Here’s What’s Missing From the Iraq Embassy Attack Narrative

A few days ago, protestors stormed a U.S. Embassy in Iraq, and pundits exploded in a united chorus of outrage. The US military insisted that anyone who attempted to continue attacks on the embassy would “run into a buzzsaw,” whilst President Trump and Senator Lindsey Graham insisted via statements on Twitter that he would not allow this scenario to become another “Benghazi.” Meanwhile, USA Today suggested that the groups behind this attack were Iran-backed militia, a claim that the Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, supported.

But we aren’t here to discuss that. What we’re here to discuss is what pundits in the United States often overlook about what brought citizens of Iraq to this point. What triggered this attack on the US Embassy, no matter how heinous, is the result of an illegal invasion that harmed a country once known as the center of civilization. In this Twitter thread, AJ+ Senior Producer and self-proclaimed hot-take monger, Sana Saeed, eloquently expresses a narrative that is conveniently overlooked by American commentators. In this Twitter round-up, she takes American punditry to task:

And a final word: