This week on "Face the Nation," January 5, 2020: Pompeo, Petraeus, Rubio, Murphy, Perez
Iran tensions on the rise
The United States will deploy nearly 3,000 more troops to the Middle East following a U.S. airstrike that killed a top Iranian military leader, American defense officials announced Friday.
Late Thursday night, the commander of Iran's Quds Forces, Qassem Soleimani, was killed in an drone strike in Baghdad. In a break from long-standing intelligence practices, President Trump ordered the Defense Department to confirm the U.S. was behind the attack.
Defense officials accused Soleimani of "actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region." According to a senior administration official, multiple attacks were being planned against U.S. military and facilities in Syria, Lebanon and Iraq that would have resulted in the death of "hundreds."
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo described this threat to American lives as "imminent," but said the U.S. "remains committed to de-escalation." President Trump reiterated that stance on Friday, saying, "we took action last night to stop a war, we did not take action to start a war."
The U.S. deployed 750 troops earlier this week after Iranian-backed militia attacked the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. The Defense Department blames Soleimani for approving the violent demonstrations and orchestrating a rocket attack on an Iraqi military base that killed an American defense contractor last month.
CBS News senior national security contributor and former deputy CIA director Michael Morell warned that the targeted strike on Soleimani will lead to "dead civilian Americans" as Iran has vowed to take "crushing revenge" against the U.S.
"Face the Nation" Guest Lineup:
- Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (@SecPompeo)
- Gen. David Petraeus (Ret) Former Commander in Chief of Central Command, former CIA director
- Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida (@marcorubio), Foreign Relations Committee
- Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Connecticut (@ChrisMurphyCT), Foreign Relations Committee
- Tom Perez, DNC Chair (@TomPerez)
- CBS News Foreign Correspondent Holly Williams (@HollyMAWilliams) reports from Iraq
- CBS News National Security Correspondent David Martin (@CBSDavidMartin)
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Date: Sunday, January 5, 2020
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