east and of course it s absolutely right, but there is another part of that and the other part is another part of that and the other parties the us policy on israel and gaza has been to continue to provide a diplomatic and political shield to israel s action in gaza, despite the fact that over a long period of time we ve seen that very, very severely escalating number of civilian deaths, civilians being killed by israeli action in gaza. that has angered the arab and muslim world and created therefore the political space for these militias allied to iran, not necessarily under their direct day to day control, to use that moment to try and build their base of popular support by attacking israel s allies in the region, namely the us and others, and so these two things have become entirely connected and one of the objectives will be from the sort of tehran world view is if the us interests are being attacked in the region, firstly that fulfils one long term objective which is to
paul adams has more. the americans say the attack happened at a base known as tower 22, right on the syrian jordanian border. it s one of many american bases across the region. there have been dozens of drone and missile attacks in recent months, but no american personnel have been killed until now. joe biden, seen here attending church, was quick to point the finger. we know it was carried out by radical iran backed militant groups operating in syria and iraq, he said. it s not necessarily a tipping point into uncontrolled escalation between the united states and iran, but it s another very dangerous step because, as i say, the us will have to respond even more strongly than it s done to previous attacks. carefully cultivated over years, iran has a wide network of allies and proxies operating in countries across the middle east. they re all opposed to israel and the united states. it s sometimes called the axis of resistance. there are pro iranian militias in lebanon, the
final stretch in iowa. we re about to find out if donald trump is still what republicans want, and if not, well, too. it is a battle for number two between nikki haley and ron desantis. also at this hour, the life and legacy of dr. martin luther king junior at a time of deep division in this country. his son and daughter in law on the state of social justice in america. and speaking of what divides us, how did we get here? oscar nominated director eva duvernay is here to talk about her new film, origins. i am ayman mohyeldin. it is eight pm in new york, seven pm and iowa, where in just 24 hours, republican voters will have their first say in the 2024 race for the white house. republican presidential hopefuls, well, they spent the day today on the trail, sub-zero temperatures, making a final pitch to caucus goers. however, according to the new nbc news in des moines registry poll, the final poll between tomorrow s contest, it might not actually matter. donald trump, th
smerconish starts right now. is it over before it begins? i m michael smerconish in philadelphia. before a single primary vote has been cast, has donald trump already sewn up the gop nomination or is it still up for grabs? everybody has an opinion. but the data tells a pretty compelling story. peggy noonan writing that i refuse to see the story as over. voting begins now. after chris christie dropped out, nate kohn wrote the christie vote alone will probably not be enough, but haley has been steady gaining in the polls and historically there is a lot of precedent for urge is being candidates to keep gaining especially over a contest s final days. and new hampshire will be a wild card. independents can vote in the gop primary and according to data released yesterday, 43% of americans, look at that graph, 43% of americans consider themselves to be independent. rs and ds are tied at 27. it tie as record for an independent showing making them the largest political bloc in the c
tonight which candidate benefits when the road to the white house freezes over we are live in iowa. also, tonight after u.s. and british airstrikes on targets in yemen, fighters try to make good on their threat of revenge. later, investigating how even skeptical officials can face backlash. we begin with iowa. the state is being hammered by winter weather. this is video of the capital, des moines, where the windchill is -13. a blizzard warning is in effect. jeff, how did we convince you to stand outside? how is it feeling there and how is the campaign being affected tonight? it is chilly, there is no doubt about it. the wind is the biggest issue. this is as warm as it is going to be between now and the caucuses. over the weekend it will increasingly become colder and colder. the snow is not a big concern, iowans are used to snow. it is the dangerously cold temperatures that are making the campaigns make backup plans for how to get supporters to the caucuses. excuse me, it i