is your take on that, arwa? >> you know, that's the question that's being asked by just about everybody because yes, things had been simmering with the united states. we had seen, you know, the activity happening in the persian gulf . the iranians downed a u.s. drone. the american response is relatively speaking, of course, one of restraint but then you had this uptick in attacks by these iranian proxies in iraq against u.s. military, interests u.s. military instillations that attack that happened neon frida that killed a u.s. contractor and wounded a number of u.s. personnel that then led to the counter strikes by the u.s. that happened on sunday. we had been having an escalation, but this takes it to an entire new level, and this kind of action that takes it to this level is one that one would assume comes with a plan but we don't know what the americans' plan is afterwards because this is not even remotely similar to say the targeting of osama bin laden or al baghdadi or key figures we've seen taken out by th

first let's go to arwa damon live in baghdad. arwa, speaking to you these last several days, this is a country that was already on edge. today i imagine it's more so. >> it most certainly is, jim. i think everyone here is reeling from the shock of what just happened given how monumetal it is. and how it really pushes iraq, iran, the region into uncharted territory. qasem soleimani was not just revered inside iran. he was very respected by all of iran's proxies in iraq and beyond. he was quite often spotted or reported to have been spotted on the battlefield in iraq during the battles against isis where he was advising, presumably also helping to equip and fund what's known as the popular mobilization force. this is a shia paramilitary unit that ostensibly now falls under the iraqi security forces. but it is mostly made up of those very same groups, jim, that you were just talking about. the ones that during the years of the u.s. occupation of iraq were taking iranian technology and figuring out how to build bigger bombs with it t

arwa, can you give us a sense of what is happening there right now? >> well, we are just outside the embassy. apologies, our signal isn't really all that great. there are helicopters overhead. what we're seeing on the ground right now is what appears to be the withdrawal of this paramilitary force that had taken over this entire area. if you are able to see these images, the front, the entrance, this is one of the entrances into the embassy complex. if i'm not mistaken, that is where you would go in for consular services. it's been completely scorched. you have the flags of the various different groups that came down here fluttering along the wall. it's a pretty calm scene, though, and that is because we were just talking to the spokesperson for katha hezbollah. that was the group the u.s. targeted in the groups and he said they had actually agreed to withdraw because they said that the message had been received and the message that they were sending to the americans is they can quite literally walk through the security here and end up at their gate.

arwa damon is live for us in baghd baghdad. arwa? >> reporter: good morning.nd what that group is saying, hezboll hezbollah, is these protests are open-ended. they have relocated. and right now, they have given an unspecified amount of time to the iraqi parliament. their key demand would still stand, that would be that the americans get out. let's look at this group is. they are part of this shia paramilitary force that ostensibly falls under the iraqi security forces. how much control baghdad has over them is a big question. this group is one of many groups under this umbrella pair military force, that's in iraq, but has sent its fighters across the border. its forces are stationed along the syrian-iraqi forder. and it is an overarching group that does continue to maintain close ties to iran. and there are growing concerns over iraq becoming this proxy battlefield between washington and tehran. up until this point, the trump administration has, to a certain degree, showed restraint with its response to iran, until the strikes that were carried out on sunday.

arwa damon, cnn, al assad air base, iraq. >> fantastic work by arwa. and just to hear it from them what it was like -- >> and the fact she's in the same bunkers used by saddam hussein is just incredible. arwa, thank you so much for all of that reporting. >>> look like a big night at the golden globes helped one movie leapfrog star wars at the box office. when we started our business we were paying an arm and a leg for postage. i remember setting up shipstation. one or two clicks and everything was up and running. i was printing out labels and saving money. shipstation saves us so much time. it makes it really easy and seamless. pick an order, print everything you need, slap the label onto the box, and it's ready to go. our costs for shipping were cut in half. just like that. shipstation. the #1 choice of online sellers. go to shipstation.com/tv and get 2 months free. shipstation. the #of course i'd love to of ontake an informal poll. i used to be a little cranky. dealing with our finances really haunted me. thankfully, i got quickbooks, and a live book

arwa, thank you very much. as i said, arwa in baghdad as she gets more information from on the ground, she's going to bring that to us. i want to go to the white house where kaitlan collins is standing by. the president has been briefed. what are you hearing from the white house? >> reporter: yeah, he's been briefed. the white use is aware of the attacks though they're not confirming any details about them. the president is going to continue to monitor these attacks and the updates about them with his national security team. we know the secretary of state mike pompeo was here at the white house earlier, but we did see him leave earlier today. i do want to point you to a tweet we are just getting from speaker pelosi's office, one of her aides saying she did speak with vice president mike pence tonight just moments ago around 6:34 p.m. they say in this tweet and he briefed the speaker on the attacks. now, erin, we have a lot to learn as barbara starr was saying a few moments ago about the attacks and what's going

