POLITICO Playbook: Iraq votes to kick U.S. out, as Pompeo does the full Ginsburg

BULLETIN … AP/BEIRUT at 9:45 a.m.: “Iraq parliament votes to expel US military”: “Iraq’s parliament has voted to expel the U.S. army from the nation.

“Lawmakers voted Sunday in favor of a resolution that calls for ending overseas army presence in the country. The resolution’s fundamental purpose is to get the U.S. to withdraw some 5,000 U.S. troops present in several elements of Iraq.

“The vote comes two days after a U.S. airstrike killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani inside Iraq, dramatically growing regional tensions. The Iraqi decision specifically calls for ending an agreement through which Washington sent troops to Iraq greater than four years ago to help in the battle towards the Islamic State group.”

POMPEO DOES THE FULL GINSBURG …

-- WILL TRUMP COMMIT WAR CRIMES? … ABC’S “THIS WEEK.” … GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS asked concerning the TRUMP tweet, that stated the U.S. would bomb cultural websites: “[W]hy is the president threatening Iran with warfare crimes?”

POMPEO: “We’ll behave lawfully. We’ll behave inside the system. We all the time have, and we all the time will George, you understand that. The president was getting thus far: prior to now, earlier administrations had allowed Shia militias to take photographs at us, and at greatest, we responded in theater, making an attempt to problem and attack everyone who was operating round with an AK-47 or piece of oblique artillery. We’ve made a very totally different strategy. We’ve advised the Iranian regime, sufficient. You possibly can’t get away with utilizing proxy forces and assume your homeland can be protected and secure. We’re going to reply towards the actual determination makers. The people who are inflicting this menace from the Islamic Republic of Iran. We’re going to take this significantly, and we’re going to defend the American individuals at each turn, George.”

-- WILL IRAN STRIKE BACK? … NBC’S “MEET THE PRESS.” CHUCK TODD asked if the U.S. was to anticipate retaliations on People citizens: POMPEO: “Chuck, you’re concentrating on the second and the second. President Trump is concentrated deeply on preserving People protected over the lengthy haul. Preserving, protecting and defending America is the mission that we now have. It might be that there’s slightly noise right here within the interim that the Iranians make the selection to reply. I hope that they don’t. President Trump has been clear what we'll do in response if they do -- that our response shall be decisive and vigorous, simply because it’s been up to now.

-- CNN’S “STATE OF THE UNION.” JAKE TAPPER requested if the attack SOLEIMANI was working on has been referred to as off: “We’re ready for something the Islamic Republic of Iran might do, Jake. There are clearly actors that go beyond Soleimani -- that’s why we’re nonetheless doing the work we’re doing, that’s why we’re getting ready, that’s why we’re still flowing forces to the region. That’s why we’re doing all of the issues we’re doing, building out a coalition, ensuring our partners are defending our embassies and diplomatic amenities and army installations all all through the area. That’s why you noticed the assertion that was put out by DHS. We’re getting prepared within the occasion the Islamic Republic of Iran management makes a nasty determination.”

-- “FOX NEWS SUNDAY.” CHRIS WALLACE pushed POMPEO on whether or not the U.S. will depart Iraq, now that the nation’s leadership has asked it to. “We’ll need to take a take a look at what we do when the Iraqi leadership and government makes a choice. However the American individuals ought to know we’ll make the right determination, we'll take action that frankly the previous administration refused to take to do exactly that.”

-- CBS'S "FACE THE NATION." MARGARET BRENNAN asked POMPEO if he really believed Iran would sit down now to negotiate. POMPEO: "Relies upon how sensible they're. It depends how a lot they take significantly what President Trump has communicated. If they take it critically, they will do the appropriate thing. They may not proceed to threaten not solely People, however the complete area. The instability they have created for our ally Israel, for our partners, the Saudis, our associates, the Emiratis, all of those nations, Soleimani and his band of Merry Brothers have been a unfavourable influence within the area for an awfully very long time. They usually are grateful for the motion that American took."

