Article snippet: The U.S. mission in Iraq ended the year on a violent note Tuesday as supporters of an Iran-backed militia breached the gates of the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, vandalizing the property and causing U.S. diplomats to hide in lockdown. The developments put a question mark on the future of the U.S. presence in Iraq, as lawmakers and others in Washington debated the significance of the crisis and how the United States should respond. MORE and his supporters put the blame for Tuesday’s incident squarely on Iran, making the embassy drama the latest chapter in U.S.-Iran tensions that some have feared could lead to war. “Now Iran is orchestrating an attack on the U.S. Embassy in Iraq. They will be held fully responsible,” Trump tweeted. “In addition, we expect Iraq to use its forces to protect the Embassy, and so notified!” But Trump’s critics put the blame on him, accusing him of an erratic Middle East policy that led to Tuesday’s scene. “The attack on our embassy in Baghdad is horrifying but predictable,” Sen. MORE (D-Conn.) tweeted. “Trump has rendered America impotent in the Middle East. No one fears us, no one listens to us. America has been reduced to huddling in safe rooms, hoping the bad guys will go away. What a disgrace.” The latest spike in tensions was triggered over the weekend when the Trump administration blamed the Iranian-backed Kataib Hezbollah militia for an attack that killed a U.S. contractor and wounded four U.S. service members. In response, the U.S. c... Link to the full article to read more