arwa damon as well.this attack in the baghdad airport from the pentagon. i'm finding it hard to stay on top of things a faster laptop could help. plus, tech support to stay worry free woory free.... boom! boom! get free business day shipping... ...at office depot, officemax and officedepot.com >>> new details in the story that's just breaking out of baghdad. iraq ki state television reports that has been killed at the airport. we can't confirm who is behind this. cnn arwa damon is in baghdad now. what are local reports saying? what information do you have about who might be behind this? >> well, anderson a lot of the blame is being pointed at the united states from the popular mobilizations forces themselves saying that they believe america is behind the strike. >> when you say popular mobilization forces, that's -- >> that is a paramilitary force that was formed in response to isis sweeping through iraq years ago that is mostly made up of thee shia militias that are funded by iran funded and trained. th

good to have you there on the spot, arwa. arwa damon reporting from baghdad. >>> cnn's diplomatic editor, ninic robertson, joins me from london. it spread far and wide in the region. your take on what happened and what could happen as a result. >> reporter: i think iran is going to take this as an existential threat. if they don't respond, they're standing in the region, and the clout and implicit threat of all their proxies, being hezbollah in lebanon, or syria, backing assad there and have been for coming on a decade for almost. or whether they're inside iraq, really underpinning the part of the security of the state of iraq. or whether they're in yemen, backing the hutus. this is a choice for the iranian leadership. there is really only one path they can go down. they have said in the past recently, they do not seek a war. but they're ready to fight one. and this is very likely to be interpreted by them as such. their proxies were put on notice last year, during the escalation of tensions, that the proxies would know how t

arwa damon is live for us in baghdad. ar arwa, what can you tell us? >> good morning. those rooms that were torched are not exactly inside the embassy compound. they're where you go in to get your security screening and your badge. this group of people were able to march through checkpoints, into what was a restricted zone. it goes to the core of complex items unfolding here. the broader approxima eer proxys playing out between august and tehran, mostly from the battle that is being resolved. the key group, including the one targeted by the one on sunday, is demanding that the americans leave iraq. they delivered their message and will leave it up to the iraqi government. but the patience is not necessarily open-ended. you have rhetoric being tossed back and forth between the u.s. president, iranian leadership. each side threatening the other. a lot of bluster, perhaps. as we know, this bluster can turn very violent quickly. there are grave concerns over the situation potentially escalating. and within iraq and in and of itself, there are numerous fracture points that

arwa, first to you. there is increased i understand flight activity around baghdad as we speak tonight, and what is going on? >> yeah, there is, wolf. in fact, we could hear the helicopters overhead and it was an incredibly confusing time, because all of the sudden, this letter appeared that was, it would seem leaked to the media that seemed to indicate at least from the language of it that the u.s. military was withdrawing. well, it turns out, wolf, that was a mistake. the language of the letter was not meant to be implying that at all, and the u.s. is not at this stage withdrawing the troops according to a u.s. official based here at this moment. the u.s. is simply repositioning some troops from one place to another, and this official was very intent on highlighting that the u.s. is still very much partnered with the iraqi security forces and that most of those contingent, and again, small contingent of troops being moved are in an administrative role, but this letter that ended up implying that someho

arwa damon in baghdad. thank you, arwa. >>> who is qassim soleimani? the united states believe he is responsible for killing hundreds of americans. let's bring in nick paton walsh. he seems to have taken on mythical status by his supporters and enemies. >> reporter: hard for any man to match the myth that's began to surround soleimani, the leader of the quds force. essentially, the part of the revolutionary guard, that elite part of iran's military. it was responsible for foreign operations. he, in one side of the coin, was on the battlefield of the front line, as iranian-backed militia fought isis in iraq. that's where his interests i lined with u.s. foreign policy. the rest of the time, he was behind attacks of u.s. assets and allies in the region over a protracted period of time. and quite public in his opposition. a man who lived in the shadows but was one of the most recognizable figures in the iranian government, a government that will be reeling from this assassination, something they never thought was likely to be able to happen because the tru

let's first go straight to arwa. give us this -- the feeling of what is happening on the ground right now. >> reporter: well, we were just outside the embassy, and the protesters have at this stage cleared out. the iraq security forces are in the area. there is a massive cleanup operation that is under way. but you have to look at what led to this very state. those u.s. strikes that took place on sunday against hezbollah, the u.s. says is responsible for carrying out multiple attacks against u.s. installations that led to the killing of a u.s. contractor on friday. these protesters that were outside of the u.s. embassy are not your ordinary protesters. they are members of or supporters of what's known as a popular mobilization forces. this is a force that was created in response to isis taking over huge swaths of iraq years ago, but it is mostly made up of former shia militia who back in the days of the u.s.-led invasion were attacking u.s. forces. this paramilitary entity is ostensibly under the control of baghdad.

