now david martin on task for 60 minutes.
the u.s airstrike against iranian-backed militias thursday evening was the most recent phase in the.
harmful connection with iran head of state biden inherited from the trump management 13 months.
ago the 2 countries came perilously near battle it started with an american drone strike which.
eliminated iran'' s most effective general and also ended with an iranian ballistic projectile strike versus.
u.s troops in iraq it was the largest ballistic rocket assault ever versus americans tonite we.
will certainly reveal you for the first time drone video clip of the attack as well as talk with the troops who were there.
the evening the u.s and iran went to the brink the tale will certainly continue in a minute hey pal if you'' re seeing this video.
some negative things occurred to papa last night so i require you to be solid okay for mom and simply constantly recognize in your.
heart that i love you all right bye pal a few hrs after army major allen.
johnson recorded that message to his son iranian ballistic rockets started drizzling down on al-assad.
air base in iraq where 2 000 u.s troops were based as a drone videotaped the strike americans captured.
in the crosshairs can do absolutely nothing but run or duck as well as cover holy divine god damn each projectile.
brought a warhead weighing even more than 1 000 extra pounds stay right below brother put on'' t action well words.
can'' t also describe the quantity of power that is launched by these these rockets johnson.
was taking cover in a shelter created to shield troops versus much smaller sized warheads weighing just.
60 extra pounds knocked the wind out of me adhered to by the most putrid tasting ammonia tasting dirt that.
brushed up via the bunker layered your teeth after the blast wave and also particles came the fires the fire.
was just rolling over the shelters you recognize like 70 feet in the air johnson'' s monker gave no.
protection from that we'' re mosting likely to burn to death we begin heading down 135 meters make it regarding a.
third of the way there the huge voice we call it clicks in incoming inbound take cover take.
cover hide i'' ve got one more football area to run i wear'' t know when this following projectile. is going to hit can you listen to the incoming like a products train passing you johnson wasn'' t the. just one anxiously searching for cover it'' s six people running for their lives to obtain to this following.
bunker uh we reach the shelter and realize there'' s approximately 40 individuals attempting to stuff themselves.
right into this bunker that'' s produced around 10 people and i get the person in front of me i'' m just like. you got to obtain in the shelter and also similar to like shoved everyone in there however when you'' re running.
in between bunkers it'' s just an issue of what luck look the only point i can in fact come up was.
that the hand of god shielded us due to the fact that actually no one need to have endured this points.
are happening that might take us to battle if if we wear'' t take make the correct relocation right here.
aquatic basic honest mckenzie commander of u.s forces in the center east checked the.
attack from his head office at tampa bay florida ducking right into this little room off his main.
operations facility where he can talk directly to the only two people over him in the chain of.
command they generate the assistant of defense and afterwards a little later on they brought.
in the head of state to this discussion we'' re listening to the reports of the missiles. flying have you ever before been on one like this i'' ve never been on one similar to this where real missiles.
being terminated at our forces and also where i thought the threats were so high the iranian strike on al-assad.
was in retaliation for a magnificent u.s procedure president trump purchased six nights earlier a drone.
strike which killed iran'' s most effective general qasim suleimani the blood of many americans is.
on the hands of kasim solimani he was as close to a crucial guy as you might locate within.
iran where he went violence and also death complied with throughout the american profession of iraq suleimani.
had managed strikes which eliminated greater than 600 u.s troops and also according to mckenzie he.
was intending to do it once more we saw knowledge records where kasim solomoni was moving different.
attack streams forward against our forces in iraq versus our embassy as well as versus various other bases there.
or the brewing probably in hrs possibly in days most likely not weeks up until after that the u.s had.
shied away from pursuing suleimani for fear killing such a high-ranking government authorities.
would only provoke more iranian strikes i never take eliminating anyone as a as a very easy decision.
yet i believe the risk of not acting in this situation surpassed the dangers of acting so.
indeed i was great with the decision on january 3 of in 2014 an airport terminal security.
video camera recorded suleimani'' s arrival in baghdad on a business trip from damascus mackenzie.
was seeing from a various angle you have the drones overhead do you see him leave the.
airplane yes yes as suleimani'' s entourage pulled away from the plane mackenzie provided the kill.
order to the commander regulating the drones and afterwards i claimed take your shot when you got it.
rockets knocked into both automobiles simultaneously there'' s no back slapping there'' s no applauding.
since now i have to prepare to take care of the effects of the action basic mackenzie was.
sure iran would certainly retaliate yet he didn'' t recognize just how as well as neither for a while did the iranians i.
think they entered into a duration of lack of organization since they had actually lost the officer that.
actually spoke up as well as formed every little thing up and informed them what they were going to.
do so it was sort of a threatening silence it was a very threatening silence and what was the.
first sign that iran might truly be considering a ballistic rocket attack they began to relocate their.
ballistic projectiles the attack was just hours away when major allen johnson obtained words iran'' s. most effective weapons were going for al-assad my knowledge officer pulled me apart and essentially.
said sir i'' ve obtained some poor news for you what'' s up we have uh info that iran is.
sustaining 27 medium-range ballistic projectiles and their purpose is to level this base as well as we.
might not survive this was a totally different um danger lieutenant colonel tim garland.
commanded an army squadron at al assad an expansive air base about 120 miles west.
of baghdad where the u.s operated ratings of helicopters drones and also various other airplane did the base.
have any protection versus ballistic rockets no sir it was such an unmatched danger i don'' t think. it was ever calculated so the the capability to protect against a ballistic projectile assault it wasn'' t. there did you have a plan for what to do we we developed a strategy the only genuine.
protection versus a ballistic projectile attack is to obtain out of damage'' s way flying force lieutenant.
colonel stacy coleman et cetera of al-assad clambered to leave greater than 50 aircraft as well as.
