General Qassam Suleimani & Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis have just been killed by a US missile strike on Baghdad International Airport. Civilians were also killed.
Gen. Suleimani was the head of IRGC Quds Forces & the most powerful figure in Iran's military & some say in the Middle East. He spearheaded the fight against ISIS in Iraq in 2014.
Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis was the head of Kata'ib Hezbollah & the Popular Mobilisation Committee - they take part in the Iraqi government & are part of Iraq's military forces. Al-Muhandis headed the 2nd largest bloc in the Iraqi parliament. He was the most powerful Iraqi commander in the fight against ISIS.
Bonus:
Gen. Suleimani in Tikrit in 2015. Then the Iranians and US worked together, alongside Iraqis, France and U.K., to destroy ISIS and take back the city.
Gen. Suleimani also helped the US fight the Taliban.
The United States has just killed the individual most responsible for defeating ISIS in Iraq.
Comments
(Old Spike)
Western media will rinse & repeat the DoD's statement
(Old Spike)
Iranian Foreign Minister statement:
(Old Spike)
Major General Qassam Suleimani was the most revered public figure in Iran....
CISS Maryland poll of Iranian popular opinion from October 2019:
(Old Spike)
What happens now?
Iran has declared 3 days of national mourning. After that the US presence in Iraq & Syria will become a lot more precarious. The recent NDAA (National Defense Authorisation Act) removed a clause that forbade the president from going to war with Iran.
Who wins?
Israel, the neocons who took the US to war with Iraq & anyone holding oil futures.
(Long Spike)
Attacks a US embassy, acts suprized when an they get Droned
(Old Spike)
Trump didn't even know what Quds Forces are 4 years ago, or who the guy is who he just murdered.
(Old Spike)
That was not a smart move if the US intends to keep peace and negotiations alive.
It was the "right move" if they want full blown confrontation.
I guess trump wants "his" war to be bigger than those of his predecessors so my money is on the latter. He also desperately needs voters....
(Old Spike)
Even that could backfire. He ran on a "bring the troops home" ticket & if they start coming home in body bags, and the war is contained to the Middle East, it could finally be a time the US votes against a wartime president.
(Long Spike)
As long as their was a plan or strategy....