I was readying a piece about Qasem Soleimani when I got the news:
President Trump ordered a game-changing U.S. military attack that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ elite Quds Force, among other military officials at Baghdad International Airport early Friday, the Pentagon confirmed.
Soleimani is the military mastermind whom Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had deemed equally as dangerous as Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. In October, Baghdadi killed himself during a U.S. raid on a compound in northwest Syria, seven months after the so-called ISIS “caliphate” crumbled as the terrorist group lost its final swath of Syrian territory in March.
Justice has been served. Iran is outraged:
Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif tweeted after the attack “The US’ act of international terrorism, targeting & assassinating General Soleimani—THE most effective force fighting Daesh (ISIS), Al Nusrah, Al Qaeda et al—is extremely dangerous & a foolish escalation.”
I couldn’t give a damn.
The UN is outraged
The U.N. special rapporteur on extrajudicial killing on Friday said the President Trump-approved drone strike against Qassem Soleimani, Iran’s top general, violated international human rights law.
In a lengthy Twitter thread, Agnès Callamard said that “outside the context of active hostilities, the use of drones or other means for targeted killing is almost never likely to be legal,” adding that the U.S. would need to prove the person targeted constituted an imminent threat to others.
She also took issue with the justification for using drones in another country on the basis of self-defense.
I couldn’t give a damn. barack obama killed four Americans – including a 16 year old- and the world shrugged it off. He too is probably outraged, as he loses someone he admired.
I couldn’t give a damn.
democrats are outraged that this evil monster is dead:
Several Democrats vying for the White House in 2020 condemned Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani before taking aim at President Trump for ordering the deadly airstrike that will escalate tensions in the region and was done so without Congress’ approval.
Former Vice President Joe Biden claimed that by ordering the airstrike Trump “just tossed a stick of dynamite into a tinderbox.”
In a lengthy statement, Biden said Trump “owes the American people an explanation of the strategy and plan to keep our troops and embassy personnel, our people and our interests, both here at home and abroad, and our partners throughout the region and beyond.
I couldn’t care less. They’re idiots.
There’s a reason I have looking forward to this day for a long, long time. This action is on a level with the elimination of Osama Bin Laden. Soleimani was responsible for the deaths and maiming of thousands of Americans:
The Pentagon confirmed Thursday evening that Trump had ordered the attack that killed Soleimani and other military officials at Baghdad International Airport in Iraq. Iran’s top “shadow commander” was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of American and coalition service members and the wounding of thousands more, the State Department said.
I cannot begin to express how pleased I am at this and here’s why.
“Soleimani is the guy that sent the copper-tipped IEDs into Iraq,” said Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain, referring to powerful improvised explosive devices, which Marine Corps Commandant General Joseph Dunford testified last week were responsible for the deaths of 500 soldiers and Marines.
Soleimani supplied IED’s to Iraq and Afghanistan which resulted thousands of dead and wounded American soldiers.
As part of his Iran deal, obama gave Soleimani sanctions relief.
That Soleimani—who runs Iran’s elite paramilitary and covert operations group, the Quds Force—was even on the list appeared to catch some U.S. officials by surprise. A senior administration official briefing reporters on Tuesday morning didn’t have a ready response when asked when and why Soleimani was added. Secretary of State John Kerry reportedly denied that the 58-year-old general was on the list to be freed from the sanctions yoke. Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, agreed, saying Soleimani—whom the U.S. accused in 2011 of plotting to launch a terrorist attack in the United States—had been confused with someone else with a similar name.
They were all wrong—or maybe didn’t want to be right. Soleimani is, in fact, on the list, a Treasury Department official later confirmed to The Daily Beast. And his presence definitely surprised some powerful lawmakers, who are already sharpening their knives for a filleting of the Iran deal.
Obama likely financed the attack on the US Embassy in Iraq.
Pompeo got it right
“We didn’t send pallets of cash to the Iranians. We didn’t pay for hostages. We didn’t create a deal which would have given them a clear pathway to a nuclear weapon. We have taken a very different approach. We believe it’s the one that will ultimately lead to success and stability in the Middle East,”
Iran is, of course, shaking its fist at the US.
We should not give a damn. Iran is learning that the US will no longer bend over and take it up the wazoo as it did under obama.
