[January 4, 2020] Iranian General Qassem Soleimani has been killed in a targeted strike by the U.S. military. Good riddance! No matter who you are in the world, it cannot be denied that this man was evil and deserved to die. For those who are wishy-washy about the proactive U.S. attack, it would be best to study this man before you embarrass yourself and make uninformed comments.
I’m labeling today’s article as an opinion because I have an extreme bias against terrorism and General Soleimani specifically. Eight of my friends died because of specialized IEDs designed, built, paid for, and smuggled into Iraq to kill Americans.1 It was General Soleimani who set up the network to make this happen. He was a senior official in the Iranian government and thus the blood on his hands also stains the religious leaders of the terror state of Iran.
Politicians, who oppose U.S. President Donald Trump on this issue, should show some courage and not openly denounce this killing. The “assassination” of General Soleimani (and that is what it is) was a bold move that shows that Trump’s red line against harming Americans is real. The conventional wisdom that Trump is a “Twitter tiger” is mute.
General Soleimani’s death is a significant blow to Iran in its war against Western nations and America. Acting as a defensive move, such targeted action is often fraught with known but also unknowable risks. Iran’s response must be quick and robust or they will appear to be weak. We can expect an attack on soft targets (e.g., innocent civilians) and they might not be American. That is the traditional methodology of terrorists; attacking the unarmed people, the young and old, to sow terror.
The death of General Soleimani was great news for me. I don’t harbor any childlike thoughts that the man was doing something good for Iran. There is a cost to all Iranians who will pay for Soleimani’s campaign of terror; they are paying for it today and will continue to pay as long as the United States’ leadership stands firm.
U.S. Presidents Bush and Obama had the opportunity to kill Soleimani, and they chose otherwise. Their failure to recognize evil was a colossal blunder and their appeasement policies did not work.2 That is a lesson from history that too many have failed to learn.
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- These Explosively Formed Penetrators (EFPs) are IEDs used against armored vehicles. S. military officials in early 2007 charged that the highest levels of the Iranian leadership ordered Shiite militants in Iraq armed with this sophisticated armor-piercing bomb. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-sees-new-weapon-in-iraq-iranian-efps/
- https://www.theleadermaker.com/neville-chamberlain-and-u-s-foreign-policy/
No one knows for sure what Iran will do and in fact I think they are trying to figure that out themselves. Such a slow response from them is an indication that they have not thought thru their actions if Trump did the unpredictable.
True, I hate to wait and see but that is what us bystanders must do. I hope US Pres Trump is ready.
Iran is a revolutionary force whose regime aspires, above all, to spread its influence and its religious orthodoxy throughout the Middle East, while destroying Israel and making life miserable for the U.S. Accomplishing these things takes precedence over everything else.
Thomas Friedman calls the late Gen. Soleimani “Iran’s most overrated warrior.” He also calls Soleimani “possibly the dumbest man in Iran.”
Perhaps so but that doesn’t make him less evil.
Listen to the interview with Gen David Petraeus on the killing of Soleimani.
“Gen. Petraeus on Qasem Soleimani’s killing: ‘It’s impossible to overstate the significance'”
https://www.pri.org/stories/2020-01-03/gen-petraeus-qasem-soleimani-s-killing-its-impossible-overstate-significance?fbclid=IwAR1TRggBoSyN-la1qkv013IY2k4ZybZhXoA8KMlI-1ZYIUg-mi0tUoKhbYg
Best part of interview of David Petraeus …
Q. Do you have confidence in this administration to kind of navigate all those calculations?
A. Well, I think that this particular episode has been fairly impressively handled.
Here’s a funny quip. I laughed so hard, I nearly wet my pants.
President Trump “I don’t have jihadists storm my embassies often but when I do they learn quickly that I’m not Hillary Clinton.” – Not what he really said but wish he had.
Len, you’re killing me with this kind of humor. I nearly spit my morning coffee out my nose and my wife came running in my study to find out what was going on. Thank you for making my day.
Ha Ha Ha Ha. You guys are just too much.
Great. Sure made my day too.
You gotta read this “Democrats Call For Flags To Be Flown At Half-Mast To Grieve Death Of Soleimani”
WASHINGTON, D.C.—At a press conference held on Capitol Hill Friday, mourning Democrat leaders called for flags to be flown half-mast to honor the death of Qasem Soleimani.
Flags were spotted flying at half-mast around the country, notably at The Washington Post, The New York Times, and in front of several celebrities’ homes. The celebrities went out and bought an American flag for the first time just to fly it at half-mast for this important time of grief.
