Qasem Soleimani was an Iranian soldier. He lived by the sword and died by the sword. He met a soldier's destiny. It is being said that he was a BAD MAN. Absurd! To say that he was a BAD MAN because he fought us as well as the Sunni jihadis is simply infantile. Were all those who fought the US BAD MEN? How about Gentleman Johhny Burgoyne? Was he a BAD MAN? How about Sitting Bull? Was he a BAD MAN? How about Aguinaldo? Another BAD MAN? Let us not be juvenile.
The Iraqi PMU commander who died with Soleimani was Abu Mahdi al Muhandis. He was a member of a Shia militia that had been integrated into the Iraqi armed forces. IOW, we killed an Iraqi general. We killed him without the authorization of the supposedly sovereign state of Iraq.
We created the present government of Iraq through the farcical "purple thumb" elections. That government holds a seat in the UN General Assembly and is a sovereign entity in international law in spite of Trump's tweet today that said among other things that we have "paid" Iraq billions of US dollars. To the Arabs, this statement that brands them as hirelings of the US is close to the ultimate in insult.
Somehow the Ziocons around Trump have forgotten that the present state of Iraq refused to yield to Obama's demands for a SOFA and in effect expelled the US from the country.
The Iraqi parliament is going to vote in emergency session over the issue of the death of al-Muhandis. Will they vote to expel the US from their country?
Will we go if they vote that way? We should. If we do not, then we will be exposed as imperialist hypocrites.
Truump should welcome such a vote. He wants to get out of the ME? What greater opportunity could we have to do so?
Let us leave if invited to go. Let the oh, so clever locals deal with their own hatreds and rivalries. pl
What a lot of commentators seem to overlook is that America has basically declared war on Iraq, while our soldiers are hosted on joint bases with Iraqi soldiers.
Thank you, Colonel. We don’t know,we don’t care, but we can kill – that’s not a recipe for success.
Well said Sir.
“We need to get out of Iraq and Syria now. That is the only way that we’re going to prevent ourselves from being dragged into this quagmire, deeper and deeper into a war with Iran.” Tulsi Gabbard.
https://twitter.com/tulsigabbard/status/1213168223127949313?s=21
Would we get out if Iraq asks us to do so? I don’t think so. There will be a hue & cry about appeasement of terror!
Assassination of generals, one from an allied country, one from a country with which we have no declared war, and both assassinations performed on the territory of an allied, sovereign country without permission? This is piracy. Why should anyone trust the word of a country which does not honor the most basic of international law?
And am I alone to be disgusted to see the senior members of our government lie blatantly and constantly, when they’re not fellating the nearest likudnik….
It is being said that he was a BAD MAN. Absurd! To say that he was a BAD MAN because he fought us as well as the Sunni jihadis is simply infantile. Were all those who fought the US BAD MEN?
Thanks Colonel, it has never been easy to confront the comment sections, not only the obvious claqueur spaces during the last year, but especially those. This example is not an exception to the observed rule …
Mind you, not a soldier, the world terrorist number one. Thus surely a bad man.
“As president my highest and most solemn duty is the defense of our nation and its citizens. Last night, at my direction, the United States military successfully executed a flawless precision strike that killed the number one terrorist anywhere in the world, Qassem Soleimani. Soleimani was plotting imminent and sinister attacks on American diplomats and military personnel, but we caught him in the act and terminated him.
Make that “the leading state sponsor of terror”
https://twitter.com/Mike_Pence/status/1213189745821540353
déjà vu, somehow:
Mike Pence
Verifizierter Account @Mike_Pence
1 Std.vor 1 Stunde
Assisted in the clandestine travel to Afghanistan of 10 of the 12 terrorists who carried out the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States.
Trump should welcome such a vote. He wants to get out of the ME? What greater opportunity could we have to do so?
I always doubted that was ever his intention …
Dear Colonel, seems you find yourself in Tulsi’s (good) company.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=28&v=kToUJaOVgTA&feature=emb_logo
Trump should, but he won’t. Might as well quote Bible verses to a robber.