DrJohn has been a health care professional for more than 40 years. In addition to clinical practice he has done extensive research and has published widely with over 70 original articles and abstracts in the peer-reviewed literature. DrJohn is well known in his field and has lectured on every continent except for Antarctica. He has been married to the same wonderful lady for over 45 years and has three kids- two sons, both of whom are attorneys and one daughter who is in the field of education.
DrJohn was brought up with the concept that one can do well if one is prepared to work hard but nothing in life is guaranteed.
Except for liberals being foolish.
@Randy: This will go onto the growing pile of Greg’s failed predictions, like Hillary being elected and the impending recession. All Greg needs for one of his predictions is harm to the country. That seems to stir his juices.
@Deplorable Me, #45:
A foreign government official is precisely what Qassem Soleimani actually was. He was an Iranian general, and the commander of their special operations forces since 1998.
How many times did Trump have to call Soleimani a terrorist before that’s all he was in the minds of his worshipful followers? Soleimani and the QUD special operations forces did more to push back against ISIS than Trump ever did. Unfortunately, Soleimani didn’t much want U.S. forces in the neighborhood either. This might be understandable, considering the current administration’s extreme hostility toward Iran.
@Greg: Show us the sources fool! Is Iran any different than ISIS?
@Greg: Your Iranian gaslighting propaganda is the flavor of NYT, WaPo and other Anti-American mindless retardation you puke here.
If you took anything in other than right-wing propaganda and the statements Trump makes, you’d have sufficient information between your ears to figure that out for yourself. Iran is definitely not like us, but that doesn’t mean they’re like ISIS. They were at war with ISIS.
@kitt, #54:
As in, the flavor of anything other than right-wing propaganda. Attacks on the media have become a standardized feature of the Trump administration. Anyone holding up an unflattering mirror becomes a target.
@Greg: WTF did I say about Trump, I said you were spouting Iranian propaganda. While your hero the butcher, was in Damascus the Caliphate grew exponentially, so how was he fighting it better than this administration? I give credit to the pentagon, and our military, all Trump did was tell them what he wanted and took off the handcuffs the treasonous Barry put on them.
The true “act of war” was thus Iran’s — by putting one of its commanders, boots on the ground, in Iraq to assist in planning and directing attacks on U.S. forces. America is entitled to respond to that threat.
Words of a never Trumper David French.
From 2014 https://nypost.com/2014/06/20/how-irans-spy-chief-paid-for-the-benghazi-attack/
@Greg:
He was a renown terrorist and terrorist leader. We KILL terrorists and he got sloppy and got killed. It is a great victory for the United States. Sorry if you lost a beloved friend.
Democrats have always been suspected terrorist sympathizers. Trump has exposed them as true traitors to this nation.
@Deplorable Me:
Bergdahl and Vindman are the only military types the left has any respect for. Given that the overwhelming majority of the military personnel are not lefties but right of center it only stands to reason that they despise our military.
What does he know? Far better to listen to some left wing American hating arm chair general on CNN.
https://www.pri.org/stories/2020-01-03/gen-petraeus-qasem-soleimani-s-killing-its-impossible-overstate-significance
@Greg:
So what? Tell me, Comrade Greggie, if someone keeps punching you but you don’t punch back, that that make the actions any less of a fight? And although you can’t bring yourself to admit that Iran has been at war with the U.S. since 1979, at war we are. I guess you think that simply because an enemy is a general, or a commander, they should not be taken out when they present a clear, and present, danger to the U.S.. Tell that to the ghost of Admiral Yamamoto.
Are you saying that Trump holds a sway with the opinion of Soleimani’s followers?
And your proof of that is what? And of course, Soleimani was fighting against ISIS for what reason? Obama’s foreign policy was to allow Soleimani to hold tremendous sway in Iraq, i.e. the installation of Solemani’s preferred president, Maliki, at which time, Solemani installed HIS people into Iraqi service ministries.
All you can do is come here and blather your Communist propaganda.
You know damn well what I’m saying. Trump’s followers have ceased to think for themselves. They’ve been conditioned to filter out all contradictory information. Like any cult member, you believe whatever the leader says, even if it’s the opposite of what he said the day before, and you’re convinced that anyone who observes this is the idiot.
