# US assassinates commanding general of Iran Quds force **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [January 3, 2020, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-assassinates-commanding-general-of-iran-quds-force/845821 "2020-01-03T02:01:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-assassinates-commanding-general-of-iran-quds-force/845821/41 "2020-01-03T06:54:31Z")
I don’t understand how the physics work here. How can a little bitty Tail wag an entire Dog? ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-assassinates-commanding-general-of-iran-quds-force/845821/42 "2020-01-03T07:05:58Z")
> [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > I don’t understand how the physics work here. How can a little bitty Tail wag an entire Dog? This is an example of American Exceptionalism. This poster cant possibly believe that a series of events might occur on this planet which doesnt revolve around the USA. Trump, believe it or not, might have actually done the right thing here. Lets make Iran think that their deranged foreign policy choices just might be met be an equally deranged response. This might get everyone back to the negotiating table. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-assassinates-commanding-general-of-iran-quds-force/845821/43 "2020-01-03T07:07:36Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > His military career consists mostly of leading an organization that has been deemed a terrorist organization since 2007 That severely understates his importance. According to experts commenting on TV tonight, he’s second in importance in Iran only to the Supreme Leader. In US terms, you took MacArthur at the height of his fame, and combined him with J. Edgar Hoover at the height of his fame, you would be getting warmer. He’s the most important general, the most important intelligence head, and wildly popular with the people. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-assassinates-commanding-general-of-iran-quds-force/845821/44 "2020-01-03T07:16:36Z")
I’m seeing a lot of people on twitter and other places legitimately being afraid that this now means Iran is going to nuke Washington D.C. within the next few months, which seems like maybe we should be more tough on Iran if they’re willing to just nuke cities all willy-nilly. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-assassinates-commanding-general-of-iran-quds-force/845821/45 "2020-01-03T07:32:28Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > This is an example of American Exceptionalism. This poster cant possibly believe that a series of events might occur on this planet which doesnt revolve around the USA. Trump, believe it or not, might have actually done the right thing here. Lets make Iran think that their deranged foreign policy choices just might be met be an equally deranged response. This might get everyone back to the negotiating table. Except that the US is the country that walked away from the negotiating table. I don’t think killing Suleiman is going to pull us back. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-assassinates-commanding-general-of-iran-quds-force/845821/46 "2020-01-03T07:33:15Z")
> [@TonySinclair](#): > > That severely understates his importance. > > According to experts commenting on TV tonight, he’s second in importance in Iran only to the Supreme Leader. In US terms, you took MacArthur at the height of his fame, and combined him with J. Edgar Hoover at the height of his fame, you would be getting warmer. He’s the most important general, the most important intelligence head, and wildly popular with the people. Or this operation on a Japanese admiral in WWII 😛 > **[Operation Vengeance](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Vengeance)** > > 13th Air Force > 11th Air Fleet > Operation Vengeance was the American military operation to kill Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto of the Imperial Japanese Navy on 18 April 1943 during the Solomon Islands campaign in the Pacific Theater of World War II. Yamamoto, commander of the Combined Fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy, was killed near Bougainville Island when his transport aircraft was shot down by United States Army Air Forces fighter aircraft operating from Kukum Field on Guadalcanal. > The mission ... ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-assassinates-commanding-general-of-iran-quds-force/845821/47 "2020-01-03T07:40:10Z")
> [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > Except that the US is the country that walked away from the negotiating table. I don’t think killing Suleiman is going to pull us back. Killing Suleiman, accident or not, is an adequate retaliation for their attack on our Embassy. Let them think twice about unprovoked acts of aggression against us or our Allies. The Iranian government is not a popular one and some USA carrot and stick might pay off. ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-assassinates-commanding-general-of-iran-quds-force/845821/48 "2020-01-03T07:53:46Z")
> [@](#): > > This brings us to the precipice of a full blown shooting war with Iran — not a shadow war or a proxy war… It is almost impossible to overstate the implications of this event. > Helima Croft > HEAD OF GLOBAL COMMODITY STRATEGY, RBC MARKETS I can’t call this situation myself, but signals are ominous. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-assassinates-commanding-general-of-iran-quds-force/845821/49 "2020-01-03T07:58:21Z")
