- two isis are threatening these militias. that coexistence, did not only, from both having a shared enemy, buth is isis or daesh, these were the rules of the game in which qassim suleimani could

travel openly and iraq. remember, qassim suleimani arrived in baghdad airport. qassim suleimani could travel openly in iraq. people took his pictures. that did not happen in secret. he was now baghdadi hiding in a cave. this movements -- all of happened because there was an understanding between the americans and the iranians. americans wanted to keep the bases in iraq, they would have the freedom to move. with the killing of suleimani, the rules of the game have totally changed. now i think the first victim of the assassination will be the american bases in iraq. i don't see anyway way where the americans can keep their presence as they did before the assassination of suleimani. the people in the streets, even the people who war, oppose the

irani militias in power and politics, the correction of these pro iranian parties, even those people would lolook at the american bases now as not as a force that came to help them fight against isis, but a force that is driving them into a war the unitedn and states. amy: president trump said, "we are not leaving unlnless they py us back for it," winning the air force base. so what do you see happening with these u.s. troops? the iraqi government years agago also said they had to leave and they did not. >> well, one thing i would like to comment, when president trump -- we haveecting seen sananctions. we have seen hununger. i have lived through so many words in this country but i don't think there's anything more traumatizing than the sanctions. could not get medicine, cannot even get paper to draw in

school. the sanctions devastated this country morere than any war. yes, we have seen sanctioions. secondly, there are two kind of american presence here. was for the parliament local consumptioion and for theatrics and to show support for the irradiance. -- iranians. yet the american bases and these are part of the strategic agreement of the united states army,ch the trained iraqi trained the iraqi air force. the squadrons on these bases. then there is the american troops that arrived in the cocountry back in 2014 when the prime minister at the time sent a letter to parliament asking and assistance in the fight against isis. president trump himself that he wanted these troops out. it is weird you would sanction a

country for doing what he actually wanted to do. but in any case, the awkwardness started when americans brought justs to iraq out of syria to counter the presence of iranian -- that is when iraq found itself in an awkward position pulled between iran and the united states. i can't see a way if iraqi government says these troops that came in 2014 should leave, i don't see how these troops will stay in the country. the bases are different issue. no one is talking about strategic agreement with the united states. amy:y: d.c. a possible isis iraq resurgence and iraq? forces, they were fighting isis. resurgence already in iraq. where i saysangle

are active. there are doing their own attacks. yes, these she of forces were to fight against isis as well as the american troops that came into fight against isis. but i i says at t the moment ses one is thinking about isisis anymore. everyone is thinking about how they can maneuver their own troops and confront each other. this is the biggest -- i keep talking about the iraq anxiety in the streets of baghdad. no one would like to see -- i mean, none of the people i talked to in the streets what to see themselves back again under sanctions or war between iran and iraq and united states. there is already anxiety for the call of militias, for the attack on the united states, attacks on those who collaborate with t the united states. they have been through this. this was the story of the past

decade. it is strange as we enter a new decade and we just repeat the same story on the same narrative, only in a bigger way. amy: we want to thank you so much for being with us. ghaith abdul-ahad is a correspondent for the guardian newspaper. only come back from break, we will hear the response from congress member ao alexandria ocasio-cortez. we will hear from a man who is trying to stop war with iranan o feels he was instrumental in leading to the war in iraq, the chief of staff of colin powell, colonel lawrence wilkerson. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now!, i'm amy goodman. over the weekend, i caught up with congressmember alexandria ocasio-cortez. she had come to the showing of a film that has just been shortlisted for the oscar which chronicled her race, her unlikely victory in queens and the bronx to become a congressmember from new york. i asked her for her response e o the assassinion of the iraninian commander qassim suleimani. >> we have been looking at how w'reoingng t respond bause it is no enougto just say n wain i ira need toe tactical about how wean a actelyy r resisfurtrthe escation on an alady

unprecedented lel l of cacalati andnd aggressn by the president, thefofore, the unit statate he didhis on balalf of our entireouountry that i what mas the pontial illegaty of hi action so flagrant becau h he dinott consult congress and this was not do w with e susuppt of t t united states. this has bn an act of aggression emitted bththe uned stat.. we have to hd d him accouabable, which toe,e, i believeouou could acact thwarr powers solution co befeforongress,ndnd wiouout geingermissiowewe mu dw back suppo.. alslso bieveve rresentntive rohahanna- hehe iroducecein a mite andnd t defenen authorizatiothat could have prevted d alof thihi he iroducecean amendnt that prenteted y funngng for offense actionn n iran. it wasveverwheinglgly passe

