#Death Of Suleimani

[misfitwashere]

Here's how Trump's vengeance machine works 

He's the mob boss who keeps his hands clean while others do his dirty work. 

ROBERT REICH

JAN 24

Friends,

Sorry to intrude on you again today, but now that we have come to the end of the first week of Trump II, there’s much to say about the new regime. 

For one thing, Trump’s vengeance machine is even more dangerous than it was before.

The Biden administration had given security protection to Trump’s former secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, his former top aide, Brian Hook, and Trump’s former national security advisor, John Bolton. That was because of credible intelligence showing all three in danger of being killed by agents of Iran. During the first Trump administration, they had authorized the drone strike that killed the powerful Iranian general Oassim Suleimani in early 2020, and Iran is out to get them. 

The outgoing Biden administration privately told the incoming Trump administration that the threat against the three continued. “As recently as the end of last week, two separate government representatives, two separate government agencies called,” Bolton told The New York Times. “They said our current assessment is that the threat level remains the same.”

But on Tuesday, with no explanation, Tump revoked their security protection. They are now at the mercy of Iranian agents in America. 

What had they done to deserve this treatment by Trump? They had committed the sin (in Trump’s mind) of being more loyal to America than to him.

Pompeo had warned Republicans at the Conservative Political Action Conference in 2023 not to look to "celebrity leaders" with "fragile egos. Hook was part of the old Republican foreign-policy establishment (Trump fired Hook on Monday). Bolton had become an outspoken critic Trump. 

If you think Trump’s nominee for FBI director, Kash Patel, will protect them from violence, think again. All three are on Patel’s enemies list, which is basically Trump’s enemies list. (I’ll have more to say about Patel next week when he’s up for senate hearings.)

This is how the Trump vengeance machine works. Trump is the mob boss who keeps his hands clean while others do his dirty work. 

Who else is likely to do Trump’s dirty work? 

Trump has pardoned all the men who attacked the U.S. Capitol on his behalf on January 6, 2021. Trump says they were not violent and did not have weapons — but the world saw their violence; they were also caught on video. Nearly 175 used dangerous or deadly weapons, according to prosecutors. 

They also threw Nazi salutes, posted they intended to start a civil war, vowed “there will be blood,” and called for the lynching of Democratic lawmakers. 

They attacked police with flag poles, bear spray, and a metal whip. They choked officers with their bare hands. They were convicted for, among other things, “hurling officers down a flight of stairs and plotting to kill FBI agents investigating the attacks.” 

A video shows them attacking Officer Michael Fanone, who suffered a heart attack and traumatic brain injury that day. Later he and his family received death threats after he testified in Congress on the incident. They beat Police Officer Daniel Hodges and crushed him in a door, his mouth filled with blood while he cried out for help. 

Now, courtesy of Trump, all these thugs are back on the street. Does anyone really think they will live out the rest of their lives peacefully?

Some of the police officers, including those who testified in January 6 cases, have said they fear for their safety now that the insurrectionists have been released.

“I JUST GOT THE NEWS FROM MY LAWYER… I GOT A PARDON BABY! THANK YOU PRESIDENT TRUMP!!!” Jacob Chansley, dubbed the QAnon shaman as a reflection of his horned-animal headdress and body paint that day, posted on X. “NOW I AM GONNA BY SOME MOTHA FU*KIN GUNS!!! I LOVE THIS COUNTRY!!! GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!!” 

Jackson Reffitt, who reported his father Guy’s participation in the January 6 riot and was a key witness against him, told reporters he fears for his life now that his father is free.

When Stewart Rhodes, leader of the Oath Keepers, was sentenced to 18 years in prison for his role in the riot, the judge said: “You are smart, you are charismatic and compelling and frankly that’s what makes you dangerous. The moment you are released, whenever that may be, you will be ready to take up arms against your government.” And, presumably, arms against Trump’s enemies. 

How many nut-jobs does it take to physically attack someone whom Trump has deemed an enemy? Just ask Paul Pelosi. 

Trump doesn’t deliver violence himself. He just says awful things about a person who has crossed him, like Nancy Pelosi, knowing this will be enough to trigger threats or actual violence by one of his followers. 

Ask the judges and prosecutors who have tried to hold him responsible. 

It doesn’t matter if the awful things Trump says about them are outright lies. In 2018, Trump tweeted a video of Rep. Ilhan Omar that falsely claimed she was dancing on the anniversary of 9/11. She received death threats.

Trump directs his mob with winks and nods. “You had some very fine people on both sides,” he says, reassuring violent bigots where his sympathies lie. 