Would Iran nuking the United States in return for this be a justified response as I’m seeing twitter claim? And how Europe wouldn’t shed a tear? ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-assassinates-commanding-general-of-iran-quds-force/845821/50 "2020-01-03T08:05:05Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > Would Iran nuking the United States in return for this be a justified response as I’m seeing twitter claim? And how Europe wouldn’t shed a tear? Im guessing then that Israel should be allowed to nuke the entire continent of Europe for their two millenniaish war against the Jews. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-assassinates-commanding-general-of-iran-quds-force/845821/51 "2020-01-03T08:20:28Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > Or this operation on a Japanese admiral in WWII 😛 > > [Operation Vengeance - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Vengeance) Good analogy. ---
**Author:** ![Francis\_Vaughan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/francis_vaughan/32/3093_2.png) [@Francis\_Vaughan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francis_Vaughan)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-assassinates-commanding-general-of-iran-quds-force/845821/52 "2020-01-03T08:41:35Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > ^ > The less a white dude knows about the region the more confident they are in their “analysis” and the posts. > Never fails. Not sure which way to take this comment. I’m the first to admit I have not a great understanding of the region, but I have at least spent a small amount of time in a few countries (mostly on oil exploration related business, so that taints my view a bit) and this is my genuine take on matters. I care enough to be enlightened. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-assassinates-commanding-general-of-iran-quds-force/845821/53 "2020-01-03T09:15:24Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > Would Iran nuking the United States in return for this be a justified response as I’m seeing twitter claim? And how Europe wouldn’t shed a tear? Iran doesn’t have nuclear weapons or the means to deliver them to the USA, so it doesn’t really matter. ---
**Author:** ![Dereknocue67](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6de8d8/32.png) [@Dereknocue67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dereknocue67)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 10:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-assassinates-commanding-general-of-iran-quds-force/845821/54 "2020-01-03T10:08:51Z")
Was the name of this strike, ‘Operation - Reelect Trump’? ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-assassinates-commanding-general-of-iran-quds-force/845821/55 "2020-01-03T10:22:51Z")
Uggh. Hopefully this is the extent of any military action against Iran. War with Iran would be catastrophically harmful to the US – far more so than the dumb Iraq war. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-assassinates-commanding-general-of-iran-quds-force/845821/56 "2020-01-03T10:29:12Z")
Hugely stupid. War with Iran would be catastrophic for the US - thousands and thousands of dead US troops. I’m not sure if we’d even win. Obviously we have a military at least ten times as powerful as the Iranian military. But would the US public put up with casualties significantly higher than the Iraq war, for months and months, with no benefit to the US, against a country that wasn’t a threat to the US? Ugh. Makes me sick to my stomach. I’ll hope against hope that this is the extent of US military action against Iran. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-assassinates-commanding-general-of-iran-quds-force/845821/57 "2020-01-03T11:01:35Z")
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > Iran doesn’t have nuclear weapons or the means to deliver them to the USA, so it doesn’t really matter. Yet. From their p.o.v. nuclear weapons might be useful to have now, so we can probably say goodbye to any attempt to restrain their development of them. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-assassinates-commanding-general-of-iran-quds-force/845821/58 "2020-01-03T11:39:30Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > 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? Trump was feeling neglected, what with all those people celebrating New Year’s instead of celebrating _him_… ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-assassinates-commanding-general-of-iran-quds-force/845821/59 "2020-01-03T11:47:29Z")
The reaction from congresspeople? Here’s a take from Pelosi, and one from Lindsey Graham: "The strike was carried out without an “authorization for use of military force” against Iran and without the consultation of Congress, the speaker said. “The full Congress must be immediately briefed on this serious situation and on the next steps under consideration by the Administration, including the significant escalation of the deployment of additional troops to the region,” Pelosi said. … Graham said in a statement that Suleimani “had American blood on his hands” and welcomed what he called Trump’s “bold action against Iranian aggression." “To the Iranian government: if you want more, you will get more,” Graham said." > **[Pelosi wants details from Trump after U.S. kills Iranian commander](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/pelosi-says-trump-carried-out-strike-iranian-commander-without-authorization-n1109831)** > > House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the U.S. strike that killed the commander of Iran's Quds Force "risks provoking further dangerous escalation of violence." ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-assassinates-commanding-general-of-iran-quds-force/845821/60 "2020-01-03T11:51:33Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > Some people thought the same thing about at least the last two Presidents. If you noticed, it didn’t happen. Unlike the other two, Trump and his supporters have come up with several reasons why he should get a third term. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-assassinates-commanding-general-of-iran-quds-force/845821.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-assassinates-commanding-general-of-iran-quds-force/845821.md?page=4)