@Greg: Greggie,
you are the fool. I just spend several days discussing the Iranian s in Iraq with several of my Iraqi friends. You are really stupid. Iran is just like ISIS. They just support terrorism all over the Middle east through proxies.
January 4, 2020 — Fox’s Tucker Carlson breaks with colleagues and criticizes Trump’s strike on Iranian general
Two points that anyone who isn’t hypnotized or brain dead should be thinking about…
@Greg: Where is your information that Soleimani did NOT support terrorism? Do you have evidence of the charitable organizations he ran and the good works he promoted? Trump should have struck back when Iran hit the Saudi refineries or shot down our drone. He showed restraint; misplaced constraint. However, we saw clearly that giving Iran warnings served no purpose and only violent force gets their attention.
This is a fact lost on you Democrats as well.
Where was the part where Tucker criticized the killing of the terrorist Soleimani?
Uh huh. And democrats are just like communists. So what are blind followers of Donald Trump just like?
@Greg:
No, I don’t. That’s why I asked the question I did. But you seem to want to run from the answer. So typical of you, Comrade Greggie.
I know you would like to believe that. But then, as with almost everything you say, you are wrong. Americans, unlike a lot of other people, have a mind of their own.
No, they have, through trial and error, learned to not believe what the left wing media tells them. Americans in 2020 understand that the journalistic values they once thought existed have been dead since 2007.
Continue telling those who support the actions of President Trump how stupid you think they are. That should really endear your opinion to them. Did the Communists not teach you how to win an argument when you joined them?
@Greg: Patriots who want to make America Great again after 8 years of Obama. The only difference between ISIS and Iran is that Iran wants to be the Califate instead of allowing ISIS leaders to set it up! Tucker did not condemn Trump. He just admitted that he did not understand the action Trump took. Now you on the other hand already knew without having any access to intel. You are so ignorant!!
@Greg:
You mean like the 33,000 emails Hillary obliterated were about yoga, weddings and funerals?
You mean like when Hillary said she didn’t have anything to do with the dossier, then had to admit she paid for it? Or when Obama claimed to have shovel ready jobs but then laughed about how they didn’t exist? Or how Obama and Hillary claimed Benghazi was not a terrorist attack, then when that looked totally stupid, had to admit it WAS a terrorist attack? Or when Schiff lied about Trump’s call to Zelensky, then had to admit he was lying? Or when he said he’d had no contact with the (not a) whistleblower, then had to admit he and his staff had coordinated with him? Or when Pelosi said she opposed impeachment, then let the stupid “Squad” force her into their circus? And you believe it all. Yeah, I wouldn’t be calling anyone else an idiot if I were you.
Here is what Petraeus said to the question.
Greggie thinks he is so much smarter than someone who tangled with Iran for many years. He, unlike greggie, would need to view the intel prior to answering the question. Greggie just knows the answer.
It takes about 15 minutes to leave the Green Zone to arrive at the Baghdad Airport. This intel had to have been developed over a long time. Trump had about 3 minutes to make the decision unless he authorized the hit after the attack on our embassy. One can bet that there are many Iraqi sources developed prior to Obama abandoning Iraq. Greggie is not just ignorant, but stupid
@Deplorable Me, #64:
Trump is playing the assassination as some sort of great victory. Everyone giving the matter thought understands that it was a huge escalation of hostilities, and a giant step down the path towards another ruinous war.
Soleimani wasn’t bin Laden. He was a public figure. He could have been targeted at any time. He wasn’t because we’re not at war with Iran, and neither we nor Iran had declared open season on one another’s leaders. So why are we now behaving like Vladimir Putin or Kim Jong-un? Why now? What was the strategic thinking that led to this—assuming there was any thinking at all?
Trump just had an Iranian leader openly assassinated, claimed it was to prevent a war with Iran, and then warned the Iranians not to do anything in response. He may be that stupid, but intelligent observers are not. I think he’s doing exactly what he claimed Obama would have done. He has calculated this might help keep him in office.
@Greg: Should we listen to you or to Petraeus? What a Dumb Ass!
You shouldn’t listen to anybody. You should think things through for yourself. Petraeus is not answering the central question. He’s not telling us his opinion. It’s entirely proper that he not weigh in.
