January 6, 2020
The killing of Major General Qasem Soleimani the commander of the Iranian Quds Force, a branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard was more than justified. For decades Soleimani had spread terror throughout the Middle East. Not surprisingly, those condemning President Trump for ordering the drone attack resulting in the deaths of Soleimani and an Iraqi- Iranian militia leader, Abu Mahdi al-Mohandes, are the same voices who for three years have shown nothing but disdain for the president. In other words, their opinions are partisan and not the least bit credible.
No one can make the case that Soleimani didn’t deserve his fate. Since 1998 he had led the Quds Force, which in April 2019 was designated a terrorist organization by the United States’ state department- the same status as ISIS and al-Qaeda.
Soleimani was routinely referred to as the “shadow commander”, because of his network of Shiite militias throughout the Middle East. The Quds Force operates covertly spreading its malign influence with proxy forces in Syria, Yemen, Lebanon, Iraq, Afghanistan, and India. Soleimani was the mastermind of terror in these regions. Soleimani and his militias have played a direct and indirect role in the deaths of hundreds of thousands throughout the world.
In Syria alone, more than half a million Syrians have perished since 2011 in an attempt to fight off the Assad regime. Unfortunately, they were no match for Assad’s forces who were bolstered by Soleimani’s Quds Force. If not for the backing of Soleimani’s Iran-backed militia group it’s doubtful that the despotic Assad would still rule Syria.
Further, according to the state department, Soleimani was responsible for more than 600 American casualties between 2003 and 2011. One of Soleimani’s legacies was the Iranian developed high tech explosive devise -the Explosively Formed Penetrator (EFP). This weapon is similar to an IED but much deadlier and more effective in causing gruesome carnage.
Soleimani’s Quds Force provided training and access to EFP’s among Shiite militia groups. Hundreds of Americans have been killed by an EFP, and thousands have been gravely injured.
President Obama Empowered Iran
Ridiculously, many on the left are accusing President Trump of ordering the strike against Soleimani to detract from his impeachment. (Never mind that he’s already been impeached and that there is zero chance that the Senate will remove him from office.) Moreover, the tension between the U.S. and Iran has been mounting since former President Obama signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, aka the Iran nuclear accord, and subsequently when President Trump removed the U.S. from the deal and ramped up sanctions against Iran.
The nuclear deal with Iran was one of President Obama’s greatest priorities during his tenure as president. Leading up to the signing of the 2015 agreement Obama ignored Iran’s many provocations, such as an attempt to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to the U.S. on American soil. (The mastermind of this foiled plot was Soleimani and the Quds Force.) Obama’s only concern was making a deal with Iran to secure his legacy.
Incredibly the objective of the JCPOA was not to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, it was only to slow down the process. In actuality, the accord allows Iran to become a nuclear state in 2030. Further, the lifting of sanctions, along with the $1.8 billion in cash that the Obama administration delivered to Iran, has infused over a 100 billion dollars back into the Iranian regime, which they have funneled to their militia proxies throughout the Middle East to spread their brand of terror.
Iran’s Recent Provocations
In May of this year, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stated that Iran “has engaged in an escalating series of threatening actions and statements in recent weeks.” As a consequence, Pompeo warned Iran that any attack, which resulted in even one American death would result in a military counterattack.
In June Iran downed a $200 million American surveillance drone flying over international waters. Reportedly President Trump had approved military strikes against Iran but at the last minute pulled back.
In September Iran- backed militias, Yemen’s Houthis rebels, struck two key oil installations inside Saudia Arabia. Pompeo accused Iran of being behind “an unprecedented attack on the worlds’ energy supply.”
The red line was crossed on December 27th when an Iraqi military base, which houses U.S. military forces, was bombed by Iran- backed militias, killing an American civilian contractor, and wounding several U.S. military service members. According to the administration this attack was only one of 11 attacks on U.S. troops in just the past two months.
This deadly attack was followed up by a siege of the U.S. Embassy in Bagdhad. The Qud’s backed militias swarmed the Embassy, chanting “Death to America”, trapping American diplomats in the Embassy compound overnight. Menacingly they forced their way onto the compound and set some of the outer-buildings on fire.
Unlike the attack on the U.S. Embassy in Benghazi, when Barrack Obama and Hillary Clinton ordered troops to stand down while Americans were slaughtered, the Trump administration took action. American security forces, including 100 Marines, and a battalion of paratroopers, were dispatched immediately to the Embassy. President Trump’s decisive orders prevented the Embassy from being taken over and saved American lives- Not a single American life was lost.
Undeniably, the mastermind of this attack, as well as the others, was Gen. Soleimani. “Soleimani is our leader” was even written under a window of the U.S. Bagdhad Embassy by the militias who attempted to breach the Embassy.
Many have claimed that the killing of Soleimani will embolden Iran to retaliate. News alert- President Trump was countering Iran’s actions. The drone ordered to take out Soleimani was in RESPONSE to Iranian attacks that could not go unanswered. As Trump stated the day after the drone attack-
“We took action last night to stop a war. We did not take action to start a war.”
These attacks alone would have justified a deadly counterpunch from the U.S., but according to the Pentagon, Soleimani was also planning an imminent attack on American diplomats and service members in the region.
A statement released by the Department of Defense:
“General Soleimani was actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region. General Soleimani and his Quds Force were responsible for the deaths of hundreds of American and coalition service members and the wounding of thousands more. He had orchestrated attacks on coalition bases in Iraq over the last several months – including the attack on December 27th – culminating in the death and wounding of additional American and Iraqi personnel. General Soleimani also approved the attacks on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad that took place this week. This strike was aimed at deterring future Iranian attack plans. The United States will continue to take all necessary action to protect our people and our interests wherever they are around the world.”
Not to take action against Soleimani would have been a dereliction of President Trump’s duties. Imagine if Trump hadn’t acted, and Americans were killed at the hands of the Quds Force, and subsequently, it was revealed that Trump had actionable intelligence to stop Soleimani, but decided he’d rather not anger Iran. This is the inane logic of Trump’s critics.
Ironically, the media and Democrats are blasting Trump for the killing of a terrorist responsible for the death of hundreds of Americans, and potentially hundreds more, when they had no problem with Obama’s 506 drone attacks. It is estimated that the drone attacks ordered by Obama resulted in 3,400 deaths, 400 of which were innocent civilians.
Obama was not even vilified by the press when a U.S. drone hit a wedding convoy in Yemen, killing 12, including children, and injuring 24. Of course, the Obama administration lied and claimed that there were no known civilian casualties. However, the evidence belied their denials.
Some are claiming that Trump did not have the authority to “assassinate” a foreign leader. This is absurd. Soleimani was an enemy combatant in uniform actively engaged in terrorist activities against Americans. Unquestionably the president had the Constitutional authority to take military action against General Soleimani, who has killed Americans and was in planning to kill Americans. Even many Trump critics have admitted that Trump acted within his authority-
Former Department of Homeland Security Secretary with the Obama administration Jeh Johnson on “Meet the Press” this past Sunday –
“[Soleimani] was a lawful military objective. The President under his Constitution; authority as Commander-in-Chief had ample domestic legal authority to take him out.”
Unfortunately, the media and the Trump- haters will find fault with anything Trump has done or will ever do, apparently even the killing of a terrorist. Thankfully we no longer have a Commander-in-Chief willing to allow the killing of Americans with impunity.
