I know Iran and Iraq are technically at war though tensions are high. But what would an Iranian General be doing traveling to Iraq? Surely not peace negotiations. To check on pro-Iran militias? Wouldn’t the Iraqi government stop that?
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That Iranian general has made regular trips to Iraq for “consultations” with friendly militias and with the Iraqi Government for years. That has been reported in the mainstream press multiple times.
As to who killed him, well the only two countries that want him dead are the US and Israel. The US has a lot more to lose by doing this. So that narrows down the possibilities…
Iran and Iraq are allies and Iranian troops were involved in combat operations alongside Iraqi ground forces in the recent push against ISIL. General Soleimani was in fact one of, probably the most senior commander of those forces. He actually had a pretty significant military career.
ETA: Although it is akin to being between a very large rock an somewhat smaller hard place, one could make a reasonable argument that Iran is a closer ally and greater influence on Iraq than the United States. It’s a complicated relationship for sure.
Iran and Iraq are not at war. After the US invasion, politicians aligned with Iran have wielded significant power. The Iraqi government has depended in part of Iranian-backed militias who were brutally effective in pushing back ISIS in the last few years. It’s not surprising at all that Iranian advisers would be found on Iraqi soil, including someone as influential as the IRGC-QF commander. (Note that he was rumored to have been killed in Syria a few years ago while advising pro-Assad militias, but that turned out to be wrong.)
There’s more than just “countries” killing people in Iraq, though, which kind of broadens the range of possibilities…
His military career consists mostly of leading an organization that has been deemed a terrorist organization since 2007
True. But the pentagon just stated the strike was from the US.
From the OP’s military time’s link
Well I will be darned.
The Pentagon just announced that the US killed the general on Trump’s direct orders.
I guess he got tired of looking like a wimp.
And now we will see what happens. I can’t imagine Iraq allowing the US to stay in-country, but I am rarely correct about such things. Iran is certainly going to do it’s best to retaliate. Hope the US forces in the area keep their heads down and defenses up.
Yes, I’m sure all the U.S. personnel stationed abroad are breathing a sigh of relief now, they’re totally safer now than they were yesterday.
The Iraq/Iran relationship is not as simple as ‘Allies’. There are large factions in Iraq that absolutely want the Iranian influence ended and Iran militias booted out of the country. Other factions are closely tied to Iran and welcome them.
How this plays put probably depends on Iraqi internal politics.
Well, this is quite worrisome. I’ve been fearing something like this.
No, I think he’s counting on the American reluctance to change presidents during the course of a war if the president is running for re-election. Since he’s insisted on winding down the other wars, he needs a new one.
I think he also believes that he can weedle a third term, because he’s just that arrogant and also because he has never, ever, encountered a law he couldn’t break with near impunity. He really believes that his base will force the rest of the country to accept that flagrant a breach of the Constitution.
ETA: I think we can also expect a major escalation in terrorist attacks on US assets here and abroad, and I don’t think we’ll have long to wait for it, either.
US assassinates Qassem Soleimani, head of the elite Quds Force at Baghdad airport yesterday. US has confirmed it.
So, let’s get this out of the way up front, the guy was an evil dirtbag and it’s hard to overstate how bad he was.
That being said… this was an incredibly stupid and dangerous thing to do. Assassinating someone at this high level has been unprecedented for the US since Ford’s assassination ban, but political norms aside, it’s an enormous provocation that the Iranian regime will have to respond to if they want to continue being the Iranian regime. This action was completely disproportionate to the threat at hand, the potential repercussions varied and enormous.
There are a lot of cynical political implications I could draw, but I don’t want to poison the well outside the Pit. We’re now in uncharted waters that I expect will end badly for all parties concerned; the only question is how it will play out. There are reports of large movements at Ft. Bragg and Hunter Army Airfield, which are not locations that are known hosting a large and energetic corps of idealistic career diplomats.
In the words of Samuel L. Jackson, hold on to your butts.
Yikes…
Yeah, there will be a heavyweight response from the Iranians no doubt. DJT likely thinks stirring things up with Iran will distract from impeachment and make him look tough heading into 2020. And frankly, it may be exactly what his base needs to get really fired up.
If he’s compromised by Russia and Turkey, it won’t last. Everyone will be brought to ground very quickly, through some unseen mysterious talks that make it all disappear like it never happened.
I don’t think that this will be Trump’s winning card for 2020. He should have thought about it longer.
Since this is breaking news with political ramifications, let’s move it to Great Debates.
Colibri
General Questions Moderator
What happened in the news yesterday that would have prompted the POTUS to order this attack? Or are you gonna stick with an argument based on paranoia?
Two notes. In the OP I said Iran and Iraq are at war. This was a typo.
IIRC Iraq is now run by a Shiite government? Saddam was a Sunni ruling over a Shiite majority; both Iran and now Iraq are Shiite, so this collaboration makes sense. Not that the USA is happy about it…
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[Trump]You can’t impeach a President when we’re at war!
Now, let me think. Who can I start a war against?[/Trump]