Four Embassies and a Funeral

The administration’s explanation for why they killed Qassim Suleimani has had too many plot twists and turns to keep up with (and one twist from the president regarding four targeted embassies that even insiders can’t make sense of). Here’s a cheatsheet from the NYT: The Trump Administration’s Fluctuating Explanations for the Suleimani Strike.

+ “For a growing number of critics — from ordinary citizens to notable athletes and artists — the events have revealed a government that is incapable of following through on its incendiary rhetoric and willing to mislead its own people about a national tragedy in order to avoid embarrassment.” No, that’s not America. That’s Iran, where people have taken to the streets to protest the government’s initial lies about the downed airlines.

+ “My troubled spirit does not fit into your dirty economic channels and tight political lobbies.” NYT: Iran’s Only Female Olympic Medalist Defects Over ‘Lies’ and ‘Injustice.’