Damn straight. Osama bin Laden and Baghdadi were no longer all that relevant. They were unfinished business. They were unquestionably terrorists, not important government figures of another sovereign nation. Significance does not imply the rightness or wisdom of what was done. He may be speaking of the hell to be paid as a result.
@Greg:
It is disappointing that you can so easily gloss over Soleimani’s role in killing 600 American soldiers and rip the limbs off thousands more.
Hitler didn’t personally put anyone in the gas chambers either
@Randy:
Yet some have no problem second guessing it, even those who accuse Trump of ignoring intelligence provided. Well, whatever it takes to justify hatred, I suppose.
@Greg:
It is, if you aren’t an America-hating zealot. Trump has avenged every death and wounding by IED and all the terrorist attacks on those who stand in the way of Iranian expansionism. Soleimani deserved to die and you whiny crybabies simply can’t accept the fact that Trump accomplished what Obama failed to do.
Soleimani wasn’t even supposed to leave Iran; he secretly traveled to Iraq to coordinate more terrorism. Well, that career has drawn to a close.
U S A !!!
@Greg:
One terrorist general for the lives of over 600 American military. Seems we have a ways to go before we even the score with Iran..
What intelligent observers? Name them. Put your money where you mouth is, Comrade Greggie.
Actually, it was reported in a Kuwaiti newspaper that Israel was planning on taking Soleimani out and when advising Obama of the intent, Obama notified Iran:
“Excerpt from Haaretz’ article: (Note: The article is two years old.)
The report says Israel was “on the verge” of assassinating Soleimani three years ago, near Damascus, but the United States warned the Iranian leadership of the plan, revealing that Israel was closely tracking the Iranian general.
The incident, the report said, “sparked a sharp disagreement between the Israeli and American security and intelligence apparatuses regarding the issue.”
He has calculated this might help keep him in office.
Trump knew the Democrats would be apoplectic, which they are, because he didn’t say to them “Mother, may I?” I don’t blame him. Democrats can’t seem to keep national security secrets and leak like a sieve. Now, doing something to help one stay in office would be lying about an attack on the Benghazi compound, having four Americans slaughtered and then having Susan Rice hit not one, but five Sunday shows claiming it was due to an obscure video that no one ever heard of.
@DrJohn:
Nobody is glossing that over at all. He was an enemy wartime commander following our invasion and occupation of Iraq. We were an armed invasion force in his backyard, not the other way around. He didn’t want our military forces acting out in his part of the world any more than we would want theirs in ours.
@Greg: He was a terrorists long before we went to Iraq. You can not even connect the dots greggie.
@Greg: How many officers of the US Army did he kill? Oh, that’s right. That would not matter because it does not fit the left’s agenda. You can bet that those people who live in fly over country know the difference.
@Randy:
Long read but well worth your time (it’s from 2013). Take special note in how, once again, Joe Biden was responsible for trouble for the U.S..
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/09/30/the-shadow-commander
Comrade Greggie will defend any enemy of the United States. It’s what he does and why he supports the Democrats.
@retire05: That is a good review. It is also the definition of a terrorist, not some military officer protecting his country. He was undermining the adjacent countries for a take over by Iran.
@retire05: And Susan Rice stated on one of the liberal propaganda outlets that what Trump says about stopping an eminent attack cannot be trusted. Yeah… THAT Susan Rice.
@Greg:
Yeah… YOU are. You and all your Democrat spoiled brats that can’t stand to see the nation benefit from Trump being President.
Soleimani was a TERRORIST. Whatever other title he may have carried, he was, first and foremost, a goddamn TERRORIST that was responsible for the maiming and deaths of hundreds of American soldiers, not to mention all the other innocent people he has had killed. He was just a soldier like bin Laden was just a construction contractor. You need to learn not to get involved in arguments you can’t possibly win.
Now, pay attention, because this is an important detail: Soleimani is Iranian, NOT Iraqi. He doesn’t have a say in what we do in Iraq. His only concern is that we stand in the way of Iran taking over Iraq.
