Iran's most powerful military commander, Gen Qasem Soleimani, has been killed by a US air strike in Iraq.Let's dispense with Trump's comments: Everything Trump says about anything is either hyperbole or a flat-out lie. This is no different.
The 62-year-old spearheaded Iranian military operations in the Middle East as head of Iran's elite Quds Force.
He was killed at Baghdad airport, along with other Iran-backed militia figures, early on Friday in a strike ordered by US President Donald Trump.
Mr Trump said the general was "directly and indirectly responsible for the deaths of millions of people".
You don't kill a senior general of another nation outside of a war. That we did means not that there will be war, but that we are already in one. It would have been nice to be reassured that our government had thought of the question "if we do then, then what", but I have no confidence in that. Trump has the impulse control of a toddler on a sugar high. Somebody on Fox News probably mentioned that Soleimani was responsible, Trump asked "can we kill this guy", was answered in the affirmative and he said "whack him" and that was all of the consideration that went into it.
Trump doesn't do consequences. His entire life has been about creating havoc and then letting other people clean up his messes, whether it's having a business go bankrupt, stiffing suppliers, or paying off women with whom he had affairs.
The Iranians will respond. To not respond would be to look weak in a region of the world where appearing weak is viewed as a terminal disease.
American flag officers around the world might be well advised to look to their own security.
Wag the dog.
ReplyDelete-Doug in Oakland
I am looking at the event in the terms of "What do the Russians have to gain?" Putin controls Trump, Trump does what Putin wants. Russia gets a strong ally, Persian oil, military bases?
ReplyDeleteThe US loses credibility, looking like a third world thug nation, with no stable leadership, and the government in turmoil.
Did Trump think this would help him win re-election, by starting a mid-east war? We've already been in one for the last 19 years (thanks to Bush Sr. and all the Republican chicken hawks). But in reality, Trump probably didn't think that far ahead, kinda like those that voted for him in 2016.
Just my opinion,
Dale
Last summer, my son was stationed on a ship in the Arabian Gulf, near the Gulf of Oman. He is now a civilian, after over 6 years of active duty in the Navy. We came very close to firing on Iran. His ship was ready to fire a missile and was stopped only 10 minutes before firing by a direct order from the president himself. So it is not like the president is a war monger.
ReplyDeleteI understand you do not like Trump. He has many faults. However, killing this General, who was in Iraq while Iranian backed militants were attacking our embassy, was not necessarily an unheard of move. We have the right to protect our embassy staff and the Americans who are there. The fact that Iranian backed terrorists were trying to kill them, while the General just happened to be in Iraq, is no coincidence, and by killing him, we not only send a message to Iran that we will not tolerate their actions against our people, but we won't let them back others to do their dirty work either.
That this man has caused the death of Americans is without question. America does not have to allow other countries to treat us as a doormat, like they did under the Obama regime. But we must be willing to show that we will use our power, and not just threaten like former president Obama did. Drawing red lines in the sand,and then not taking action when they are crossed, is no longer the way that the United States is doing business. But it is also obvious that we are not war hawks, either. Patience, while projecting strength, is the best strategy. I believe that it is the policy that Trump has shown. Of course, many disagree. All you need to do is to look at the NATO countries and the fact that they are for the first time, beginning to pay more of their share of defense, as Trump called for. That is one of his several successes.
Your tds is showing when you put your partisan views above your Country sir.
ReplyDeleteA state of war has existed between Iran and the US since 1979 when Iran declared war against the US. They have been prosecuting this war ever since with virtually no opposition from us. Most Americans have no clue that we are at war. We're long overdue for a president that will stand up to the evil Iranian regime.
ReplyDeleteLet’s see, we assassinate the de facto Iranian Vice-President, and a number of top Iraqi warlords, in Iraq, without host country permission. The people we killed were planners, not fighters. They were not an immediate or imminent threat to U.S. or Allied forces.
ReplyDeleteTheories:
1) Donnie act3d impulsively.
2) Donnie was ordered by Vlad.
3) Donnie is looking to be kicked out of Iraq.
4) Donnie genuinely believes this will dissuade Iran.
Expectations:
1) Militia attacks in Iraq and surrounding areas.
2) Hamas attacks on Israel and Israeli interests.
3) Iran will assassinate a senior American General or (more likely) a high level political figure, away from the Middle East.
In a few hours there will be a massive Shi'a protest across a bridge from the US embassy compound, which is now under orders to shoot any attackers.
ReplyDeleteAfter the assassination, we did another airstrike on a Shi'a militia which killed at least six.
We're at war. Again. In the middle east. On the ground.
Wag the fucking dog.
-Doug in Oakland
We've been 'at war' with Iran since (at least) our 1954 overthrow of the duly elected government and installation of a puppet regime. I've been avoiding 'wag the dog' because, well... that dog has been wagged. Keep a low profile, look around, like them old Chinese generals get the lay of the land (or was that an old timer up on The Rez?). In the generally accepted vernacular 'wag the dog' is the 'ginning up' of a war, usually in advance of an election. Here any ginning up going on is more down, after-the-fact: yeah, we did it, what 'r you gonna' do about. A distraction from the impeachment, yes, and the ongoing failure of the country; and your typical repube tried and true rally 'round the flag rubes! routine, because its works.
ReplyDeleteIn case you missed it, before you step in my space, I did a tour nearly fifty years ago. I'm not proud of it. You'll no more find me prancing around in a parade than panhandling a street corner.
Iran has done me no harm. White Christians, on the other hand...
[had to do a double-take: first I saw frag officers ... lol]
As I said on BadTux:
ReplyDeletenonono, you cannot kill brass, only the grunts. You don’t off the boss class, cuz when *that* starts nobody, not even POTUS, is safe from a Barrett 50. Why that would upset the whole natural order of things…someone might even ‘do’ Mitch McConnell and then where would we be?
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ReplyDeleteNow Pence is lying about Suleimani helping the 9-11 hijackers.
ReplyDeleteI can't even list the levels at which that is wrong, but the fact that they're dragging it out confirms my wag the dog contention.
There are plenty of real and true things to accuse the head of the Quds Force for the past twenty years of without making obviously ridiculous things up about him, and dragging 9-11 into it is the go-to Republican lie for starting a shooting war in the middle east.
They really think we're stupid, and anyone who buys their bullshit proves them right.
-Doug in Oakland