{"articles":[{"reaction_config":[{"text":"Yes","color":"#624960","stance":"yes"},{"text":"No","color":"#4ac6ec","stance":"no"}],"id":40713,"title":"Pentagon Chief Says He 'Didn’t See' Specific Evidence of Iranian Threats to 4 Embassies","html_content":"

by Axios | 1.12.20

Secretary of Defense Mark Esper told CBS News' \"Face the Nation\" Sunday that he \"didn't see\" specific evidence that Iran was targeting four U.S. embassies, as President Trump claimed in an interview with Fox News, but that he does share the president's overall concerns.

Why it matters: The controversy over Trump's comments reflects a broader mistrust over the administration's claims that there was intelligence showing Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani posed an \"imminent\" threat to U.S. forces.

Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) said on CNN's \"State of the Union\" Sunday that the administration did not brief Congress that Iran was allegedly plotting attacks on four U.S. embassies.
House Intelligence Chair Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said on CBS shortly after Esper that the Gang of Eight — a group of top lawmakers who can be briefed on classified intelligence by the executive branch — was not told about the threats either. Schiff accused Trump of \"fudging\" intelligence.
Rep. Justin Amash (I-Mich.) tweeted after Esper's appearance: \"The administration didn’t present evidence to Congress regarding even one embassy. The four embassies claim seems to be totally made up. And they have never presented evidence of imminence—a necessary condition to act without congressional approval—with respect to any of this.\"

The \"Face the Nation\" exchange:

ESPER: \"What the president said was he believed that there probably could have been attacks against additional embassies. I shared that view. I know other members of the national security team shared that view. That's why I deployed thousands of American paratroopers to the Middle East to reinforce our embassy in Baghdad and other sites throughout the region.\"

MARGARET BRENNAN: \"Probably and could have been — that sounds more like an assessment than a specific, tangible threat with a decisive piece of intelligence.\"

ESPER: \"Well, the president didn't say there was a tangible, he didn't cite a specific piece of evidence. What he said it he probably, he believed —\"

BRENNAN: \"Are you saying there wasn't one?\"

ESPER: \"I didn't see one with regard to four embassies.\"

Go deeper: Trump's national security adviser claims Iran more likely to negotiate now

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Since the day you were born, that’s always been on the cards. Most of us find it easier to bury our heads in the sand. Avoidance is the #1 most popular coping strategy in the world. We live in denial of the self-evident fact that we all die eventually. The Stoics believed that when we’re confronted with our own mortality, and grasp its implications, that can change our perspective on life quite dramatically. Any of us could die at any moment. Life doesn’t go on forever. If you say that you won't vote in the general election if your candidate doesn't win the nomination, you're saying to millions of people you think their suffering is an appropriate price for your righteous indignation.\nThere is NO moral justification for sitting out this election. IRL I am an environmental hydrogeologist. I specialize in municipal stormwater management and karst groundwater systems. You can deny the effects of anthropogenic forced global climate change all day, but when your water well salts up, your streets and yards flood, or your house falls in a sinkhole or gets crushed by a landslide you will be calling me for help like I am the GD Batman.","twitter_id":null,"facebook_id":null,"youtube_id":null,"google_plus_id":null,"website":null,"slug":"burrkitty","issue_count":145,"is_following":null,"influence_score":15350,"influence_level":40,"follower_count":522,"following_count":41,"position_count":1000,"id":"8mrvqvpm","partner_id":null},{"name":"Maryjane","vote_count":692,"photos":{"large":"https://assets.causes.com/user/avatar/default-2.png","small":"https://assets.causes.com/user/avatar/default-2.png","tiny":"https://assets.causes.com/user/avatar/default-2.png"},"links":{"following":"/api/users/e9XKj1qm/following","followers":"/api/users/e9XKj1qm/followers"},"about_me":"","twitter_id":null,"facebook_id":null,"youtube_id":null,"google_plus_id":null,"website":null,"slug":null,"issue_count":48,"is_following":null,"influence_score":3365,"influence_level":30,"follower_count":132,"following_count":79,"position_count":110,"id":"e9XKj1qm","partner_id":null},{"name":"jimK","vote_count":568,"photos":{"large":"https://assets.causes.com/user/avatar/9odrQBnb/large_9odrqbnb-1557000969.jpg","small":"https://assets.causes.com/user/avatar/9odrQBnb/small_9odrqbnb-1557000969.jpg","tiny":"https://assets.causes.com/user/avatar/9odrQBnb/tiny_9odrqbnb-1557000969.jpg"},"links":{"following":"/api/users/9odrQBnb/following","followers":"/api/users/9odrQBnb/followers"},"about_me":"Retired, Politically Independent. 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A foul is a foul- even if the referee doesn’t catch you.\nI fear that each of our federal governmental branches have devised or discovered shortcuts which tend to protect them from the checks and balances our founders intended.","twitter_id":null,"facebook_id":null,"youtube_id":null,"google_plus_id":null,"website":null,"slug":"jimk","issue_count":4,"is_following":null,"influence_score":48240,"influence_level":40,"follower_count":1632,"following_count":88,"position_count":565,"id":"9odrQBnb","partner_id":null},{"name":"Celiaann","vote_count":152,"photos":{"large":"https://assets.causes.com/user/avatar/mE5zRvGL/large_me5zrvgl-1559254820.jpg","small":"https://assets.causes.com/user/avatar/mE5zRvGL/small_me5zrvgl-1559254820.jpg","tiny":"https://assets.causes.com/user/avatar/mE5zRvGL/tiny_me5zrvgl-1559254820.jpg"},"links":{"following":"/api/users/mE5zRvGL/following","followers":"/api/users/mE5zRvGL/followers"},"about_me":null,"twitter_id":null,"facebook_id":null,"youtube_id":null,"google_plus_id":null,"website":null,"slug":null,"issue_count":27,"is_following":null,"influence_score":810,"influence_level":30,"follower_count":30,"following_count":105,"position_count":135,"id":"mE5zRvGL","partner_id":null}],"article_comment":{"flagged":false,"id":1162815,"body":"Is it really a surprise to people that trump would create a story and lie to back it up and use said lie to attack someone and then it use for his own political gain all while you republicans bow at your new GODS feet ","parent_type":"Article","parent_id":40713,"created_at":"2020-01-13T19:51:10.102Z","liked":false,"like_count":5,"links":{"self":"https://www.causes.com/comments/1162815","likers":"https://www.causes.com/api/v1/likers?likeable_id=1162815&likeable_type=Comment"},"article_id":40713,"shareable_image_url":"https://n.causes.com/share-images/comments/1162815.png","note":{"text":"Yes","color":"#624960","stance":"yes"},"note_text":"Yes","note_color":"#624960","user_id":"Lm4bGbeW","liker_ids":["e9XBdlXZ","8mrvqvpm","e9XKj1qm","9odrQBnb","mE5zRvGL"]}}

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