@Deplorable Me, #81:
We’re not Iraqis either. Our part of the world is the western hemisphere, while Iraq and Iran share a 906-mile border. Their security concerns about our nearby military presence and openly hostile attitude are far more legitimate that our concerns about any threat Iran poses to us. If it weren’t for Putin’s designs on Europe and the way control of critical European energy access figures in, we wouldn’t need to worry about them at all. Or the Saudis, for that matter.
@Greg:
And how has the U.S. shown any “hostility” toward Iran emanating from U.S. forces in Iraq? Have U.S. forces crossed over that border that you say is 906 miles long and threatened/harmed/murdered Iranians in any way? No, but being the idiot you are, and knowing you are losing this battle, you have to come up with some excuse for your position no matter how lame that position is.
From career Foreign Service Officer, W. Lewis Amselem:
“I have been angered, though not surprised, by some of the idiotic negative commentary on Trump’s order to shoot. Trump did not need to consult with the Congress or anybody else before giving that order. Soleimani was a uniformed enemy combatant active on a foreign battlefield, directing and implementing operations against US personnel and institutions, e.g., the Embassy. QS had a LONG, LONG history of conducting lethal operations against US and other Western targets, using largely proxy forces. At the time of death, he was in Iraq meeting the leader of one of those proxy militias, the one which had just attacked the US Embassy in Baghdad, and preparing further actions against us. He was not some random civilian Iranian government official whom we assassinated in his home in Tehran. He was a military man, conducting a covert military mission against us outside of Iran’s territory. His killing is no more an illegitimate act than say that of Japanese Admiral Yamamoto or of US General Simon Bolivar Bruckner, Jr. ”
Age has not brought you more wisdom and intellect, Comrade Greggie. You have been so brain washed you are beyond redemption.
Does the assassination of General Qasem Soleimani count?
@Greg:
We did not attack him or his country. He chose to help kill Americans to extend Iran’s sphere of influence. He essentially declared war on the US and deserved to die as a consequence.
@Greg: He went to Iraq to plan more aggression we did not kill him in Iran, so nope it does not count. We are not sheeple to care what a talking head on propaganda TV think. Most went to look up what this guy has done in the past and are satisfied that he needed killing.
Your posts on the most moronic things your talking heads are blathering about isnt impressing us.
We are also content that Trump is relying on his experts and will swat Iran where it hurts the most, without the confidence Iran government will learn and will need more painful swats.
You have not yet linked to anything where it showed this Achmed was actually fighting ISIS. Nor effectively shown the greatness of Barrys foreign policy. Barrys “experts” sucked.
@Greg:
In a word, NO.
Soleimani was an enemy combatant in a war that Iran has no part of except to try to kill Americans. He should have been wiped out when the Israelis wanted to take him out and Obama ratted out the Israelis.
But you, Comrade Greggie, would sing the praises of anyone who acted against the United States.
So here is my advise to President Trump; if Iran makes the slightest move, take out their oil refineries. All of them. Destroy their water supply, their food supply and drop a MOAB on the house of the Ayatollah. 57 hostages held in Iran in 1979. 57 days of fire and brimstone dropped on Iran until every last one of those radical Islamist are dead as Soleimani. No more playing nice like we tried in Iraq and Afghanistan where the only outcome was too damn many dead American soldiers. Hunt those like Soleimani down like the dogs they are and deal with them with extreme prejudice.
So if Iran wants to play badass, we need to let them know exactly how the Emperor of Japan felt in 1945.
And we need to pull out of Iraq. Every last soldier and every last contractor. No more American tax payer $$s paying for their every need. Let them fight against Iran themselves.
Pres Trump is tweeting…..
IF Iran tries to hit any Americans or American assets he has already got 52 strategic Iranian targets in his crosshairs.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/04/politics/trump-warning-iran-52-assets/index.html
https://www.foxnews.com/world/iran-trump-warns-iran-we-have-targeted-52-iranian-sites
https://www.actionnewsjax.com/news/trending/qassem-soleimani-us-forces-kill-top-iranian-intelligence-commander-what-we-know-now/NYFMVT3AGBGTDNI7YRCNTXYPWY/
@Greg:
Except, if you’ll recall, we had a UN resolution to go into Iraq and secure the WMD’S intelligence said were there.
Was Soleimani in Iraq plotting terrorism when he was killed?