ISL
I have been giving her money every month.
We go where we are wanted and appreciated. We have no skin in Iraq. Build the Wall and protect our own borders. Concentrate our resources on cyber-security.
It took Tulsi about 18 hours to get that brief statement out. Can’t help but wonder what that delay was all about.
Tulsi makes a lot of sense. Unfortunately that disqualifies her for the presidency, not because she couldn’t execute the functions of the presidency, but because neither the party apparatchiks nor the voters would give her the chance. These days either nationalistic claptrap or promises of more freebies are what carry the day. Quelle domage, eh?
As for the Iraqi parliament voting to expel U.S. forces? That’s an interesting question. If they did, they’d better vote to expel the “den of spies” at the embassy and insist on our having a normal sized legation (as all countries would be well advised to do). But if they do, would we leave? I personally doubt it even though it would be best if we did and let the Iraqis do what they will, which would probably be reverting back to some sort of strongman govt, of a type more suited to their cultural traditions and inclinations. It’s high time we afforded the rest of the world the type of cultural and political autonomy we claim to revere so much.
So, we leave? A good thing for us and for them and the world at large.
Or, we don’t? Then we expose the truth the rest of the world already knows, but we at least expose the truth to our own people who have been fed a steady diet of mendacious BS about what we’ve been doing over there all these years.
That attack on the “airport limo” vehicles leaving Baghdad airport sure took some nerve on our part to think that we could sell something like that…
And, did Trump actually order it, or did someone else in the MIC order it first and Trump laid claim to it afterwards? Uncle Joe, if he had ordered it, would have afterwards announced the execution of a fall guy and denied any complicity! If Trump didn’t order it, he should throw whoever did under the bus instead of crowing and wrapping himself in the flag. I wonder about what actually happened in planning this hit job on prominent military people on their way to a funeral for 31 people who may or may not have had anything whatsoever to do with the death of a single American mercenary in Iraq in an attack by persons unknown on a small outpost.
It’s times like this I wish I was a fly on the wall, listening to what the Russian General Staff conversations regarding this assassination are at this moment.
Trump IMHO would do well to seek Putin’s counsel on how to exit the corner that Trump has backed US into. While this spells problems for our US, it also creates additional problems for Russia in the ways that could cause them MAJOR problem as well as in a full blown Mideast War with many players in the mix. Not a good mix either.
Israel can’t handle a full blown Mideast War, no matter how much their narcissistic national psyche thinks they can. Israel is a mere postage stamp in a sea of rage, which tsunami waves could very easily consume them. Sheldon Adelson and his Likud/NEOCON blowhards have no concept of what is on the short horizon, that can go one way or the other.
I’m glad I’m retired in this instance. My glass of bourbon is more palatable than the grains of Mideast sand that fixing to get stirred up.
God help us all.
Pat, why does the US military always get left with the shit-storms to clean up after? Why?
Will we go if they vote that way?
I’ll go with no. The Neocons desperately want us in Iraq to protect Israel and stick it to Iran as much as possible. They have a laundry list of prepared arguments and we have the dumbest, most compliant, state media in recorded history. We also have a President who believes that intnl law is for weaklings and loves saying ‘take the oil’.
I can hear the talking points already …
1. ‘Obama made the same mistake and it created ISIS.’
2. ‘Iran has taken over Iraq, it’s not a legitimate request’ (look at how we selectively recognize govts in South America and no one blinks).
3. ‘Iran will use Iraq as a base to attack us’ (yeah, its about 100 miles closer).
I can’t stand what we have become, the jackals have taken over and the MSM attacks the very few who are not jackals.
A Pols
OK. Who do you think would have had the power to order the strike? Not the CIA, the military would not accept such an order. Not the chairman of the JCS, he is not in the chain of command. that leaves Esper, SECDEF. Really? he looks like a putschist to you? You are ignorant of the American government.