1 000 soldiers prior to the rockets strike however the base still needed to be manned we still needed to be.
able to do our mission so the initial decision was to divide our team by battle ability.
what did you believe was mosting likely to happen to the people you were telling to.
remain the truthful truth is i didn'' t believe that we were going to survive.
the very best shelter was air raid shelters developed throughout the policy of saddam hussein but there.
weren'' t enough of them as well as i just bear in mind a really hefty sinking sensation setting in i resembled.
man we we are not going to create a bunker plan that'' s mosting likely to be ample for the number.
of individuals that we'' re speaking about so garland sent a lot of his soldiers out into the desert where.
they enjoyed the assault from a risk-free range there was a great deal of individuals that didn'' t intend to leave they didn'' t intend to be that person that was going
. to relative security a whole lot of individuals might have problem understanding what you just said inform me.
why a soldier wouldn'' t want to go to a refuge they intend to lug the concern they intend to.
share in the threat from his head office in tampa bay general frank mckenzie had tried to time.
the discharge just right if you go prematurely you risk the problem that the enemy will see.
what you have actually done and change his strategies the iranians kept track of al-assad by purchasing.
photos like these taken by industrial satellites mckenzie waited until after iran had downloaded and install.
its last photo for the day so the last time the iranians took a look with their commercially.
gotten spy photos what would they have actually seen they would have seen planes on the ground as well as individuals.
functioning so when they released those missiles they assumed that was going to be a full trip.
line i think they anticipated to destroy a number of u.s airplane and to eliminate a number.
of u.s service participants a clock stopped at 1 34 a.m when it was knocked off the wall.
recorded the moment the initial rocket landed it'' s like the sunlight climbing immediate that'' s. just how intense it was flying force master sergeant john haynes and his protection team were outside their.
armored patrol car when the very first missile struck across the radio we listened to incoming incoming.
incoming as well as what do you do i simply tossed the phone down and went to my vehicle and also once that influence.
took place the back pressure blew our doors closed and afterwards you simply see cloud of dirt fire they call.
it a a shock wave and also and you sort of feel that that wave practically internally like you it'' s almost.
as if your organs are you recognize kind of wavering around inside sergeant kimo kelts was outside the.
shelters manning a guard post in instance the rocket battery was adhered to by a ground attack we obtained.
down and also we secured our vital body organs our heads as well as we waited did it blow you about.
one of the closest ones i had struck um directly near us had in fact raised my body regarding two inches off the ground iran terminated a total amount.
of 16 missiles from 3 areas 5 missed out on 11 landed at al assad this was an attack like.
no other it was attacked absolutely like nothing i'' ve ever seen or experienced what have you.
discovered up until now their projectiles are accurate did that surprise you we understood it however to see it.
they discharged those rockets to substantial range and also they struck virtually where they wanted to hit.
from very first launch to last effect was 80 mins in some way no person was eliminated when the sunlight.
showed up the survivors surveyed the damages coverings of a structure you understand skeletal.
frameworks entrusted nothing else craters regarding an area dimension deep right into the ground concrete.
obstacles blown across an area or a street it appeared like a scene from a flick.
where everything is ruined around you but yet no one was killed i still have no suggestion.
or understanding aside from you know god being on our side that no person was seriously damaged.
and also there were no you understand no no casualties the news took a trip quick up the hierarchy and also.
president trump tweeted all as well that turned bent on be premature there are people regurgitating.
uh everyone had frustrations i had a concussion for two weeks what did it feel like somebody hitting me.
over the head with a hammer over as well as over as well as over lastly you know hours later we realized we have a.
mass casualty event below of distressing mind injury armed forces medical professionals identified even more than.
100 instances of terrible brain injury major allen johnson as well as 28 various other.
soldiers received purple hearts do you have any kind of remaining effects today headaches.
daily awful ringing in the ears or ringing in the ears ptsd i'' ll be ready to confess that i still have.
nightmares yet the headache of battle with iran had been averted had actually americans been eliminated it.
would certainly have been extremely various have you ever before done a quote on if you hadn'' t left the.
damage that would have been done so i assume we might have lost uh 20 or 30 planes as well as we could.
have actually lost 100 to 150 us employees you had a strategy to strike back if they eliminated americans david we.
had a plan to strike back if americans had actually passed away iran was on sharp for a feasible u.s.
strike as well as hrs later wrongly fired down a ukrainian airplane thinking it was an american.
bomber 176 entirely innocent individuals passed away.