“Stand back and stand by,” he says, teeing up the thugs, and then: "Big protest in D.C. on January 6th Be there, will be wild!" 

His henchman Elon Musk gives a Nazi salute and then denies that’s what he meant, but the neo-Nazis get the message. 

Trump’s vengeance machine isn’t only about retribution. It’s also intended to intimidate Trump critics — force them to think twice before sounding any alarms, and chill public knowledge or debate about what Trump is doing. 

Be warned. Be safe. And to the extent you can, protect people Trump slams. 

[ivankahasbeentreatedsounfairly]

By Eric Schmitt and David E. Sanger

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has told Gen. Mark A. Milley, the retired chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, that he is removing his security detail, revoking his security clearance, and ordering an inspector general inquiry into his record, the Pentagon said late Tuesday.

Mr. Hegseth’s spokesman, John Ullyot, said in a statement that the secretary directed the investigation to determine whether “it is appropriate” to review the rank upon retirement for General Milley, who stood up to President Trump in his first term. Essentially, Mr. Hegseth is asking whether General Milley should be demoted.

“We have received the request and we are reviewing it,” Mollie Halpern, a spokeswoman for the acting Defense Department inspector general, said of the referral to examine General Milley’s actions as chairman.

The general retired in 2023, and at a ceremony marking the occasion he reminded troops that they took an oath to the Constitution and not to a “a king, or a queen, or to a tyrant or dictator, and we don’t take an oath to a wannabe dictator.” Senior Pentagon officials late Tuesday sought to cast Mr. Milley as an insubordinate political operator while in the chairman’s job.

“Undermining the chain of command is corrosive to our national security, and restoring accountability is a priority for the Defense Department under President Trump’s leadership,” Joe Kasper, Mr. Hegseth’s chief of staff, said in a statement late Tuesday.

General Milley could not be reached for comment on Tuesday.

Just days before General Milley’s retirement ceremony, Mr. Trump, then still planning a political comeback, suggested that the general had committed treason and should be put to death.

Amid continued threats from Mr. Trump of retribution against his enemies upon returning to office, General Milley received a pre-emptive pardon from President Joseph R. Biden Jr. hours before he left office last week. (In his first week back in the White House, Mr. Trump had the general’s portrait removed from the hallway in the Pentagon outside the chairman’s offices.)

Since General Milley has been pardoned, he cannot be court-martialed. But a finding against him could lead to a decision to reduce his rank, even in retirement.

General Milley and other former Trump administration officials had been assigned government security details because they remained under threat following the U.S. drone strike that killed the powerful Iranian general Qassim Suleimani in early 2020.

Two Republican Senate allies of President Trump urged him on Sunday to rethink his decision to strip security details from the former advisers who have been targeted by Iran, saying the move could chill his current aides from doing their jobs effectively.

Senator Tom Cotton, Republican of Arkansas and the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, spoke after Mr. Trump abruptly halted government security protection for three officials from his first term who were involved in his Iran policy and have remained under threat.

Fox News earlier reported that Mr. Hegseth was moving to revoke General Milley’s security detail and order the inspector general review.

As the newly sworn-in defense secretary, Mr. Hegseth has been a sharp critic of General Milley.

General Milley’s split with Mr. Trump had its roots in his decision to apologize also for inserting himself into politics when he walked alongside Mr. Trump in 2020, through Lafayette Square, for a photo op after the authorities used tear gas and rubber bullets to clear the area of peaceful protesters. “I should not have been there,” he said later. “My presence in that moment and in that environment created a perception of the military involved in domestic politics.”

Mr. Trump’s supporters have also attacked General Milley over his contacts with his Chinese counterpart during the first Trump administration, assuring them that the United States was not seeking to strike them, or trigger a military crisis.

General Milley, 66, was promoted to chairman of the Joint Chiefs by Mr. Trump in 2019. At the time, the president was impressed with his military record and his bearing. But he quickly soured on him. A book published by Philip Rucker and Carol Leonnig, “I Alone Can Fix It,” reported that General Milley was worried that President Trump might attempt to stage a coup after he lost the 2020 election. He made efforts to ensure a peaceful transfer of power, and issued a statement condemning the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol.

