U.S. officials knew Iranian missiles were coming hours in advance
Source: Washington Post
National Security
U.S. officials knew Iranian missiles were coming hours in advance
By Shane Harris, Josh Dawsey, Missy Ryan and Dan Lamothe
Jan. 8, 2020 at 3:00 p.m. EST
The Iranian missile strike on U.S. bases in Iraq on Tuesday was a calibrated event intended to cause minimal American casualties, give the Iranians a face-saving measure and provide an opportunity for both sides to step back from the brink of war, according to senior U.S. officials in Washington and the Middle East.
White House officials were bracing as early as Tuesday morning for Iran to respond to the U.S. killing last week of Qasem Soleimani, the head of Iran's elite Quds Force.
By Tuesday afternoon, U.S. officials said they knew that Iran intended to strike at U.S. facilities in Iraq, although it wasn't immediately clear exactly which targets they would choose.
The early warning came from intelligence sources as well as communications from Iraq, which conveyed Iran's intentions to launch the strike, officials said.
"We knew, and the Iraqis told us, that this was coming many hours in advance," said a senior administration official, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence and diplomatic communications.
"We had intelligence reports several hours in advance that the Iranians were seeking to strike the bases," the official said. That gave military commanders time to get U.S. troops into safe, fortified positions at their bases.
According to military officials, prior to the attacks troops at bases in Iraq were ordered into bunkers, donned protective gear and were told to "shelter in place." They remained in their protected positions for hours, including after the strike. One official said at least some troops left the al-Asad air base in western Iraq before the attack. The base, which houses some U.S. troops, was ultimately hit, along with a U.S. facility in Irbil, in northern Iraq.
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Shane Harris
Shane Harris covers intelligence and national security for The Washington Post. He has been a writer at the Wall Street Journal, the Daily Beast and Foreign Policy, among other publications. He has written two books, "The Watchers" and "@War," and is a national security analyst for CNN. Follow https://twitter.com/shaneharris
Josh Dawsey
Josh Dawsey is a White House reporter for The Washington Post. He joined the paper in 2017. He previously covered the White House for Politico, and New York City Hall and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie for the Wall Street Journal. Follow https://twitter.com/jdawsey1
Missy Ryan
Missy Ryan writes about the Pentagon, military issues and national security for The Washington Post. She joined The Post in 2014 from Reuters, where she reported on U.S. national security and foreign policy issues. She has reported from Iraq, Egypt, Libya, Lebanon, Yemen, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Mexico, Peru, Argentina and Chile. Follow https://twitter.com/missy_ryan
Dan Lamothe
Dan Lamothe joined The Washington Post in 2014 to cover the U.S. military and the Pentagon. He has written about the Armed Forces for more than a decade, traveling extensively, embedding with each service and covering combat in Afghanistan numerous times. Follow https://twitter.com/danlamothe
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/us-officials-knew-iranian-missiles-were-coming-hours-in-advance/2020/01/08/b6297b4c-3235-11ea-a053-dc6d944ba776_story.html
U.S. officials knew Iranian missiles were coming hours in advance
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What it *wasn't* was a proportional response to the assassination of Soleimani. That's why I doubt this is over. 