it is interconnected to where arwa was now. the iranians said they hadn't taken the plane down, head of the iran civil aviation authority didn't think it was hit by a missile at all, he believed because the plane was able to maneuver after, it seemed to have an emergency, to him indicated it couldn't be hit by a foreign object or explosives, otherwise, he thought it wouldn't be able to maneuver. now the revolutionary guard corp says they hit that plane with a missile, unintentionally. now that they're admitting it, they're coming forward with a lot of details as well. they said after the strike of the base figured there would be retaliation. at some point they believed cruise missiles were flying towards iranian territory towards sensitive installations, mostly bases from the revolutionary guard. that's where the ukranian airliner comes in. it took off in the morning from the main international airport here around tehran, at some point say the plane made a turn in the direction, was at an altitude, going in a direction they bel

. >> cnn's arwa damon is the first journalist to get access to the base. stay with us for her report. >>> iranian leaders now admit the ukrainian passenger jet that crashed wednesday was targeted and is not down unintentionally. >> they're putting their hand up and saying yes, it was them. >> really hits close to home when it's a tight knit community. there are no words. >> mr. bolton and the president made it clear he wants him nowhere near the witness stand. >> i think you have to for the sake of the office. >> there's no doubt it's jumbled and something that has to be sane that's harmful to donald trump. >> this is prior to the president's ongoing desire to stonewall the impeachment inquiry. ♪ >> announcer: this is "new day weekend" with victor blackwell and christi paul. >> always great to have you with us. we're following breaking news on the passenger jet that iran now admit os to having shot down. in the past hour, we've learned that iranian commander requested all flights to be grounded until tension has cooled off. >> but iran's military said the

that does happen as arwa mentioned. even days or weeks later.t is worth pointing out, these can be severe injuries. concussion is -- some people say is an archaic word. concussion is a traumatic brain injury. i will also say this though. if symptoms appear and taking care of a lot of these patients, if symptoms appear later, it is usually a milder sort of concussion traumatic brain injury. when it's more severe, the symptoms are there right away. blurriness, ringing in the ears, severe headache, difficulty concentration. >> and the ones that take awhile, what are those symptoms? >> more balance difficulties, difficulty sleeping at night, the headaches may be there, they may not be as severe. i say to patients their way of interpreting the world is way off. so you may have a bit of ringing in the ears. the vision may still be blurry. oftentimes it's the same sorts of symptoms. but just much less severe. sometimes patients don't even recognize them themselves. they find it on screening. >> what does it tell you that eight of the service members we

arwa? >> these used to be living quarters. this is where the troops would sleep, at least one of the areas. there's almost nothing left. nothing that was salvageable we were told. the crater itself impacted over here and it was one of ten impacts that happened. being here is truly extraordinary how anyone managed to survive, how there were no casualties when you look at the destruction and hearing all of the stories of the close calls of the heroics, what we are now learning is there was advanced warning to a certain degree. they knew something was going to happen, they just didn't know what. at about 11:00 p.m. at night, those that were able to go the bunk ares, went to the bunkers. but there were still troops that were out manning posts, that because of the security situation, they had to stay at. so people were beginning to take shelter in iran at about 11:00 p.m. and at 1:35, that's when the first impact happened. a lot of those we are talking to are saying that it was unlike anything they had ever imagined. of course, on

there were no casualties, but as you see from arwa's report, they were very accurate and some prettyling intelligence about location and potential targets on their air base. that is a signal, too, that the iranians remain, albeit, under stringent and economic sanctions, they remain a potent conventional force as well as having the shia militia that could act on their behalf on the ground. >> sam kylie live for us in baghdad, iraq. sam, thank you for the reporting. >>> we now turn to australia where amid mounting criticism, the prime minister scott morrison is admitting to making some mistakes in his response to the bush fires devastating the country. >> there were things that i could have handled on the ground much better. these are very raw, emotional environments. i have to say that 95% were the response of these cases were very positive and appreciative. david, these are sensitive environments and very emotional environments. prime ministers are flesh and blood and have engage with people. >> mr. morrison also said he will pose a natural review. the sydney opera house lit with ima

cnn correspondent arwa damon is live for us in baghdad. tell us where things stand, arwa. >> reporter: well, you finally have things, relatively speaking, back to normal in the sense the iraqi security forces have positioned themselves outside of the u.s. embassy. they are manning the checkpoints, and once again you still need, right now, to have either proper identification, the proper badge to be able to go through these checkpoints or some sort of an escort. but what we saw transpiring, brianna, really goes to the very core of a series of very complex problems here. that group that was targeted in those u.s. airstrikes that makes up this shia paramilitary force has told us that they only agreed to withdraw from the u.s. embassy under the understanding that the iraqi parliament within about a week would begin discussing and drafting a bill that addresses the u.s. troop presence in iraq. they still want the americans out, and they're saying that if the iraqi government can't make that happen within iraq's legal framework, well, they have

