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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 4, 2020)
A7 THE ASTORIAN • SATuRdAy, JANuARy 4, 2020 Trump declares Iranian general’s ‘reign of terror’ over By ZEKE MILLER, ROBERT BURNS and LOLITA C. BALDOR Associated Press WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump declared Friday that a “reign of ter- ror is over” as he marked the death of an Ira- nian general killed in a U.S. strike and as the Pentagon scrambled to reinforce the Amer- ican military presence in the Middle East in preparation for reprisals. Gen. Qassem Soleimani “made the death of innocent people his sick passion,” Trump said from his estate in Palm Beach, Flor- ida, adding “a lot of lives would have been saved” if he’d been hunted down years ago. The United States is sending nearly 3,000 more Army troops to the Mideast in the vol- atile aftermath of the killing ordered by Trump, defense officials said. Also Friday, the Pentagon placed an Army brigade in Italy on alert to fly into Lebanon if needed to protect the Ameri- can Embassy there, part of a series of mil- itary moves to protect U.S. interests in the Middle East. Speaking on condition of ano- nymity, an official said the U.S. could send 130 to more than 700 troops to Beirut from Italy. The official was not authorized to be identified. Reinforcements were ordered as U.S. officials said they had compelling intelli- gence that Soleimani, the commander of Iran’s Quds Force who was killed in the U.S. strike, was planning a significant cam- paign of violence against the United States. Officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a decision not yet announced by the Pentagon, said the new contingent of troops is from the 82nd Air- borne Division at Fort Bragg, North Caro- lina. They are in addition to about 700 sol- diers from the 82nd Airborne who deployed to Kuwait earlier this week after the storm- ing of the U.S. Embassy compound in Bagh- dad by Iran-backed militiamen and their supporters. Trump said of Soleimani: “We take com- fort in knowing that his reign of terror is over.” But the dispatching of extra troops reflects concern about potential Iranian retaliatory action for the killing. It also runs counter to Trump’s repeated push to extract the United States from Mideast conflicts. Prior to this week’s troop deployments, the administra- tion had sent 14,000 additional troops to the Mideast since May, when it first publicly claimed Iran was planning attacks on U.S. interests. The reinforcements took shape as Trump gave his first comments on the strike, declar- ing that he ordered the killing of Soleimani because he had killed and wounded many Americans over the years and was plotting to kill many more. “He should have been taken out many years ago,” he added. The strike marked a major escalation in the conflict between Washington and Iran, as Iran vowed “harsh retaliation” for the killing of the senior military leader. The two nations have faced repeated crises since Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal and imposed crippling sanctions. The United States urged its citizens to leave Iraq “immediately” as fears mounted that the strike and any retaliation by Iran could ignite a conflict that engulfs the region. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo defended the strike as “wholly lawful,” say- ing that Soleimani posed an “imminent” threat against the U.S. and its interests in the region. Evan Vucci/AP Photo President Donald Trump delivers remarks on Iran at his Mar-a-Lago property on Friday. THE uNITEd STATES IS SENdING NEARLy 3,000 MORE ARMy TROOPS TO THE MIdEAST IN THE VOLATILE AFTERMATH OF THE KILLING ORdEREd By TRuMP, dEFENSE OFFICIALS SAId. “There was an imminent attack,” Pompeo told Fox News. “The orchestrator, the pri- mary motivator for the attack, was Qassem Soleimani.” The White House did not inform lawmak- ers before the strike. It was expected to give classified briefings to members of Congress and staff in the afternoon. Defense Secretary Mark Esper notified House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of the strike shortly before the Penta- gon confirmed it publicly. Pompeo called world leaders Friday to explain and defend Trump’s decision to order the airstrike that has sparked fears of an explosion of anti-American protests as well as more violence in the already unsta- ble Middle East. The State Department said Pompeo had spoken Friday with top officials in Afghan- istan, Britain, China, France, Germany and Pakistan. In his calls with the British and Ger- man foreign ministers as well as China’s state councilor, Pompeo stressed that Trump acted to counter an imminent threat to U.S. lives in the region but also that the U.S. is committed to “de-escalation” of tensions, according to the department’s summaries of the conversations. De-escalation was