The New York Times reported Thursday evening that President Donald Trump ordered air and naval strikes against Iranian targets in response to the shooting down of a U.S. Navy drone earlier that day, but canceled them “abruptly.”
The Times reported:
President Trump approved military strikes against Iran in retaliation for downing an American surveillance drone, but pulled back from launching them on Thursday night after a day of escalating tensions.
…
The operation was underway in its early stages when it was called off, a senior administration official said. Planes were in the air and ships were in position, but no missiles had been fired when word came to stand down, the official said.
…
It was not clear whether Mr. Trump simply changed his mind on the strikes or whether the administration altered course because of logistics or strategy. It was also not clear whether the attacks might still go forward.
The Times added a curious detail: “No government officials asked The New York Times to withhold the article.”
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Trump’s critics accused him of “cold feet.” But the fact that the administration did not try to stop the story also suggests it could have been leaked deliberately. Indeed, at least one other reporter claimed he had received similar information:
.@nytimes scooping me again. I was sitting on this information for six hours. Can confirm this reporting. https://t.co/SLgwuKeAO4
— Jim LaPorta (@JimLaPorta) June 21, 2019
MTG says she was denied security detail despite 773 death threats
Pearl Harbor remembrance ceremony marks 84 years since attack
Hamline University student brags on video that he celebrated Charlie Kirk’s assassination
Newsom team torched for image posted in response to mocking of gov’s ‘testicle-crushing’ sitting pose
Democrats escalate war-crime accusations as White House calls ‘innocent fisherman’ the new ‘Maryland Man’ hoax
First-Graders Leap Into Action and Save Their Teacher from Choking in Virginia Classroom
GOP Rep Goes Nuclear After Democrat Cuts Him Off Mid-Sentence: ‘You Were That Rude’
Widespread Obamacare Fraud: Phony SSNs Had a 100% Success Rate for Getting Coverage, Investigation Finds
How Is This Not Racist? Ex-MSNBC Host Trashes Minorities for Working with ICE to Catch Criminals
Florida teens in custody after 14-year-old girl found shot to death, burnt: sheriff
Alaska school district erases Veterans Day from official calendar: ‘Absolutely unacceptable’
Tom Homan Nukes Heckler Who Calls Him Traitor: ‘Grow A Backbone, Put a Kevlar Vest and a Gun on’
Public School Students Allowed to Skip Classes in Chicago if They ‘Fear’ ICE
Congress faces holiday crunch as health care fix collides with shrinking calendar
Republicans divided over whether to salvage Obamacare — or replace it — ahead of subsidy deadline
Trump tweeted Thursday morning that “Iran made a very big mistake!”, but later suggested that the “mistake” may have simply been an accident. In the double meaning of the word “mistake,” he preserved both the threat of retaliation and the possibility of a diplomatic solution.
Regardless, Iran will know how close it was to being attacked, and still is.
Story cited here.
