Over one hundred troops have been injured with traumatic brain injuries following Iran attacks on U.S. bases in retaliation for the killing of Iran’s top general.
Trump was so desperate to portray his strike against General Soleimani as successful that he lied to the public about the results, claimed no troops were injured or killed and then when it was discovered that dozens suffered traumatic brain injuries, he dismissed them as “headaches.”
“Over 100 US service members have been diagnosed with mild traumatic brain injuries in the wake of the January 8 Iranian missile attack on the al Asad military base in Iraq, according to a US official with knowledge of the latest information,” Barbara Starr, CNN’s Pentagon Correspondent reported Monday morning.
That’s an increase of at least 36 cases from the end of January when the Pentagon said 64 service members had been diagnosed with injuries.
A Timeline of the Lies:
– Trump took out a top Iranian general with a drone strike without authorization. Because Trump did yet another bad thing, many lies were told to justify and cover it up.
Trump and his administration offered varying justifications for his unauthorized strike, none of which actually explained it or justified it. To be clear, General Soleimani was a bad actor. But the Trump administration was unable to make a case of clear and present danger.
Defense Secretary Mark Esper said that he had not seen specific evidence of imminent threats. Republicans couldn’t name any, and instead went into full “he was a bad guy” mode, with a litany of past behavior by Soleimani.
Trump et al violated protocol by not telling the Gang of 8 about the strike. Mike Pence went full Weapons of Mass Destruction Bush and tried to falsely link the general to 9/11. The Trump State Department suddenly canceled a briefing when unable to come up with a good enough story.
– Trump falsely claimed that Iran was standing down after his hit.
“Iran appears to be standing down, which is a good thing for all parties concerned and a very good thing for the world,” Trump told Americans on January 8th.
Vice President Pence echoed Trump’s lie, telling Wisconsin on January 14th that Iran was standing down, “We suffered no casualties and Iran is standing down. That’s what leadership looks like, Wisconsin.”
– Trump claimed no troops were injured or killed on January 8th.
Transcript of Trump’s remarks on Iran sent to PoliticusUSA on January 8th, from the White House Press Office:
THE PRESIDENT: As long as I am President of the
United States, Iran will never be allowed to have a nuclear weapon.Good morning. I’m pleased to inform you: The American people should be extremely grateful and happy no Americans were harmed in last night’s attack by the Iranian regime. We suffered no casualties, all of our soldiers are safe, and only minimal damage was sustained at our military bases.
– When at first it was reported that actually dozens of troops had suffered traumatic brain injuries from the explosions, Trump dismissed them as just “headaches.”
While in Davos, Trump said, “I heard they had headaches. No, I don’t consider them very serious injuries, relative to other injuries that I’ve seen.”
Trump dodged the draft five times, so he certainly is no experience regarding injuries sustained in war. Trump’s former attorney Michael Cohen testified that Trump made up a fake injury to avoid service, because “I wasn’t going to Vietnam.”
Actually, “TBIs” as they are called, can lead to suicide, as USA Today noted in an editorial.
– Monday February 10th, we discover it was actually over 100 of our troops who suffered brain injuries after the unauthorized attack.
No matter what Trump is telling America, you can bet it’s not the truth.
Trump doesn’t deal in facts. Everything is stagecraft to him, and so he redesigns reality in order to tell the story he wants told about himself. He has been doing this his entire life.
It’s just that now, Trump is taking out an Iraqi General without authorization and stealing a U.S. election.
Trump has been empowered by elected Republicans to do whatever he wants, illegal or not, without consequences. As always with Trump, while he avoids consequences, others pay the price for his incompetence and inability and unwillingness to handle reality.
Sarah has been credentialed to cover President Barack Obama, then VP Joe Biden, 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, and exclusively interviewed Speaker Nancy Pelosi multiple times and exclusively covered her first home appearance after the first impeachment of then President Donald Trump.
Sarah is two-time Telly award winning video producer and a member of the Society of Professional Journalists.
Connect with Sarah on Post, Mastodon @PoliticusSarah@Journa.Host, & Twitter.
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