A FASCINATING OBSERVATION … NBC’S RICHARD ENGEL in Erbil, Iraq, to CHUCK TODD on “MEET THE PRESS”: “Nicely, once I saw the 82nd Airborne getting those packs and heading back to the area yesterday, after which there was a rocket assault into the inexperienced zone and I’m once once more here on a rooftop in Iraq speaking about Shiite militias and troops coming to the area, I assumed, wow. We're back in 2007 on the peak of the violence here when the united stateswas preventing on multiple fronts towards ISIS, it was al-Qaeda then, now it’s ISIS, and towards Shia militias and Iran, with Iraq back in play. Who knew we needed those days to return again.”

THE PRESIDENT arrived at his golf course in Florida around 9:47 this morning, per NYT’s MAGGIE HABERMAN, right now’s pooler.

FRONT PAGE of the FAYETTEVILLE OBSERVER: “82nd Airborne again answers call with deployment to the Middle East”

SNEAK PEEK … THE PRESIDENT’S WEEK: Monday: TRUMP will participate in a ceremony for brand spanking new ambassadors to D.C., and he’ll have lunch with the vice chairman. Tuesday: THE PRESIDENT will host the prime minister of Greece. Thursday: THE PRESIDENT may have a political rally in Toledo, Ohio.

TIMES TICK TOCK … HELENE COOPER, ERIC SCHMITT, MAGGIE HABERMAN and RUKMINI CALLIMACHI: “As Tensions With Iran Escalated, Trump Opted for Most Extreme Measure”: “After initially rejecting the Suleimani choice on Dec. 28 and authorizing airstrikes on an Iranian-backed Shia militia group as an alternative, a couple of days later Mr. Trump watched, fuming, as television reviews confirmed Iranian-backed assaults on the American Embassy in Baghdad, in accordance with Defense Department and administration officials. …

“Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Vice President Mike Pence have been two of probably the most hawkish voices arguing for a response to Iranian aggression, in accordance with administration officials. Mr. Pence’s office helped run herd on meetings and convention calls held by officials within the run-up to the strike.”

WAPO’S LIZ SLY: “That Iran will retaliate isn't in query, analysts say. Not to take action can be an indication of weak spot that would jeopardize the big influence Iran has gained in the region over the previous four many years.

“But he and different analysts additionally consider Iran also has no appetite for a full-scale warfare with the USA that may deplete its already precarious funds and depart it closely outgunned. Iran, analysts say, has to calibrate its response — inflicting sufficient injury on america that it is seen to be avenging Soleimani’s dying without precipitating an all-out struggle.” WaPo

WAPO: “Trump’s flip to army towards Iran exhibits limits of economic ‘most strain’”: “Till just lately, the strain has been principally economic — a stream of sanctions on more than 1,000 individuals, groups and corporations associated with Iran that has crippled the country’s financial system. The objective was to pressure Iran to negotiate a new nuclear settlement and act like a ‘regular nation,’ as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has stated.

“Neither is likely any time soon. The sanctions have put the Iranian regime on the ropes economically, but they have not pressured the Iranians to vary their conduct or negotiate the deal. As an alternative, the campaign has pushed the battle additional into the army realm, the place Iran can exert its own form of maximum strain on america.”

NYT ED BOARD: “Congress, Stop President Trump’s Rush to War With Iran”: “While applicable, such efforts to rein in government war-making powers have proved insufficient because the 9/11 attacks. That’s why it is essential that influential Republican senators like Lindsey Graham, Marco Rubio and Mitch McConnell remind Mr. Trump of his promise to keep America out of overseas quagmires and hold Mr. Trump from stumbling further into struggle with Iran.”