i wanted to bring in our correspondent, arwa damon who is in baghdad, and she can hopefully shed some more light on, this and then we will come back to you. arwa, tell us what you know. >> well, jake, look, there is some interesting language in the letter that when afterwards we spoke to a u.s. official in baghdad was trying to say, look, despite what the letter reads, this is not an announcement of a u.s. troop withdrawal nor is the an nounouncement of this stage come, and saying that this is simply a repositioning of the troops, and because there is a lot of helicopter activity over baghdad in particular, and over the green zone that they want to clarify, and given how tense the situation is right now that they were going to be moving some forces, and that this should not be misconstrued as the u.s. military attempting to move coalition forces, and then given how tense the situation is right now to provoke a negative reaction, but if we are looking at the language of some parts of the letter, the letter does recognize what has been requested by the iraqi parliament, and the iraqi pr

. >> let's go to cnn's arwa damon in baghdad. arwa, there was an extraordinary session of parliament that was scheduled for today to happen about this time. there was confusion. what are you learning? >> reporter: yeah, it has not started yet. let's preface all of this by saying that that's not entirely unusual. whenever you have something controversial that is meant to be debated quite often particle la men tarns fail to show up because they haven't quite sorted out or ironed out their positions just yet or quite simply because there are a series of closed door investigations. there are a number of different and competing bills being put forward. you have some of the more hard line shia parties that want to see legislation that will end america's presence in iraq. these parties are saying for quite some time now they have been asking for this quite simply because america's presence here generally speaking is viewed as being by them at least controversial and inflammatory, and then you have other parties, mostly the kurds and the

arwa damon in baghdad.d pleitgen in iran and what is the reaction to the president's address and the new sanctions he is threatening. >> yeah, well, the sanctions are one thing, but president trump announcing that the u.s. would not strike back at the iranians after those retaliatory hits against the u.s. air base is exactly what the iranians wanted to achieve. they have been telling us for the last couple of years that we want to hit the military assets and we don't want a further escalation to take place. and important for the iranians, they have show cased the ballistic missile technology, because one thing that people are talking about how iran could threaten the u.s. in the middle east, they are talking about the iranian proxy forces, and pro iranian proxy force, but the iranians have shown they have sophisticated technology they have developed themselves that can hit targets and pressure the u.s. very far away from where iran is even across the border, and that is important for the iranians to showcas

arwa damon in baghdad. thanks very much. >>> joining me now to get into this a little more are michael crowley, white house correspondent for the "new york times" and dan lamont, national security reporter for the "washington post." gentlemen, thank you for joining me. happy new year to you both. dan, start with you. the iranian-backed protesters from this militia group are iraqis who retreated from the u.s. embassy and we have seen more u.s. forces coming in. now, those protesters declared victory according to a reporter on the ground for the "washington post." what do you read into that? do you think the situation now is, this sort of tit for tat, the u.s. air strikes carried out and this is the response? and do you think it's the end of this? >> it's really hard to say when we might reach the end of things, but i think we're in a situation where every action could have an equal or unequal reaction going forward. that can imply not only in iraq but at sea. we're going to have to worry about navy shipping,

so arwa, it looks like these protesters aren't going to leave. they are setting up tents even there signaling this is not going to be a short-term demonstration. >> this is an inication of how quick things can change. it looks like they've gotten orders to clear out and that's just what they've done. that is one of the entrances to this massive, sprawling compound. and you can see right now those two soldiers or security contractors taking down the flags that were put up by these various different demonstrators. each flag represents a different gro group. many of them are very pro-iranian. the walls are just covered in anti-american graffiti. they've also set a tire on fire just to make even more of a statement as they were withdrawing. now as i was saying, the situation here does change so very, very quickly. about an hour and a half ago we were hearing one element among the protesters, those who are members or supporter of the group that was the target of those u.s. strikes on sunday that set all of this off were refusing to leave. by the time

cnn's senior international correspondent arwa damon.ournalist to report from the al asad air base and pentagon reporter barbara starr. the initial reports the bomb damage assessments showed no casualties. these were discovered after the fact. tell us how and why. >> well, what we do know now is the military followed very standard protocols in combat zones these days. any troops that are near a blast are assessed for brain injury, concussion, traumatic brain injury. and that's what happened here. as the troops were assessed, they got reports of some of the troops experiencing symptoms. so 11 of them have now been evacuated out of iraq. eight to the military hospital in landstuhl, germany, three to kuwait where there's better medical care, ander the assesse. they believe they'll be able to report back to duty. we will see. they will have to be fully evaluated for all of this. so this is something that is so important because it is that silent wound of war that we've seen for so many years now that so many troops have suffered from. emerge

