Skip to main content

New Year's Present

1. Why was General Soleimani an important target for the airstrike?

General Soleimani was a high ranking Iranain military official planning to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and the surrounding area. He and his forces have cause hundreds of Americans and allied casualties.

2. How did the Department of Defense (the Pentagon) justify this attack?

The Pentagon claims Soleimani was an imminent threat to Americans and the strike was a defensive action intended to counter a potential attack.

3. How have Iran's leaders responded to the US attack?

The supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and the president, Hassan Rouhani, vowed to take revenge on America, calling the Americans criminals.

4. How has President Trump responded to Iran's promises of "revenge"?

Trump threatened to attack 52 Iranian sites important to Iran and Iranian culture if Iran takes revenge.

5. Why have some said that Trump's response would be considered a war crime?

Targeting cultural sites is a war crime.

6. What impact has this attack on Iran's leadership had on normal Iranian people?

The attack united the Iranian people as they mourned the death of their national hero/leader.

7. How has the government of Iraq responded to the US attacks on Iranian leadership?

Iranian leadership has recommended the parliament to demand the US troops to leave the country.

8. What was the 2015 Nuclear deal between Iran and the Obama Administration?

The 2015 Nuclear deal was an agreement between Iran and the US in which Iran agreed to limits on enriching uranium and the number of centrifuges while the US would lift sanctions on Iran.

9. What did President Trump do to the Iranian government because he disagreed with the deal?

Trump withdrew the US from the agreement and imposed sanctions on Iran and its oil sector.

10. Which parts of the deal does Iran say it will stop following?

Iran will end its the limitation in the number of the centrifuges, meaning it will have no limits in production, enrichment capacity/percentage, and number of enriched uranium and research and expansion.

11. Which parts of the deal does Iran say it will continue to follow?

Iran will continue allowing the International Atomic Energy Agency to review its nuclear research, and is even willing to rejoin the deal if the sanctions are removed.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Purge the Scourge

1.  What was Lt Colonol Alexander Vindman's job in the bureaucracy? He was a top Ukraine expert on the National Security Council. 2. What did Vindman testify during the impeachment investigation? He testified that, while listening in on Trump's call with Zelensky, he found the call inappropriate and that Trump should not have asked Ukraine to investigate Biden, a political opponent of Trump. 3. What did the White House do to Vindman and his brother? Vindman was removed from his post and detailed to the Defense Department; his brother was reassigned. 4. How is the White House justifying this action? The White House claimed this was just part of a larger shrinking of the National Security Counsel staff. 5. Why does the author argue that this creates a danger for other civil servants? Other officials are even more scared to testify against the president should he act inappropriately again. 6. What was Gordon Sondland's job in the Trump Administration? He was th...
Post a Comment
Read more

Primary Colors of the Rainbow

1.What's the difference between Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the primary calendar? Phase 1 contains only 4 states and few delegates, but is at the start of the race and thus influential to the narrative. Phase 2 is very short but contains more than half the delegates, and thus is more consequential. 2. Which four states get to vote first, separated roughly into one each week? Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, South Carolina 3. There are few delegates available in these four states, why are the primaries so important? There are few other contests occurring at the time, so these primaries have a lot of national attention. Thus, they can give candidates an edge in future primaries, and they also illustrate who the true top competitors are. 4. How many delegates are available in Phase 2? More than 60% of the total pledged delegates. 5. Which regions are holding most of their primaries on Super Tuesday? South, New England, West, and Midwest 6. How many primaries are held the followi...
Post a Comment
Read more

Koch Brothers

How did the Koch brothers describe their political goals and how did they participate politically? The brothers described their aims as "supporting 'liberty' or 'economic freedom'." They participated politically by funding ideas they supported in academia and by directly funding Republican candidates. How did the Koch family become wealthy? Their father had founded an oil refinery company, which he turned over to Charles as he died. Charles transformed the company, Koch Industries, into a "major oil refining and chemical conglomerate," which made him and David very wealthy. How did David Koch first become involved in politics? David Koch was the nominee for the vice president of the US for the Libertarian Party in 1980, as he and Charles had become involved in libertarian ideas on economics, supporting the cause with their money. Why did the Koch's escalate their political efforts when Obama became president? Obama tried to pass a health car...
Post a Comment
Read more