As a Spanish national, isn’t it time for you to stop interfering in US elections?
Whoever is President we will have war. The President is just a feckless puppet controlled by the Zionist. I’ll never vote again. It’s a waste of time and a farce. Hillary or Donald no different just a matter of timing. Obama destroyed Libya and Syria. Bush II the simpleton and his fairy tale WMD lie. I’ve lost all respect for whatever “the republic” is suppose to be. On top of that the masses are too stupid for democracy to work.
Colonel,
I did all that I could do. I filled up my car’s gas tank today. Three days for Shiite mourning. Pride, nationality and religion are powerful forces. Carolina National Guard units are in the middle of Islam hundreds of miles from the coast. After the assassination on their soil of the Iranian and Iraqi military leaders who won the war against the Caliphate, it will be the mission of Iraqis to get rid of the evil foreign invaders. The only retaliation available for America, due to the lack of manpower, is more bombing. But, it will be tit for tat; this General, that Ambassador, this ammo dump, that oil field. The shut off of Middle East oil will crash the world economy. The End of Days is at hand if Donald Trump uses nuclear weapons as he has threatened.
First, I agree whole heartedly with Colonel Lang’s and Larry Johnson’s posts… every single word, Larry. Qasem Soleimani was indeed an Iranian soldier. Just as Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis was an Iraqi soldier. These two have been instrumental in the destruction of the IS and al Qaeda jihadis in Iraq and Syria all while we, along with our Israeli, Turkish and Gulfie allies armed and supported those same jihadis. We’ve also been destroying those jihadis alongside Soleimani’s and al-Muhandis’ fighters. Why couldn’t we find common ground in that endeavor?
Earlier today, I thought Trump was hoping Iran would back down without too much retaliatory damage like some contract plumbers he could bully around at will. I figured that would be stupid enough. But now we have declared another Iraqi PMU militia, Asa’ib Ahl Al-Haq, a terrorist organization. We then targeted another PMU convoy in Taiji, north of Baghdad killing several Iraqi soldiers. Trump wants war for whatever reasons racing around in that deteriorating brain of his. He will not leave Iraq if Baghdad votes us out.As I’ve been saying for years, Trump is a bullshit artist and conman. We’re in this for the long haul.
Who else are you gonna trust, divadab?
Democracy is a stupid option. That is why in the US we have a republic with elected representatives who make the decisions for us, in a system of checks and balances. Crude at times, but eminently functional.
Lay out your better options, because any form of governance are always a struggle. But please stop calling the US a mob rule “democracy”.
Condominium owners associations are sufficient proof pure democracies do not work.
Liked Trump’s explanation: we did this to stop a war; not start one. There is a new team on the playing field. And a new narrative. Most importantly, a new narrative.
I’m not suggesting that anyone in particular other than Trump ordered this (Though I think it likely it was suggested by someone else and he may have jumped on it), but I have read elsewhere that people think so. So I was just asking the question: what if?
So what I wrote was hypothetical.
But I think there are lots of people eager to offer advice to a guy like Trump and, given the chance presented by someone that: “Hey, this guy’s flying in to Iraq for a funeral and we can really make a statement by lighting him up”, he’d jump at the opportunity. I think this operation was spur of the moment and done without consideration of whether it was a good idea beyond the headlines. It will be interesting to see what the long term ramifications of this are. I would be surprised if they Iranians try an immediate reprisal; they would be foolish to do so. But we’ll see eventually how this influences the course of future events.
Well if we are going to be leaving Iraq shortly it seems we will be leaving with a bang or two. Various Iraqi militant leaders backed by Iran have become martyrs this evening, There is also statements of actions in Yemen and Lebanon this evening which need to be flushed out further for accuracy. Whatever is going on it is obviously well thought out with extensive planning. This is not a one off pot shot by the American Military.