arwa damon, appreciate it. again, we have video from iranian state television that claims to be of the strike on the al asad base, shortly after the missiles began falling and what appears to be a jab at president trump or at least a response to the killing of iran's top general soleimani. iran's chief nuclear negotiator tweeted out this. no words, just the iranian flag, a response it seems to the president's tweet of the american flag after the killing of general soleimani. i want to go now to cnn's fred pleitgen who is in tehran, iran. what's the reaction been in iran? >> reporter: well, so far, it's been quite interesting, anderson, in that the iranians, since we heard there were missile impacts on or near those american bases inside iraq, the iranians immediately took responsibility for it. almost immediately as that took place, there were banners on state tv saying that the irgc was claiming -- the iranian revolutionary guard corps were claiming responsibility for these ballistic missile attacks. and then,

very, very dramatic scenes here. >> arwa damon for us. first western journalist to get access to al asad air base where the missiles struck. thank you for that exclusive reporting. we've got more of the breaking news -- iran accepting responsibility for shooting down that ukrainian jet. 176 people on board. it continues at the top of the hour. i ing>>> iranian leaders admit the ukrainian passenger jet that crashed on wednesday was targeted and shot down unintentionally. >> they're putting their hand up and saying, yes, it was them, yes, they made a giant and fatal error. >> hits close to home when it's such a tight-knit community. there are no words. i think most of the community is still in shock and disbelief. >>> in terms of bolton, president trump has just made it clear he wants him nowhere near the witness stand. >> invokevective -- invoke executive privilege? >> i think you have to for the sake of the office. >> what's driving this is john bolton has something to say that's going to be harmful to donald trump. >> this is part of the

arwa damon, cnn, al-asad air base, iraq. >> thanks for her team here and arwa for us. >>> he is one person democrats badly want it hear from but now president trump says he will likely try to stop john bolton from testifying. >> plus, deadly storm, dangerous winds, heavy flooding, and hitting the midwest and the southeast, right now. we're live in the cnn newsroom. where's the truck? what? parked it right there. male voice: what did i tell you, boys? tonight we eat like kings! (chuckling) you're a genius, gordon! brake! hit the brake! uh, which one's the brake? (crash, bottles smashing) stop! stop! sto-o-op! (brakes squealing) what's happening? what? there's a half of cheesesteak back there. with geico, the savings keep on going. just like this sequel. 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance. raccoon: i got the cheesesteak! aveeno® with prebiotic striple oat complex balances skin's microbiome. so skin looks like this and you feel like this. aveeno® skin relief. get skin healthy™ robinwithout the commission fees. so, you can start investing today wherever you are - even hangi

arwa? >> these used to be living quarters. at least one of the areas. there's almost nothing left. nothing that was salvageable we were told. the crater itself impacted over here and it was one of ten

arwa damon is in baghdad. nic robertson with rperspective and nick payton walsh in beirut and i'll begin in the iraqi capital where some are saying in death soleimani achieving what he was not able to do in life. an end to american presence in iraq. how real isoistic is that, arwa? >> a lot more realistic now than it was say a week ago when parliament was already meant to be convening and debating legislation surrounding the u.s. troop presence here after those sunday air strikes against, whose leader was also killed alongside qasem soleimani. some bills being presented with the hardline parties who want to see the americans leave right now immediately while other parties, mostly the sunnis and the kurds want a more moderate approach but all are at this stage agreeing to a certain degree that the agreement between baghdad and washington does need to be reassessed. now, there are concerns among some of those groups who don't want to see an immediate hasty u.s. troop withdrawal that it could result in a reemerge

let's go to arwa now in baghdad. what are you hearing on the ground about this shelling as it's described, how it happened, what happened, and what we know at this hour. >> well, victor, it's being better described as a precision targeting of what it would seem to be from the images that we're seeing two vehicles who were hit just on the outskirts of baghdad's international airport. when these reports first came out it was initially reported as being three katusha rockets. now we know that that convoy contained not just qassem soleimani, the head of the quds force, but also a very prominent commander here, a member of what's known as iraq's popular mobilization force. this is a predominantly shia paramilitary force. the leader of kataeb hezbollah, that, victor, is the very same group that the u.s. had targeted on sunday, and it is members of, or supporters of, this paramilitary force who were the protesters who were outside of the u.s. embassy, who were attempting to scale those walls. i think one of the many reasons

let's get back to the significance of the man that's been assassinated by the united states because arwa, you're live in baghdad. general soleimani's impact, his power for decades cannot be overstated. how significant is taking him out? >> monumentous in the sense that it puts the region into unchartered territory. you basically now have the u.s. declaring war on iran becaus this is exactly what it's going to be viewed as by tehran inside iraq's borders. and not just that. this from the perspective of the iraqi government is an act of aggression by the united states, which was meant to be an ally of baghdad on iraqi soil. a violation of its sovereignty because not only was qasem soleimani killed in this, but so, too, was the second in command of what's known as the popular mobilization force. and so from the government's perspective, an ally just carried out an assassination killing one of its own top military commanders, not to mention the top military commander, the most revered individual of tehran, a very close ally to baghdad as well. and then if we look at the dynamics that are alr

