Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


How Pompeo Took Charge of US Response to Attack on Saudi Oil Fields

Rob Garver

   WASHINGTON - As the world waited for the U.S. and Saudi Arabia to
   decide what to do next in response to last weekend's drone and missile
   attack on two major Saudi oil fields, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
   made the most bellicose statement yet on the attacks, unambiguously
   accusing Iran of launching them and declaring the attacks an "act of
   war."

   Almost as soon as the attacks were reported, Pompeo, a former member of
   Congress and director of the CIA, asserted himself as the person
   driving the U.S. response. "Iran has now launched an unprecedented
   attack on the world's energy supply," he wrote on Twitter. "There is no
   evidence the attacks on Saturday came from Yemen."

     Tehran is behind nearly 100 attacks on Saudi Arabia while Rouhani
     and Zarif pretend to engage in diplomacy. Amid all the calls for
     de-escalation, Iran has now launched an unprecedented attack on the
     world's energy supply. There is no evidence the attacks came from
     Yemen.
     -- Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) [1]September 14, 2019

   The Houthis, a rebel group that controls much of Saudi Arabia's
   neighbor, Yemen, has claimed responsibility for the attack, calling it
   retaliation for years of bombing by the Saudi Air Force that has killed
   thousands of Yemenis and left others on the brink of starvation. U.S.
   and Saudi officials have denied that the Houthis could have carried out
   the attack, calling it far too sophisticated, and instead pointing the
   finger at Iran, which has been providing the Houthis with support.

   In fact, there was little public evidence that pointed in either
   direction in the immediate aftermath of the attack, and the accusation
   of Iran put Pompeo far out front of President Trump, who as late as
   Tuesday was still reluctant to say definitively that Iran, not the
   Houthis, was responsible.

References

   1. https://twitter.com/SecPompeo/status/1172963090746548225?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

.