Good evening.

We begin tonight in a four different place than we left you last night, and that is a

good thing, plain and simple.

Iran's signal that it's missile strike on two bases in Iraq, housing, U.S. forces was

the limit of their response, the American killing general Kossum Soleimani.

They apparently offered a way out in this morning President Trump took it.

Iran appears to be standing down, which is a good thing for all parties concerned, and

a very good thing for the world.

No American or Iraqi lives were lost because of the precautions taken, the dispersal

of forces, and an early warning system that worked very well.

I salute the incredible skill and courage of America's men and women in uniform.

This is obviously very welcome development, no matter where you might stand politically

or how you view America's role in the Middle East.

Last night we were staring to the abyss.

Tonight we aren't.

That said, if in fact President Trump took the off ramp here, the question remained, was

it from a highway that he himself built with his decision to kill General Soleimani?

A highway he didn't need to build.

The administration is yet to publicly offer evidence to support his claim that the killing

stopped imminent attacks on Americans.

They did officially brief members of Congress today behind closed doors, but from the sound

of it for some members, Republican and Democratic, it did not go well.

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