Iran’s one and only concern is reaction to their terrorism. Perhaps there is another solution to their concerns they haven’t yet considered.
@Greg: It seem like he was in Iraq, not Iran, supervising the attack on the US Embassy. Maybe if he minded his own business, he would still be alive. He crossed the line in the sand and paid dearly for it!
Now there’s a sophisticated military contingency plan for your consideration: 52 pre-selected targets in Iran, one for each American hostage that was held by a former Iranian regime over 40 years ago.
The man in the White House isn’t playing with a full deck. Seriously. This is not fully rational behavior.
@Greg: It’s called a “warning”. It is intended to modify Iran’s terrorist behavior. Perhaps, based on Trump’s commitment to taking action to prevent or retaliate for attacks, they might listen. Perhaps, listening to the gutless liberal response to Trump’s decisive action, they will provoke more attacks to stir more divisiveness. Every adversary of the US knows they have a reliable ally in the left here.
Iran NEVER was held accountable for their criminal hostage taking and Obama gave them all their money back instead of paying the damages to the hostages, so they will NEVER be held accountable. You do know taking diplomatic personnel hostage is a crime… right?
If you want to support the enemies of the US, I suggest you move to one of those utopias and help them there. You make us sick here.
@Greg: Dim Wit! There are many plans on the shelf and always have been. Trump is just getting ready to prioritize and implement them. The more I read your garbage, the more I doubt you could even qualify as a potato peeler in Viet Nam. Too much dope!
@Greg:
That’s called symbolism, and it resides at the heart of all rational thought.
He’s got more than a full deck, playing against a primitive foe with more than a few aces up his sleeves.
We’ve already taken the first hand from these savages. Are they stupid enough to stay at the table? We’ll see.
Apt for you to bring up cards, Quisling, as we are posting at Flopping Aces.
Trump just gets better and better at being President. Nice to see.
@Deplorable Me, #92:
There’s a clear warning, alright. Unfortunately a lot of people seem to be oblivious to it. This is the same problem that made Trump’s election possible to begin with. It may take us straight to war with Iran, which would be an even grander screw up than the neocon’s invasion and occupation of Iraq. Maybe it gets easier to head-butt a telephone pole with repetition.
Just total up all of the many wonderful and lasting benefits Iraq 2 had for the United States. It might be a useful exercise. You could expect even more good things from a war with Iran.
@Greg: So, in the whimpering, shivering, cowering in the corner liberal view, the United States should never take out a terrorist threat because it might make the terrorists (who are already attacking our embassies, military installations, soldiers, civilians and committing acts of terror all around the world) angry? Well, that simply makes no sense and when we had an ignorant, incompetent, cowardly President that also believed that, it didn’t exactly work, either.
Trump and his followers are the single greatest current danger to America. War with Iran would be a catastrophe. It’s like Iraq, only worse. Even if we win, we lose.
@Greg: Single greatest threat to more Democrat failure and global embarrassment, like we had under Obama.
Donald J Trump, on Nov. 16, 2011:
I’ll refer you back to the second paragraph of Post #95. See if you can drop the partisan bullshit for long enough to think about the lasting consequences for America of a war with Iran. Trump sure as hell isn’t talking about them.
If he isn’t stopped with strong negative feedback, that’s where he’ll take us. He has already escalated the situation to the point where some sort of retaliation from Iran is a certainty. Trump openly assassinated a Iranian general who was also one of their important public figures. They’ll have to respond, as he knew full well before he did it. He’ll use that as an excuse for a much larger military response, then there will be no turning back. It’s plain for anyone to see.
@Greg: Obama was an abject failure. He essentially created ISIS, destabilized Libya, supported the Muslim Brotherhood’s sweep across Egypt, Libya and Syria, which resulted in chaos, millions of refuges and allowed ISIS to spread across the entire region. He also handed the Russians influence in the region again.
That Trump HAD to take Soleimani out is a direct result of Obama’s failure to put US national interests and security ahead of his own ambitions and ego. Obama WANTED Iran to be strong and influential, even as they embarrassed him and spit in his stupid face.
If there is war with Iran, it will be Iran’s provocation, not ours. In fact, they have already provoked war numerous times.