I support leaving the Mideast in a prompt and orderly manner but it seems we are now tilting toward the Sunni’s. The concept of taking out a General of another’s military leaves a raw taste in ones mouth thus hopefully the reasoning is reasonable and acceptable.
I as well. It’s somehow comforting to listen to someone who has a (snowballs) chance to be CC, who isn’t a complete, slathering imbecile. Quite the opposite in fact. One can dream. The rest of the contenders – let’s call them the “Rat’s Pack” – make me despair for the future of our species.
Colonel,
Not sure where to begin….I don’t see how Qom does not move towards the establishment of a credible Iranian nuclear deterrent. They will be responding to the wishes of the Iranian people. On the other hand, after the Navy shot down Iran Air 655, I believe it was followed by Iran’s acceptance of UNSR 598, and the poison chalice. However, my sense from being there in 2016 and again after Trump reimposed sanctions in 2018, the ordinary people want their government, whatever its form, to move towards the establishment of a credible nuclear deterrent. I am very discouraged and can’t help but ask, if it gets ugly, will we revisit Korematsu? Have we considered the possibility of military defeat abroad?
Col. Lang:
Was Abraham Lincoln an evil man? Or Stonewall Jackson?
Trump has murdered RobTrump has publicly owned the muder of Robert E. Lee.
The Shia and Iran is in mourning.
And who knows what tomorrow shall bring.
It appears that Pompeo is designating parts of the Iraqi Military, the PMU, terrorist organizations:
https://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2020/01/03/world/middleeast/03reuters-iraq-security-usa-designation.html
Tulsi has my vote too.
I wasn’t sure I’d vote for her before Trump killed this guy, but now I’m ready to commit.
J,
The problem for Israel is that their idiot Likudniks have gotten them between a rock and a hard place. The IRGC has embarked on a long term effort to deploy precision guided ballistic and cruise missiles to Lebanon and Syria. The more they deploy the worse the next war will be for Israel. If you think 2006 was ugly, just wait until Hezbollah starts striking Israeli water desalination plants and other critical infrastructure targets. So a war now would be bad, but the longer that Hezbollah has to prepare the worse it is going to get.
Foreign nationals will be delighted to stop interfering in US elections when the US stops interfering in ours, better yet, when the US packs it up and leaves. Your country is the gravest threat to life in the known history of this planet, and the planet is sick and tired of you guys.
Grin go ho me, the sooner the better. And stop thinking that the world won’t be able to kick you out.
The president of the USA publicly gloating about murdering a foreign high ranking official and a high ranking military figure of an occupied country. And all the subjects -they cannot be called citizens, they are plain slaves- of that so called exemplary republic clapping and flag waving. As much as I was astounded as a child in history class learning of Caligula and his consul horse or Nero burning Rome while playing the lyre, future history class children -if there are any left- will be shocked by the shameful episode the USA is writing in the history book.
The strike was so egregious that: if the Iraqi Parliament does not vote for the US to leave, it will be a de facto passive endorsement of the strike and a legitimizer of it.
Paco
You can’t do any better than to come to SST to shit on us when we are trying to tell the truth? Don’t come back.
A Pols
Nobody expects that a president generates all the ideas. The question is which ones he listens to.
https://www.jadaliyya.com/Details/39946?fbclid=IwAR0PEsYDP5utocMcOu1X0wIBgM4CDDnvvJM8ORbhaIoK2EQPDM1axdKUbrg
Same is true for Russia.
Ignorant empire dont last.
It’s on:
Following the #US assassination of #Qassem_Soleimani “The red flag was raised over Jamkaran mosque in #Qom #Iran & it won’t be taken down until revenge against the US is fulfilled” via
@Sara_Haj
.
https://twitter.com/ejmalrai/status/1213453920493821952
Babak
I fear tomorrow’s uncertainty for us all will be especially acute for Americans of your ethnicity. Take care.
FWIW: Trump is trying to negotiate for de-escalation with the Iranian officials.