WORD FROM TEHRAN … CNN: “Exclusive: Supreme Leader's military adviser says Iran's response will be 'against military sites,'” by Fred Pleitgen and Schams Elwazer in Tehran: “In an exclusive interview with CNN in Tehran, Hossein Dehghan, the army adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, stated: ‘The response for positive shall be army and towards army sites.’ …

“‘It was America that has started the warfare. Subsequently, they should settle for applicable reactions to their actions. The only factor that can end this period of struggle is for the People to receive a blow that is equal to the blow they've inflicted. Afterward they should not search a brand new cycle.’”

-- JAVAD ZARIF (@JZarif) this morning on Twitter: “-Having committed grave breaches of int'l regulation in Friday's cowardly assassinations, @realDonaldTrump threatens to commit again new breaches of JUS COGENS; -Concentrating on cultural sites is a WAR CRIME; -Whether or not kicking or screaming, end of US malign presence in West Asia has begun. …

“These masquerading as diplomats and people who shamelessly sat to determine Iranian cultural & civilian targets should not even hassle to open a regulation dictionary. Jus cogens refers to peremptory norms of international regulation, i.e. international pink strains. That is, an enormous(ly) ‘no no’”

AP/NAIROBI: “Al-Shabab attacks military base used by US forces in Kenya”: “The U.S. army stated the safety state of affairs was “fluid” at a Kenyan airfield utilized by U.S. forces after a pre-dawn assault Sunday by the al-Shabab extremist group. The assault destroyed U.S. aircraft and automobiles, Kenyan authorities stated, and no less than four attackers have been killed.

“It was not yet clear whether any U.S. or Kenyan forces have been killed. A U.S. Africa Command statement stated ‘an accountability of personnel assessment is underway.’ The midday statement stated the Manda Bay airfield was ‘still within the process of being absolutely secured.’”

Good Sunday morning. KASIE HUNT returns from maternity depart in the present day. She was on “Meet the Press” this morning, and is internet hosting “Kasie DC” tonight at 7 p.m.

HOW THE SOLEIMANI KILLING IS IMPACTING 2020 …

-- BIDEN POUNCES … NATASHA KORECKI in DES MOINES: “Joe Biden lit into President Donald Trump’s tweeting about the potential for retaliating towards Iran Saturday night time, calling it ‘extremely harmful and irresponsible.’

“Increasingly positioning himself because the 2020 Democratic candidate with credible overseas policy experience, the previous vice chairman accused Trump of taking reckless action as ‘the partitions shut in on this man.’ Speaking earlier than a marketing campaign event here, Biden accused Trump of taking reckless action as ‘the walls close in on this man.’

“‘No president has a proper to take our nation to struggle without the informed consent of People — knowledgeable consent. And right now we do not know what this man has in thoughts, we now have no concept,’ Biden informed reporters earlier than a campaign occasion here. ‘He is remoted us from our companions. He is remoted us from our NATO allies.’” POLITICO

-- BUTTIGIEG GETS TESTED … ELENA SCHNEIDER in WOLFEBORO, N.H.: “Buttigieg faces overseas policy trial as Iran seizes Dem main”: “[T]t the American strike that killed Qassem Soleimani, a prime Iranian basic, rippled via the previous mayor’s events in the first main state this weekend, the place he sought to reassure voters that he has the experience to handle U.S. overseas coverage and the army.

“Buttigieg wove his stint as a Navy intelligence officer and criticism of Trump’s ‘chest-thumping militarism’ into his stump speech and returned to his tenure ‘in the mud of’ Afghanistan answering questions at town halls across New Hampshire, as the presidential main takes a overseas policy turn.” POLITICO

FOR YANG, MO MONEY, MO PROBLEMS … TRENT SPINER in Rochester, N.H.: “Flush with money, Yang wrestles with where to spend it”: “‘We will buy gold cash, after which put them in a vault, and then I'll go on prime of the pile of gold coins after which wave my legs and arms up and down,’ he joked in an interview.

