• US defense officials contradict Trump : No indication yet of attack in Beirut
    https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/04/politics/defense-officials-contradict-trump-beirut/index.html

    Three US Defense Department officials told CNN that as of Tuesday night there was no indication that the massive explosion that rocked Beirut on Tuesday were an “attack,” contradicting an earlier claim from President Donald Trump.

    […]

    But the defense officials, who declined to be identified so they could speak freely, said they didn’t know what the President was talking about.

    One official said that if there were indications anyone in the region pulled something off of this scale, it would trigger automatic increases in force protection for US troops and assets in the region — if for no other reason than worry about retribution attacks.

    That official noted that none of that has happened so far.