Well, he has some smoking hot shoes to fill!
Soleimani and al-Muhandis were in the act of making war on the United States. Not just plotting it, though there was plenty of that going on, too.
In late 2019, the Hezbollah Brigades, backed by Soleimani, carried out repeated attacks on U.S. coalition forces in Iraq. There were
11 attacks on bases housing U.S. military personnel in just the last two months. As the Defense Department has recounted, these included “a 30-plus rocket attack on an Iraqi base near Kirkuk that
resulted in the death of a U.S. citizen and injured four U.S. service members” as well as members of the Iraqi security forces.
In response, American forces carried out
missile strikes against Hezbollah Brigades targets in Iraq and Syria.
After vowing revenge, the Iranian backed jihadist militias
stormed the U.S. embassy in Baghdad. Though foiled in the attempt to replicate the
1979 attack in Tehran, in which our embassy was breached and hostages were taken, the brigades — shouting the menacing Iranian refrain “Death to America!” — did significant damage. They burned the outer walls, checkpoint and reception area, smashed windows, and trapped hundreds of diplomatic personnel.
The brigades left graffiti on the walls bragging about the participation of Soleimani and the “Popular Mobilization Commission.” President Trump
warned on Twitter that Iran would be held accountable and would “pay a very BIG PRICE.” Iran’s “supreme leader,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, scoffed in reply, “You can’t do anything.”
He may want to rethink that one.
Targeting Soleimani: Trump was justified, legally and strategically
Tweet Often and Carry A Big Stick