“The truth is that his newfound marketing campaign riches are creating inner pressure about whether or not to beef up the Iowa operation or guess all of it in New Hampshire. Yang’s robust focus has all the time been on New Hampshire, the first-in-the-nation main state where he has spent more time than any of the top-tier candidates. The marketing campaign sees it as ripe ground for him — Democratic voters relish their independent-streak and confirmed they have been open to non-traditional candidates up to now, delivering Sen. Bernie Sanders a decisive win within the 2016 main.

“Their objective, so far, has been to complete on the prime of the second-tier with a purpose to stay relevant after the early-voting states. Abruptly though, with cash to play in Iowa as nicely, there is a vigorous debate about the place to spend the money and Yang’s other valuable commodity — his time.

“‘I feel if we overperform expectations may have a very highly effective narrative popping out of New Hampshire that folks don’t anticipate us to be at the prime 4 here,’ Yang stated after wrapping up the final of 14 events throughout a four-day trip right here. ‘If we break the highest four, I feel individuals will see that we have now a ton of power behind us.’” POLITICO

CAUCUS READ … FRONT PAGE of the DES MOINES REGISTER: “Which path wins Iowa?”

BOSTON GLOBE front web page: “With N.H. vote looming, ‘electability’ is still elusive” … Story

WEST WING READING … FRONT PAGE of the MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL: “Foxconn project moving too slowly?”

TRUMP’S SUNDAY … THE PRESIDENT will depart Mar-a-Lago at 4 p.m. for Palm Seashore airport, and he’ll take off at 4:20 p.m. He is scheduled to land at Andrews at 6:25 p.m., and will probably be again on the White House by 6:45 p.m.

NYT’S CATIE EDMONDSON in Lewiston, Maine: “With Split Decision on Impeachment, Maine Democrat Risks a Dual Backlash”: “[Rep. Jared Golden’s] uncommon choice to cost Mr. Trump with abuse of power but not with obstruction of Congress has left Mr. Golden open to a backlash from Republicans and independents who oppose impeaching the president and Democrats who're determined that he must be eliminated in any respect costs.

“The decision by Mr. Golden is a component of a bigger guess animating his first time period in Congress: that his willingness to brazenly flout a number of the key orthodoxies of his social gathering will attraction sufficient to his famously independent-minded constituents to assist him hold onto his seat, somewhat than immediate voters to run him out of office.

“‘It may be a lonely place for me to be in Washington,’ Mr. Golden stated over beers at a mill turned brewery here in his hometown. ‘However it’s not a lonely place for me to be here in Maine, and in my district.’”

DAILY RUDY … SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE’S TAL KOPAN: “Rudy Giuliani mixed White House role, personal business in cybersecurity”

BONUS GREAT WEEKEND READS, curated by Daniel Lippman (@dlippman):

-- “The Extremely-Rich Who Argue That They Ought to Be Paying Greater Taxes,” by The New Yorker’s Sheelah Kolhatkar: “In an age of historic disparity, Abigail Disney and the Patriotic Millionaires take on revenue inequality.” New Yorker

-- “There have been nine...” -- BBC: “In the lifeless of winter, a gaggle of scholars set out on a trek into the Ural Mountains. Their frozen bodies - with inexplicable accidents -- have been discovered in places that compounded the puzzle of how they died. The Dyatlov Move thriller spawned dozens of conspiracy theories, which have endured for 60 years. Lucy Ash traces the group's journey and tells their story via their diaries, pictures and letters.” BBC

-- “This Man Should Not Be Executed,” by Lincoln Caplan on the duvet of the winter challenge of The American Scholar: “Billy Joe Wardlow murdered a man, but mitigating information say he shouldn't pay for that crime together with his life.” American Scholar

-- “I Save You within the Clouds,” by Yangyang Cheng in SupChina: “Nature builds its library with no regard for our attempted studying. What we make of our time — the work we do, the tales we inform, the individuals we love — is what provides our lives which means. Whether anything we produce has a longevity beyond our bodies isn't as necessary because the act of dwelling.” SupChina (h/t TheBrowser.com)