[sarkos]

U.S. intelligence agencies were tracking what they considered a potential Iranian assassination plot against former President Donald J. Trump in the weeks before a gunman opened fire last weekend, several officials said on Tuesday, but they added that they did not believe the threat was related to the shooting that wounded Mr. Trump. The intelligence had prompted the Secret Service to enhance security for the former president before his outdoor campaign rally in Butler, Pa., on Saturday, officials said. Yet whatever additional measures were taken did not stop a 20-year-old local man from clambering on top of a nearby warehouse roof to shoot at Mr. Trump, grazing his right ear and coming close to killing him. The Trump campaign was told about the threat not long before Saturday’s shooting, according to a person briefed on the situation. The latest threat stems from Iran’s longstanding desire to take revenge for the strike ordered by Mr. Trump in 2020 that killed Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani, the Iranian security and intelligence commander responsible for the deaths of hundreds of American troops over the years. Reported Iranian threats against Trump administration officials like Mike Pompeo, the former secretary of state, and John R. Bolton, the former national security adviser, have resulted in government security details even after they left office. “As we have said many times, we have been tracking Iranian threats against former Trump administration officials for years, dating back to the last administration,” Adrienne Watson, a spokeswoman for the National Security Council, said in a statement. “These threats arise from Iran’s desire to seek revenge for the killing of Qassim Suleimani. We consider this a national and homeland security matter of the highest priority.”

U.S. Detected Iranian Plot to Kill Trump Separate From Last Weekend’s Shooting - The New York Times

What a world that the security at Butler was “enhanced“, but the last attack on American soil  I can recall labelled as Iranian was a quarter century ago

[businesspr]

Iran Holds Day of Mourning for Those Killed at Suleimani Memorial

Officials lowered the death toll from the two blasts from 103 to 84, but said the count could still rise with so many people having been badly injured. source https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/04/world/middleeast/iran-mourns-general-suleimani.html

[antonio-velardo]

Antonio Velardo shares: Iran Holds Day of Mourning for Those Killed at Suleimani Memorial by Vivian Yee

By Vivian Yee Officials lowered the death toll from the two blasts from 103 to 84, but said the count could still rise with so many people having been badly injured. Published: January 4, 2024 at 06:07AM from NYT World https://ift.tt/MPCpU4o via IFTTT

[bhaskarhindinews]

World War III: युद्ध की तरफ खड़ी है दुनिया ? खाड़ी देशों में अमेरिका ने भेजे सैनिक, ईरान बोला- हमला करेंगे

हाईलाइट

लगभग 3500 सैनिकों की तैनाती करेगा अमेरिका

सुलेमानी के साथ इराकी मिलिशिया के कमांडर अबू महदी अल-मुहांदिस भी मारे गए

अमेरिका-ईरान के विवाद के बाद  ट्वीटर पर वर्ल्डवॉर-3 ट्रेंड कर रहा है और पूरी दुनिया के लोग चिंता कर रहे हैं। अमेरिका ने अपने सैनिक खाड़ी देशों में भेजना शुरु कर दिया है। वहीं ईरान ने भी बदला लेने की चेतावनी दी है। ऐसे में स्थिति भयावह होती नजर आ रही है। ईरानी मेजर जनरल कासिम सुलेमानी की मौत के बाद अमेरिका मध्यपूर्व में लगभग 3,500 और सैनिकों को तैनात करेगा। समाचार एजेंसी सिन्हुआ के मुताबिक, एनबीसी न्यूज ने शुक्रवार को बताया कि 82 वें एयरबोर्न डिवीजन से अतिरिक्त ��ैनिकों को इराक, कुवैत और क्षेत्र के अन्य हिस्सों में तैनात किया जाएगा। एनबीसी न्यूज ने अमेरिकी अधिकारियों का हवाला देते हुए कहा कि सैनिक इस क्षेत्र में पहले से तैनात 650 अन्य लोगों के साथ शामिल होंगे और करीब 60 दिनों तक रहेंगे।

[kayaschaap]

Events featured in the supercut:

Jan. 1: One of the worst fire seasons in Australian history continues as thousands of people evacuate and millions of acres burn.

Jan. 3: Iranian Gen. Qassem Suleimani, leader of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force, is killed in a U.S. airstrike in Iraq.

Jan. 14: Democratic presidential candidates meet in Des Moines for the first debate of 2020.

Jan. 15: The U.S. House votes to send articles of impeachment (abuse of power and obstruction of Congress) against President Trump to the U.S. Senate.

Jan. 26: Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, and seven others die in a helicopter crash near Calabasas.

Jan. 30: The World Health Organization declares the coronavirus outbreak a public health emergency.

March 9: Italy places itself on a nationwide quarantine to slow the spread of coronavirus. The Dow Jones industrial average plunges more than 2,000 points.

March 11: The World Health Organization declares the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic.

March 13: President Trump declared the coronavirus a national emergency.

March 13: Breonna Taylor is shot and killed in her home in Louisville, Ky., by police serving a narcotics warrant in search of a suspected drug dealer.