arwa, what is it like there right now? >> reporter: well, fredricka, we went down to the funeral procession for cass 'em soleimani earlier today and there was a very quiet sorrow as protesters, mourners there were leaving that almost seemed as if it was masking the underlying anger. but once you spoke to them, they too were vowing revenge because even though we've been really talking about qasem soleimani, the other top figure who was also killed in this targeted strike is a very prominent figure in iraq, although at the same time quite divisive. here is the leader of the group that was targeted by the u.s. on sunday, but he's also the number two of what's known as the popular mobilization force, this paramilitary shia force that is ostensibly under the control of the iraqi security forces but at the same time made up of members of these former shia militias who gained much of their battlefield experience fighting the americans during the u.s.-led occupation of iraq. but in his killing, the u.s. not only, according to the

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international correspondent arwa damon joins us. the embassy as things were breaking up. tell us what the situation is like right now and what does this crisis mean for u.s.-iraqi relations? >> reporter: first of all, things have gone back to normal, in the sense that the iraqi security forces are again manning the checkpoints leading to the u.s. embassy and as was par for the course, you either need an escort or the proper badge to be allowed through in front of the embassy itself, you have a fairly lengthy cleanup effort. the question is where were the iraqi security forces when all of this was unfolding? as one of them told us when we were down there, he said, look, what were we supposed to do? we couldn't have tried to stop this group because that would have potentially led to even more bloodshed and perhaps made it more difficult to dial back the situation. and this goes to the very core of who was this group that was demonstrating outside? they were members of or supporters of what's known as the pms, the popular mobilization

good morning, arwa. >> reporter: good morning, poppy. yes, this is a situation that is far from resolved. those protesters who are not ordinary protesters, worth pointing that out once again. rather members of or supporters of a shia paramilitary unit that is ostensibly under the umbrella of the iraqi security forces have withdrawn to another location just across the tigress river. kataib hezbollah that was the target of the air strikes on sunday put out a statement saying this was done based on an understanding that the iraqi parliament would within a week begin working towards legislation, working towards a bill that would address the u.s. troop presence in iraq. they continue to state that their main goal of ridding iraq of all foreign soldiers, all foreign military presence is going to be their main goal. they say there are other steps they can take. there is this growing concern here over what is unfolding not just for the stability of iraq itself but also when it comes to this proxy battle that we have been seeing unfolding for qui

arwa damon is in baghdad. arwa, what's the reason for the delay? >> reporter: look, a couple of things to take into consideration when we're talking about iraqi parliamentarians and how they manage crucial issues. this one on the table most certainly as controversial as anything they have come up against. iraqi politics historically speaking are very slow moving so it's not entirely uncommon for a parliamentary session of this magnitude to be postponed. we do still expect it to be happening today. what we do understand is that there are a number of different bills being presented. you have the hard line shia groups who want to see the americans out now. you have some of the more moderate shia groups who are putting together immunity on u.s. troops being lifted. the unis and the security forces still need u.s. training. this is not offer. they need all of the assets that the u.s. does put on the table as well, but the other big question here is how long will these various different shia paramilitary groups wait? what is their time frame? we heard fr

thank you, arwa damon.py, you have to wonder if president trump would open himself up to criticism that he allowed the isis fight to be subjugated or stopped by the consequences of this. >> absolutely. we'll have more on that ahead. >>> up next, a look at the last impeachment trial for a sitting president. wolf will join us to talk about his special report, "the trial of william jefferson clinton." >>> we may forget in the deluge of news, but the last impeachment trial was 21 years ago. the president's lawyers made some of the exact same arguments today on the question of calling witnesses. folks are often making the opposite arguments now than they did back then. wolf blitzer is here to talk about his special on tonight. we have young viewers out there who don't remember the details. tell us how tonight's special will walk them through it but also connected to what's happening today. >> it's really timely because it goes through the impeachment trial in the u.s. senate of bill clinton. and many of the argu

arwa damon, cnn, baghdad. >> thank you, arwa. let's head to washington now and cnn's alex marquardt. the white house, alex, has been quiet about this ever since president trump posted that single tweet with the american flag. set the scene there in washington for us. >> reporter: yeah, natalie, that seems to be their response and all they're going to be saying tonight. the main response and the description of what happened is coming from the department of defense, from the secretary of defense mark esper, and what they are saying is that this strike was carried out against qassim soleimani for what he was planning and what he has done in the past. and i want to read you part of this statement from the department of defense. they write, "general soleimani was actively developing plans to attack american diplomats and service members in iraq and throughout the region." now, that statement also references the deaths and the maiming, the injuries of thousands of american soldiers in the region over the past few years. it also says th