-- “‘Shattered’: Inside the secret battle to save lots of America’s undercover spies in the digital age,” by Yahoo’s Jenna McLaughlin and Zach Dorfman: “Recruitment to the CIA of younger individuals, notably those born in the age of social media, has grow to be harder, say former officers, with the company lacking clearly outlined policies for social media use. ... The CIA nonetheless considers a Facebook friendship a ‘close and persevering with relationship’ for security functions, say multiple former officials.” Yahoo

-- “Australia Is Committing Local weather Suicide,” by Richard Flanagan within the NYT: “Scientists estimate that close to half a billion native animals have been killed and worry that some species of animals and crops might have been wiped out utterly. Surviving animals are abandoning their young in what is described as mass ‘hunger events.’ ... Multiple-third of Australians are [also] estimated to be affected by the fires.” NYT

-- “The Physician, the Dentist, and the Killer,” by Texas Monthly’s Skip Hollandsworth in the January concern: “Brenda thought she and Ricky can be together perpetually, until he left her. Kendra thought she and Ricky can be collectively eternally. Then Brenda took matters into her own arms. Contained in the case of jealousy, spying, and homicide that shook Uptown Dallas.” Texas Monthly (h/t Longform.org)

-- “Voice of the Silent Majority,” by James Rosen in the WSJ, reviewing “Republican Populist: Spiro Agnew and the Origins of Donald Trump’s America,” by Charles J. Holden, Zach Messitte and Jerald Podair: “It is undoubtedly true that lots of [Spiro] Agnew’s themes can be echoed by Mr. Trump half a century later and that the Silent Majority of the late 1960s, with its rejection of liberal elites and radical voices, prefigured the populists who propelled Mr. Trump to the presidency. But when any ­- ‘direct line’ exists from that period to in the present day, as the authors declare, it's more properly drawn from the start line of Richard Nixon.” WSJ ... $28.99 on Amazon

-- “The Humanoid Stain: Artwork classes from our cave-dwelling ancestors,” by Barbara Ehrenreich in The Baffler: “Our ancestors occupied a lowly spot in the food chain. They have been in a position to know how lowly it was. They knew they have been meat; they appeared to know that they knew they have been meat — meat that would assume. And that, if you consider it long sufficient, is nearly humorous.” Baffler (h/t TheBrowser.com)

-- “Cool It, Krugman,” by Sebastian Mallaby in the January/February difficulty of The Atlantic, reviewing “Arguing With Zombies: Economics, Politics, and the Battle for a Higher Future,” by Paul Krugman: “The self-sabotaging rage of the New York Occasions columnist.” Atlantic ... $28.45 on Amazon

-- “A Translation Crisis on the Border,” by Rachel Nolan in The New Yorker: “For migrants who converse Mayan languages, a grassroots group of interpreters is usually their only hope for receiving asylum.” New Yorker

-- “Three shifts at the Scrabble manufacturing unit: The inventor,” by Ben Heintz in VT Digger -- per TheBrowser.com’s description: “Definitive historical past of the manufacturing unit in Fairfax, Vermont, the place all picket items for all American Scrabble sets have been manufactured nicely into the 1990s. An unemployed architect referred to as Alfred Butts invented Scrabble during the Melancholy, but bought off the rights. A hockey-stick manufacturer in Burlington was recruited to supply the items, using 150 individuals to supply one million tiles a day. Scrabble tiles at the moment are made in China, and the Fairfax manufacturing unit now makes artisanal maple syrup.” VT Digger

MEDIAWATCH -- “Freebie newspapers amNew York, Metro to merge, grow to be amNewYork Metro,” by N.Y. Publish’s Keith Kelly: “Metro..

Src: POLITICO Playbook: Iraq votes to kick U.S. out, as Pompeo does the full Ginsburg
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