Let’s be clear about something. General Soleimani and Iran are not innocents here. Iran has been supporting terror groups for decades, and Soleimani has been a leader in that effort for years.
As commander of Iran’s Quds Force, Soleimani has been a key figure in working with paramilitary, militia, and terror groups in the Middle East. He has been involved with the Syrian/Iraqi conflicts and is responsible for the deaths of many people including American and Allied personnel. To be blunt, Soleimani has a lot of blood on his hands.
The United States has been monitoring him for years. Presidents George W Bush and Barack Obama apparently considered taking him out but decided against it due to the risk of inciting war with Iran.
Thing is, just because a person or place in a conflict may be a legitimate target, doesn’t mean actually taking them out is wise.
Being a high ranking Iranian General complicates the situation which is why previous presidents monitored Soleimani but did not try to remove him.
Trump’s doing so now has escalated already strained relations with Iran. The fact that Trump had already removed the US from the Iran Nuclear deal makes the situation even more precarious.
While the nuclear deal was not perfect to say the least, I do think it was the best option to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
Now that America has taken out Soleimani, I suspect Iran will likely reinitialize it’s nuclear weapons program.
I fear that the Trump Administration’s actions with regards to Iran the last couple of years has increased the likelihood that Iran will become a nuclear power (a scary proposition).
I can’t help but wonder: why take out Soleimani now? Is it a coincidence that Trump ordered the attack with the Senate Impeachment Trial looming? Maybe, maybe not.
Even if it is a coincidence, I am concerned that the attack on Soleimani will likely worsen the situation with Iran (and the Middle East in general), not improve it.
Views and Observations 