“The grieving process is painful but necessary,” said Rep. Ilhan Omar. “As a nation, we need to stop and grieve this great, austere, revered religious scholar. He was one of the good ones.”
In a rare moment of unity with The Squad, Pelosi gave each of the girls a hug, telling them to just “let it all out” in their time of sadness.
Ocasio-Cortez didn’t seem to know what was happening but adjusted her glasses to look smart.
A teary-eyed Barack Obama was also seen solemnly lowering the flag in front of his seaside mansion. “To think, this all could have been prevented with a few pallets of cash.” He sighed and stared off into the distance, a look of pain and regret on his face. “If only Trump had targeted a U.S. citizen with a drone strike instead.”
Later, Democrats clarified they meant we should fly the Iranian flag at half-mast, not the “offensive and problematic” American flag.
https://babylonbee.com/news/democrats-call-for-flags-to-be-flown-half-mast-to-grieve-death-of-soleimani
Gil, you made my day. I love this type of humor.
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This is why I keep reading General Satterfield’s leadership blog.
Thank you General Satterfield for sharing your opinion about Iranian Gen Soleimani. I too believe that it was the right thing to do as a strategic move. It was a great action on the part of the president but also it came at the right time (after the attack on our Embassy) and place (in Iraq).
Yes, and that should not be forgotten. Well written, Kenny.
A good day for good people.
When I heard the news, I was elated. More good news that this was not the only strike that day. I’m also happy the bastard got his ass wiped out by the USA.
Strength is respected, weakness is denigrated. Iran’s leaders will think twice before taking action. They respect power.
U.S. Democrats like Nancy Pelosi are surprised by what our military can do under great leadership. I’m sure she is crying about this attack in Iraq.
Democrats are cheering for Iran and against America.
American the beautiful. Well done! ?
A message from the US President Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump
General Qassem Soleimani has killed or badly wounded thousands of Americans over an extended period of time, and was plotting to kill many more…but got caught! He was directly and indirectly responsible for the death of millions of people, including the recent large number….
And the average American liberal will think that Pres Trump should be impeached for this!
Sad to say, but I do think you are right. They stand beside evil (like slavery) throughout their ideological existence.
I have friends who are liberals and they say that the killing was unnecessary. I asked where they got that idea and all told me they were listening to Nancy Pelosi, DNC. I asked if they had to call her up to go to the bathroom too. No independent thinking for liberals.
I say that this targeted killing is a good thing. There was no need for a legal trial (that concept being a Western idea anyway). The man was pure evil. If you cannot see that, then something is wrong with you.
Worth reading this from FARS news agency.
“Supreme Leader Appoints Gen. Soleimani’s Successor”
https://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13981013000936
Reads like an apology from the US Democratic National Party. Appeasement central casting for who can stick their head in the sand the fastest.
I wish the Democrats would stop being so stupid as to oppose everything Trump does. Killing of this evil man, Gen Soleimani was a good thing. They oppose stopping evil. It tells us a lot about their lack of character.
You guys are just too funny.
When Iranian-backed militias attacked the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, Ayatollah Khamanei reportedly boasted that America “cannot do a damn thing” about it. This harked back to America’s failed effort in 1979 to rescue hostages Iran held. During a demonstration in Tehran following that fiasco, one of the signs said, “America can’t do anything.” Oops, guess again!
Good analysis. Thanks Ronny. To this day, I remain disappointed in both President George Bush and Barack Obama for their failure to stop such evil emanating from Iran. History books should address this so that their names are stained with the deaths of so many.
This won’t happen but I would like it to be. There is one way for either Bush or Obama to avoid going down in history as appeasers and that is to TODAY, stand up and praise the killing of this Iranian general.
Me too. Their failures are big! Their successes are minor. I’m not complaining against Americans. I’m just stating the facts. Cheers!
The Iranian leadership figured wrong this time.
I say good riddance to this evil.
And evil does not like being slapped in the face. It always strikes back. So, be brave and be ready.
Yes, and if you cannot identify evil and act to stop it, then you are part of the problem. US Pres. Obama knew that Soleimani was a horrible man who was killing thousands in Syria and many US military members, yet he sent Iran billions of dollars. Iran used that money to kill more people.
One of the greatest blunders ever made in the history of mankind. Right up there with other appeasement actions taken by leaders. Appeasement does not work.
I’d like to say that, with this demonstrated, Iran will back off. Unfortunately, that seems unlikely.