Yesterday via teh Swiss Ambassador , his message according to IFP news:
‘if you want to take revenge, do it in a way that’s proportional to US attack’. But Iran has rejected the request angrily & said we’ll give our own response in due time and appropriate place
Today the Qatari deputy FM/PM was sent to Tehran to negotiate on behalf of the US with the Iranian FM. First he went to show his respects to the Supreme leader and then he reported the second message from the US:
offered “nuclear deal” and lifting sanctions in exchange of no response
on FP I liked Stephan Walt’s take most.
the standard tale or analyis via Politico.
Why the Death of an Iranian Commander Won’t Mean World War III, RAY TAKEYH
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/01/03/iran-loses-its-imperial-strategist-093175
Author profile:
https://militarist-monitor.org/profile/ray-takeyh/
******
Do you recall or were you aware at all of the 2011 Iranian assassination blot in, of all places Washington DC? Well he was the mastermind mind behind it. Imagine. As of a lot else, I recall too.
Well General Qasem Soleimani wasn’t mentioned explicitely at the time as far as I recall, there may be some “Western image” merging going on. And in some cases mentioned he wasn’t even in charge.
Welcome back to the future. In the Twilight Zone your special forces and their friends may be my enemies or to use the more easy post 9/11 shortcut: terrorists. Let’s see if it is quite as easy to get us back there.
An attempt at a portrait of Qassem Suleimani by Dexter Filkins, September 2013
The Shadow Commander
Qassem Suleimani is the Iranian operative who has been reshaping the Middle East. Now he’s directing Assad’s war in Syria.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/09/30/the-shadow-commander
His for me new and somewhat varing image from true-believer-to-true-believer was that the he created Shia Crescent almost singlehandedly with his terrorist group. Well post 9/11 it wasn’t yet called that. It was according to e.g. Mr. Faster Please: forward brave soldiers, first let’s take Syria and then Iran.
Rest in Peace General.
One can only hope that this was Trump’s way of giving the Neocons enough rope to hang themselves. Every time he makes noises about leaving the middle east they call for his head. So the next best thing is to arrange to get kicked out. An ugly and dangerous way to do it though. He does seem to have a blind rage for Iran so perhaps he actually does want to start a war with them. Too many moving pieces to tell…
Why is Tucker Carlson the only media personality in the mainstream media who calls it as it should on so many topics?
https://www.foxnews.com/media/tucker-carlson-blasts-washington-establishment-for-pushing-war-with-iran.amp
Colonel Lang called it. As per somebody on Twitter, Soleimani’s handwritten will reads:
“My wife, I have chosen my burial place in the cemetery of the Martyrs of Kerman, Mahmoud knows it. I want my gravestone to be simple. Just write ‘Soldier Qassem Soleimani.’ No more titles and phrases.”
Sir,
Trump broke some serious norms here. As you note Soleimani was an active duty Iranian general and killed by US forces who are supposedly in Iraq to train Iraqi military personnel.
Conservative commentator Mike Cernovich sates:
https://twitter.com/cernovich/status/1213385440805310464?s=21
Would the Iranian retribution list include the big ziocon financiers? That would be a gamechanger as the new rules of assassination extended to the Party of Davos.
It has to be aimed at the low IQ individuals. So this guy was just another evil mustache man: Hitler, Stalin, Castro, Ho, Saddam, Bin Laden, etc.
This is the conditioning. Almost a century’s worth.
The man was a legitimate target and he died with his boots on.
Hopefully we don’t go all Guns of August. Hell of a way to start what was already going to be a crazy year.
More concerning to me: is it true that Trump told the Zionists before he told anyone in our Congress? What do the “Constitutional Conservatives” have to say about that?
Vegetius
“More concerning to me: is it true that Trump told the Zionists before he told anyone in our Congress?” Tell me about that.
It might be a good idea for the Rich and Powerful to cancel the 2020 party weekend at Davos.
Yes, I would be interested too. Maybe not for quite the same reasons.
Is that the earlier Publius Flavius?