Broken Iraq and the virus. @MichaelGRubin
Image: The Lion of Babylon (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lion_of_Babylon) from a portion of the Ishtar Gate (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ishtar_Gate) . The Lion of Babylon has remained a prominent symbol of Iraqi culture; a type of Iraqi battle tank was named after it (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lion_of_Babylon_(tank)) . Michael Rubin, in re: The scale of the collapse of the medical system in Iran, inability of the regime to communicate commons sense; no idea of the number of deaths but it seems to be high. Two carrier groups deployed by the US to prevent Iran from thinking they ought to attack. Soleimani’s successor two days ago landed in Baghdad on what probably was a military mission. Iraqis urgently don't want to be a battlefield. . . . Iran’s economy is so catastrophic that Iraq is subsidizing the IRGC. Michael Rubin is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, where he specializes in Iran, Turkey, and the broader Middle East. He also regularly teaches classes at sea about Middle East conflicts, culture, terrorism, and the Horn of Africa to deployed US • https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iraq-security-trump/trump-warns-iran-against-possible-sneak-attack-on-us-in-iraq-idUSKBN21J6FJ • https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iraq-militias-idUSKBN21J5EZ• https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-accuses-iran-or-its-proxies-of-planning-attack-on-u-s-troops-in-iraq-11585763334 • https://www.washingtoninstitute (https://www.washingtoninstitute/) .