arwa damon in baghdad, thank you so much. >>> let's go to the pentagon. cnn correspondent ryan browns. in the last 24 hours, you have a marine contingent deployed to baghdad. now you have the 82nd airborne going in to respond to this. the embassy assault, the embassy assault appears to be over. does this change the pentagon's reaction plans here? >> well, no change as of yet, jim. the pentagon had done a series of measures to respond to the events on the ground in baghdad. as you mentioned, they flew in the 100 marines into the compound to help bolster security, a crisis response unit. they flew apache helicopters over, they fired flares, these warning flares, as a show of force to the demonstrators. to disperse, they've ordered the 750 paratroopers from the 82nd into the region to respond if the crisis worsens. they've also put several thousand additional paratroopers on sandby here in the united states. it's likely if the situation does -- if tensions do reduce, it's likely that those additional forces may not be sent. but again, we have, as arwa mentio

arwa, be careful over there. arwa damon in baghdad for us. let's get more on all of this right now. bob casey from pennsylvania is joining us, key member of the finance committee. thank you so much for joining us i want to get to the situation in iraq in a few moments. let's start with ukraine right now. these unredacted emails that we're seeing for the first time between the pentagon, and the office of management and budget reviewed by just security, that organization. they show that the pentagon officials were extremely concerned about the hold-up of u.s. military aid to ukraine. they were worried it might even be illegal. august 30th email an omb official says there's now clear direction from potus, president of the united states, to hold. how significant are these emails? >> well, wolf, i think these emails give new urgency to the question of who should testify in this senate trial upcoming. it's interesting that the just security reports point specifically to an individual named in the letter that senator schumer sent to senator mcconnell on the 15th of december, which is mr. d

arwa, thank you very much. we'll get back to you as well. joining us now, former secretary of defense under president clinton, william cohn. thank you so much for coming in. >> good to be with you. >> you heard secretary of state mike pompeo say americans are safer today than they were a few days ago. but the president telling all americans to get out of iraq. are americans safer today? >> in the short term, no. the alert has been raised in this country salute many military capitals as well. the threat of retaliation is higher than it was before the attack. i would like to go back to the parliament story. >> iraqi parliament. >> we want you to get out. it's a nonbinding resolution. they don't have an existing government yet. the prime minister has resigned. they should take caution on that. if we leave, isis makes a comeback, al qaeda. and without the u.s. there, they'll have much greater level of threat and much greater violence. >> if the u.s. pulls out its 5,000 troops and there are u.s. contractors and diplomats be that would be a huge w

i want to bring in cnn's arwa damon in baghdad. why is the demand for u.s. troops to leave so significant? >> reporter: well, you have a country that is stuck in a pretty extraordinary circumstance. this vote took place because parliament was, in fact, able to achieve quorum, but only through the representation of its sunni parliamentarians. so basically the kurds -- sorry, it's shia parliamentarian. basically the kurds and the sunnis were not present. this shows you just how divided this country is over the issue of u.s. troop presence. now, the argument to actually expel foreign troops was made by the caretaker prime minister himself who said that he believed that that was the best option for a number of reasons, to avoid more bloodshed in iraq, saying the u.s. forces wouldn't be able to protect themselves and the iraqi security forces wouldn't necessarily be able to protect them, either. but underlying all of this, of course, is that the calculus was made perhaps to a certain degree, that in order to at least defuse the situation inside iraq itself, it wo

>> arwa damon in baghdad. stay safe. >>> bob menendez is the top democrat on the foreign relations committee. senator, good to see you. to remind our viewers you've been a frequent critic of the iranian regime, you oppose the obama-era pact with iran. how would you like to see the trump administration respond to what's going on in iraq? >> jake, the problem with the trump administration's maximum pressure campaign is that it is only sanctions and no effort to create an international coalition to bring iran back to the negotiating table and deal with its nuclear program. so it's like a pressure cooker. if a pressure cooker doesn't have a release valve, it ultimately explodes. so what we've seen with the president's maximum pressure campaign, without any efforts of diplomacy is the consequences of iran actually creating a shorter nuclear breakout time than it did before. we've seen the circumstances under which iran is attacking international commerce in the strait of hormuz. we see iran having a land bridge in

thank you so much, arwa damon. appreciate that. >>> also today, growing unrest in iran as protesters take to the streets following iran's admission that it accidentally shot down a ukranian passenger plane, some even calling on the country's supreme leader to step down. meantime, president trump is sending a strong message to iran today, tweeting, a warning to iranian leaders not to kill the protesters, saying the world and the u.s. is watching. that comes as the white house is still trying to explain why it decided to kill iranian commander qassem soleimani without congressional approval. and today pentagon chief -- the department of defense secretary mark esper stood by the administration's latest reason for that attack, that soleimani was targeting four u.s. embassies. but esper failed to offer up any proof of that belief. >> was there specific intelligence the iranians were plotting to target four u.s. embassies? >> there was an intent to target the u.s. embassy in baghdad. what the president said with regard t