bipaisan. it psed the house, republican andemocrat supportomommend ststight by mocratic and pupublic leaeadehip. could havma pt,t, prevend all of this. none the -nevertheless, i thinke need to reintrodu the enendmenas a a snd-alolo billll and see if we can pass again. none of this happens -- we d'' fiany ofofhis domestically were internationallyitithouthe vote. i thk inspirg people enter this process, we have to get the vote inside and outside. out in the stree and in congress. the way d do th is s by inspirinpeopople and demystifying the procs s for eveveray peoeoe to be able enge. i think whetheitit is is orngageor instram

in a social media ourselve that is one of the ways we can truly powerfully transform our democracy. amy: that is new york congressmember alexandria ocasio-cortez speaking on saturday after the oscar short listed documentary "knocked on the hohouse." for more on the trumpet administration's assassination of arendt's top military commander, we're joined by lawrence wilkerson retired colonel states army served as secretary of state , colin powell's chief of staff from 2002-2005. cololonel wilkerson has long warned about the u.s. going to war with iran. and 2018, he wrote a piece for "the times goes headlined "i help sell the false choice of work once, it is happening again." he is a distinguished visiting professor of government and public policy at the college of william & mary. welcome back to democracy now! talk about what happened in 2003 on your response to what you're

seeing happen right now after the assassination of suleimani. amy, i i findfirst, myself agagreeing and really apappreciatiting the history t t was given by y the johns hopkins prprofessor withth regard -- we rarely hear the truth about t in and u.s.-iran relations. she prettyty much h laid it bear us. the 202003 situation and the catastrophic decision to invade iraq, w which is what p producet we're looking at today, essentially, all across the region, the chaos that we a aret was produced by the uninited states i invasion in 2003.. i watched as t the intelliligene was cooooked, as principals and the george w. bush govovernment werere sold by thatt intelligene or helped to warp that intetelligenence as the c case s with dick cheney, and i watch the inevevitable march of war en though i was working for a man

who o did everything he could, especially after the u.n. security councncil resolutioionn november 2002 that sent the inspectors back to iraq, i watched as good were nonetheless. i am watching the same thing again. let me say this morning at 2:00 a.m. my time, i was on london news with news 4. the speaker before me wawaa representatative of the uk's ministry of defense. and hihis main points s -- she s fairly glib, much more articulate than the warmonger mike pompeo, but he tried to make a rational case for the execution of suleimani. he said it was a tactical incident. and that as a tactical incident, it would not disturb the current tension that much. it was not a tactical incident. it was a strategic incident. as a military p professional, i

have real trouble with our turning over the initiative to our enemy. in this case, if iran is indeed our enemy -- anand i think they are now for sure -- we have turned the initiative over to them. the strategic, , not tactical initiative. now w it is up to iranan a as tt they d do as aa repose what we . they can do any number of things across such a wide spectrum of activities that i shudder to considider. it r ranges f from unleashing hs lah tow if h --ezbol attack in the unitited states ce inside europe with sleeper agents and so forth. the initiative is now in iran's hands. that is s what this killing did. it shifted the strategic initiative for this tension to iran. veryan reactcts in a escalatory way, we will have no choice but to up the ante still

further, which i would say would probably be executing a bombing campaign from carrier battle groups in the nonorth oman sea. indeed, president trump has suggested it with his very impolitic remark about 52 sites and so forth. this is a very strategic situation and we caused it. it is going to r rebound to o o disfavor, i think. amy: i friday, vice president pence falsely attempted to link your general suleimani to the 9/11 attacks. he tweeted -- "the new yorork times" andnd ots have noted the claim lacks evidence. about whattalk general power did, that ash general power did, that speech he gave february 5, 2003, that you help prepare -- again, this

also backs up secretary of state was justho said iran about to attack u.s. personnel again. where is the evidence as you have asked the question back in 2003? >> this is laughable. pence's words are laughable. suleimani and his entourage were actually helping andnd afghanisn in 2001, early 2002, to fight the taliban. we got indispensable help from iran in that regard. then president bush made the statemenent about the axis of el and counteracted that good cooperation.n. nonetheless, they y still were cooperating g with us s all they up until the selectionon of kari to be intermediate ruler and afghanistan. this is total falsehood. but this seseems to be a prprace of the bush administration will stop as s it was thehe practicef the trump administration. as it was the practice of the

bush administration. amy: we have to leave it there but we are going to do part two with you and post it democracynow.org democracynow.org online at. lawrence wilkerson, retired united states army colonel, and served as secretary of state colin powell's chief of staff . thank you

hello. a very warm welelcome to nhk "newsline." it's 9:00 a.m. on tuesday in tokyo. we start this hour in iran where three days of mourning for the country's slain top military commander is coming to an end. tehran is vowing harsh revenge, while the u.s. is warning it is prepared to retaliate. amid the escalating threats, the international community isis urging restraint. on monday, hundreds of thousands of people attended a funeral in the country's capital for