not mentioned in the department’s summary of his call with the French foreign minister, nor in his calls with Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani or the Pakistani military chief of staff. In those calls Pompeo “underscored the Iranian regime’s destabilizing actions through the region and the Trump Administration’s resolve in pro- tecting American interests, personnel, facili- ties and partners,” the department said. Trump opted not to play a round of golf on Friday, and he was not expected to be seen publicly until he travels to Miami for an afternoon event for his reelection campaign. Associated Press writers Lisa Mascaro and Matthew Lee contributed to this report. Volcano briefly erupts in Alaska’s Aleutian Islands Associated Press ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A volcano in Alaska’s Aleutian Islands erupted Friday and sent up an ash cloud, prompting a warn- ing for planes. Shishaldin Volcano shot ash to more than 20,000 feet and possibly 24,000 feet, the Alaska Volcano Observatory said. The volcano is 679 miles southwest of Anchorage near the center of Unimak Island, the largest in the Aleutians and home to False Pass, a village of 40 people on the island’s east side. David Fee, coordinating scientist for the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Geophys- ical Institute, said the ash cloud was not a threat to the village. SEVENDAY FORECAST FOR ASTORIA TODAY SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY The cloud drifted southeast over the ocean. The volcano is a symmetrical cone that is 10 miles in diameter at its base. It rises to 9,373 feet and is the highest peak in the Aleutians. Several pilots and satellite imagery saw the cloud after the eruption at 11:38 a.m., the observatory said. THURSDAY FRIDAY The National Weather Service issued an ash cloud warning for aircraft to 24,000 feet. Shishaldin is at a heightened level of seismic unrest, and explosions could occur with little warning, the observatory said. The volcano is monitored with seismic and infrasound sensors, satellite data, a web camera and and distant infrasound and lightning networks. REGIONAL FORECAST Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows. Seattle 49 42 47 41 49 41 Rain tapering Windy with rain off 49 42 48 39 47 39 Cloudy, rain A chance of rain Rain possible possible Rain 48 39 Cloudy, rain possible Aberdeen Olympia 47/42 47/42 Wenatchee Tacoma Moses Lake 46/40 ALMANAC UNDER THE SKY TODAY'S TIDES Astoria through Thursday Tonight’s Sky: Quadrantid mete- or shower peaks. Astoria / Port Docks Temperatures High/low ................................ 52/41 Normal high/low .................. 49/37 Record high .................. 61 in 1981 Record low .................... 21 in 1974 Precipitation Thursday ................................. 0.29” Month to date ........................ 0.43” Normal month to date ......... 0.69” Year to date ............................ 0.43” Normal year to date ............. 0.69” Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2020 Time 7:47 a.m. 8:41 p.m. 7.7 1:11 a.m. 5.6 2:49 p.m. 2.6 2.3 Cape Disappointment 7:30 a.m. 8:16 p.m. Source: Jim Todd, OMSI Hammond SUN AND MOON Sunrise today .................. 7:58 a.m. Sunset tonight ............... 4:43 p.m. Moonrise today ........... 12:55 p.m. Moonset today ............... 1:30 a.m. Full Last New First 7:39 a.m. 8:28 p.m. Warrenton 7:42 a.m. 8:36 p.m. Knappa 8:24 a.m. 9:18 p.m. Depoe Bay Jan 10 Jan 17 Jan 24 Feb 1 6:47 a.m. 7:37 p.m. 7.5 12:35 a.m. 2.9 5.5 2:13 p.m. 2.5 7.9 12:52 a.m. 2.8 5.8 2:28 p.m. 2.4 8.1 12:55 a.m. 2.7 6.0 2:33 p.m. 2.4 7.9 2:12 a.m. 5.9 3:50 p.m. 2.3 2.0 7.8 1:43 p.m. 5.7 none 2.7 City Atlanta Boston Chicago Dallas Denver Honolulu Houston Los Angeles Miami New York City Phoenix San Francisco Wash., DC Today Hi/Lo/W Sun. Hi/Lo/W 57/34/pc 46/36/r 34/25/sf 61/41/s 57/26/pc 81/71/sh 66/44/s 69/49/s 85/57/c 48/37/r 66/42/s 58/46/pc 60/38/r 54/39/s 36/28/sn 41/28/s 64/38/s 46/26/pc 82/72/pc 72/49/s 72/48/s 68/51/s 41/34/pc 69/44/s 58/44/s 47/35/pc Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow fl urries, sn-snow, i-ice. 50/33 Hermiston The Dalles 52/34 Enterprise Pendleton 38/26 48/35 50/35 La Grande 41/29 48/40 NATIONAL CITIES High (ft.) Time Low (ft.) 40/30 Kennewick Walla Walla 49/37 Lewiston 53/37 48/41 Salem Pullman 50/29 Longview 49/42 Portland 49/41 43/31 Yakima 49/34 46/39 Astoria Spokane 46/30 Corvallis 48/39 Albany 48/40 John Day Eugene Bend 48/40 41/29 40/29 Ontario 50/28 Caldwell Burns 39/24 48/31 Medford 45/35 Klamath Falls 40/25 City Baker City Brookings Ilwaco Newberg Newport Today Hi/Lo/W 42/26/c 50/40/pc 48/44/r 48/40/sh 49/42/sh Sun. Hi/Lo/W 38/24/sn 49/37/r 47/43/r 47/37/r 47/42/r City North Bend Roseburg Seaside Springfi eld Vancouver Today Hi/Lo/W 50/42/c 48/38/sh 49/43/r 48/39/sh 48/41/sh Sun. Hi/Lo/W 50/39/r 48/35/r 47/42/r 47/36/r 47/39/r