arwa, to you in iraq. what is the reaction there? >> reporter: a lot of anger, brooke, and quite a bit of surprise. most certainly we were expecting that something was going to be happening quite simply because of the growing tensions between tehran and washington, but yesterday at this time those protests in front of the u.s. embassy had dissipated. they had moved somewhere else. there was something of a tenuous pause in all of this. parliament was meant to be debating a bill that would be addressing the u.s. troop presence in iraq, and then the strikes took place. and, really shook this entire country, not to mention the region as a whole. not just because qasem soleimani was in that convoy, but also especially specific to iraq, because the other key figure there who is the leader of kataib hezbollah, the same group targeted by the u.s. air strikes on sunday, the same group whose forces were among those protesters out trying to storm the u.s. embassy, this group is part of an iraqi predominantly shia paramilitary force that is part

arwa damon, thank you so much there out of baghdad. >>> right now, more than 3,000 u.s.cemembers are deploying to the middle east, and many of them, they don't know when they'll be back to the u.s. yesterday multiple aircrafts were seen leaving fort bragg in north carolina as tensions between the u.s. and iran continue to escalate. natasha chen joining me from fort bragg, the home of the 81st airborne. what are you learning? what are they thinking and feeling? >> reporter: fred, this is a very sudden turn of events, and we do want to point out that from what we've heard, a lot of the spouses and family members of those deploying have been encouraged not to post about it on social media or to speak publicly about it for security reasons. but we have been talking to a volunteer organization who is in touch with these families, and what we're hearing is that some of these folks are going through deployments for the first time. and so there is a lot of fear and unknown questions, particularly because, as you said, they don't know how long this is going to last, and while the

cnn's arwa damon is on the ground in iraq. the embassy appears to be safe, but clearly the situation is far from over. >> reporter: it is far from over, and that is because this group's demand that the u.s. troops leave iraq has yet to be fulfilled. and there is a clock on that demand that they're making of parliament to draft this legislation, saying that they're willing to give them about a week to, at the very least, prove that they have serious intentions. we also heard from one of iran's top commanders who was responding to additional threats being made by the white house, pretty much trying to give america a lesson in manners, saying that iran should be addressed with the respect and warning that they still, to paraphrase, still have other cards that they can potentially play. now, in front of the embassy right now, the situation is normal, so to speak, in the sense that the iraqi security forces are manning their checkpoints once again, and you can only go through if you have a proper i.d. or an escort. big question, of

arwa, what's the latest that you're hearing? >> well, wolf, i think a lot of people really here still reeling from all of this, especially given that it took place on iraqi soil. the iraqi caretaker prime minister has said this isn't just a violation of iraq's sovereignty, but that he has said that it is an act of aggression against iraq itself. we have been talking a lot about the killing, the targeted killing of soleimani, but also in that convoy was a prominent figure for iraq. and that is the number two commander of what's known as the popular mobilization force. this is a shia paramilitary force that was formed in response to isis sweeping through iraqi years ago. the number 2 abu mahdi al muhandis is the number two leader. he was also killed in this same strike. his group, this paramilitary umbrella group is part of the iraqi security forces. so from baghdad's perspective, this also took out one of its key military leaders and this strike was carried out by a country that was meant to be an ally of baghdad. at a time when

fred pleitgen is in tehran, arwa day mon near baghdad, and a reporter in florida. a reporter near me in washington. i will start with you, there is brand new information own this mission that was launched to target and kill qasem soleimani. we are learning that the trump administration is warning members of congress that this response could come within weeks. but what we're also hearing from some of those members of congress who got that briefing from the trump administration, they are questioning, and these are primarily democrats, this notion that there was an imminent threat? >> it is. we're told that this is something that's sort of unraveled over the course of a couple days here at mar-a-lago. there were serious discussion within the administration after, we're told, they received information and intelligence that showed that there was multiple threats against americans in that region from iran. now, look, according to sources who have spoken with congressional democrats, that evidence that has been presented to them is not enough. they say that basically it h

cnn senior international correspondent arwa damon on the ground in baghdad. are ar arwa, what are you hearing in response to this threat? >> reporter: a lot of anger, kate. this is a country that knows the effective u.s. sanctions only too well, if we look at what happened in the aftermath of the gulf war here. and in direct response to that, kataib hezbollah put out a statement saying should the u.s. decide to take that step, that they would threaten america's oil supply from the persian gulf and they would look to their, quote, friend to help them out with that. obviously meaning iran. this group that issued this threat, that is the same group whose leader was killed alongside qasem soleimani. the same group that was targeted in the u.s. air strikes last sunday that really led to this severe escalation that we have been seeing unfolding right now. and, of course, all of this back and forth rhetoric comes the day after the iraqi parliament voted to push foreign troops out of iraq. and it was the caretaker prime minister himself who was making the case to par