The US-Led Forces Fighting ISIS Just Backed Off—to Protect Against a Potential Attack From Iran

Meanwhile, the Iraqi parliament voted to expel the thousands of US troops that remain in Iraq.

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The American-led coalition that has been fighting the Islamic State announced on Sunday that it will halt its mission in order to prepare to defend itself against a potential attack from Iran.

The decision comes on the heels of the US airstrike that killed Iranian Maj. General Qassim Suleimani, the nation’s top military commander, last week. While Suleimani’s leadership has been responsible for the death of hundreds of troops, President Donald Trump’s decision to order the strike has been viewed as an extreme measure and reportedly shocked US military officials. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei has promised “harsh revenge” against US assets in the region in response to Suleimani’s death.

A statement from the American command announcing the pause in fighting pointed to repeated attacks on Iraqi and American bases over the last several weeks, including one on December 27 that killed an American contractor. “[W]e have therefore paused these activities, subject to continuous review,” the statement said.

This move is just one of the ways that Suleimani’s death has rearranged the chessboard across the Middle East. Hours before the coalition’s announcement, the Iraqi parliament voted to expel the thousands of troops that remain in Iraq in order to remove itself from an escalating conflict between the country’s two most important allies. The vote has no force to actually remove the troops, but it casts doubt on the future of the United States’ efforts against ISIS in the region when fighting does resume. The American military has also beefed up security around other bases and assets across the region.

The New York Times reported that the decision affects 5,200 troops in Iraq and hundreds more in Syria, who will now focus on building up defenses. This pause in operations could encourage the Islamic State, which has been weakened after years of fighting with the US-led coalition, to regain strength in ungoverned areas across those countries.

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WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

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