With clarity lacking as to how Trump's decision to kill Soleimani was made, the diplomatic corp tends to see it as an impulsive act: “It was of course a serious escalation...and seemingly devoid of strategic rationale”
The Washington defense and diplomatic communities are not exactly mourning the death of Qasem Soleimani, a powerful Iranian commander who was killed by a U.S. airstrike on Thursday night. “Soleimani was a murderer and the major source of violence in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, and Lebanon for three decades,” said, former ambassador to NATOechoing a near-unanimous position. “He was an enemy of the U.S., responsible for hundreds of American deaths.
The White House has provided little information about the decision to strike the top commander. But both Secretary of Stateand the Pentagon have cast it as defensive. “General Soleimani was actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region,” theabout the airstrike, which occurred at the airport in Baghdad just days after a series of attacks on U.S. troops and the U.S. Embassy in the Iraqi capital.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Trump: Soleimani ‘should have been taken out many years ago!’President Trump on Friday defended the authorization of a U.S. drone strike that killed Iran’s top general in Baghdad, suggesting that the killing should have been carried out by previous administrations.
Read more »
Trump fiercely defends Soleimani killing as he plunges U.S. deeper into foreign conflictThe unexpected demise of the leader of Iran's elite Quds force represents one of Trump's boldest military maneuvers while in office, thrusting the U.S. into unknown territory with a notorious geopolitical foe
Read more »
What Legal Authority Did Trump Have to Assassinate Qasem Soleimani?It appears that the Trump administration will try to claim that the killing of Qasem Soleimani is covered by congressional authorizations of the War on Terror or the Iraq War. Either ground for the attack is rather shaky
Read more »
Senate returns as Trump impeachment trial and Soleimani killing hang over WashingtonMitch McConnell and Chuck Schumer could speak Friday about the looming impeachment trial of President Donald Trump.
Read more »