March 24: The 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo are suspended until 2021.

March 25: The Senate and the White House agree to a $2-trillion stimulus package to boost the economy, the largest stimulus package in U.S. history.

April 3: The CDC recommends that everyone consider wearing cloth or fabric face masks in public.

April 30: Armed protesters enter the state Capitol in Lansing, Michigan, to demand an end to the pandemic lockdown.

May 3: The U.S. faces invasion of “murder hornets,” which threaten domestic bees.

May 25: Minneapolis police officer is filmed while pressing his knee on the neck of George Floyd for about eight minutes, killing him, as three other officers stand by. Video of Floyd’s death goes viral; the four officers are fired the next day.

May 28: A state of emergency is declared in Minneapolis-St. Paul as protests over the death of George Floyd and racial injustice spread nationwide.

May 28: A state of emergency is declared in Minneapolis-St. Paul as protests over the death of George Floyd and racial injustice spread nationwide.

Sept. 6: California sets a new record for destruction by wildfires, with 2.1 million acres burning.

Sept. 18: Long-serving Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg dies at 87.

Sept. 29: Shouting, insults and misinformation, mostly by President Trump, dominate the first presidential debate.

Oct. 16: Coronavirus cases in the United States surpass 8 million.

Nov. 9: Pfizer says early data on its coronavirus vaccine candidate suggest the shots may be 90% effective at preventing the disease.

Nov. 16: Hurricane Iota makes landfall in Nicaragua as a Category 4 storm, just two weeks after Hurricane Eta hit, devastating the same areas.

Dec. 14: The electoral college confirms Joe Biden’s victory over President Trump.

Dec. 18: FDA authorizes the emergency use of a COVID-19 vaccine developed by Moderna and the National Institutes of Health.

[grootpoepjeplasjehoofd]

The attack appears to have been an airstrike that hit two vehicles, the officer said.

According to a general with the Iraqi Joint Command, General Suleimani and Mr. Ridha, the militia public relations official, arrived by plane at Baghdad International Airport from Syria.

Two cars stopped at the bottom of the airplane steps and picked them up. Mr. al-Muhandis was in one of the cars.

As the two cars left the airport, they were bombed, the general said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters.

The strike was the second attack at the airport within hours.

An earlier attack, late Thursday, involved three rockets that did not appear to have caused any injuries.

The strikes come days after American forces bombed three outposts of Kataib Hezbollah, an Iranian-supported militia in Iraq and Syria, in retaliation for the death of an American contractor in a rocket attack last week near the Iraqi city of Kirkuk.

The United States said that Kataib Hezbollah fired 31 rockets into a base in Kirkuk Province, last week, killing an American contractor and wounding several American and Iraqi servicemen.

The Americans responded by bombing three sites of the Khataib Hezbollah militia near Qaim in western Iraq and two sites in Syria. Khataib Hezbollah denied involvement in the attack in Kirkuk.

Pro-Iranian militia members then marched on the American Embassy on Tuesday, effectively imprisoning its diplomats inside for more than 24 hours while thousands of militia members thronged outside. They burned the embassy’s reception area, planted militia flags on its roof and scrawled graffiti on its walls.

They withdrew late Wednesday afternoon.

President Trump said on Tuesday that Iran would “be held fully responsible” for the attack on the embassy, in which protesters set fire to a reception building on the embassy compound, which covers more than 100 acres. He also blamed Tehran for directing the unrest.

[awed-frog]

Donald Trump may act like a schoolyard bully and an impetuous infant, but he is not the only one to blame for recklessly bringing the world closer to a catastrophic war. Trump’s actions would not have been possible without the deep infrastructure for war that lies at the core of the American political system, especially since 2001.

After the “War on Terror” began, the United States – already a deeply militarized country – essentially abdicated public deliberations of war and peace when Congress passed the Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF). The executive branch has been invoking the AUMF for almost two decades as its primary legal basis for military operations around the world.

The legal infrastructure of waging war – notably assassination by drone...was legally expanded and entrenched by none other than Barack Obama. Considerable responsibility lies with Obama and all those within the Democratic establishment who continued the march toward today’s manifestation of the imperial presidency, which itself began under George W Bush.

And, of course, Iran would not even be a powerbroker in Iraq if Bush and his administration had not overseen what is one of the largest crimes against humanity of our time: namely, the invasion, occupation, and destruction of Iraq. With over a million of their people dead, their country in ruins, and corruption rampant, the Iraqi people are the unheralded victims of the recent strike.

There is no doubt that the Iranian regime carries out a merciless foreign policy across the Middle East. Suleimani won’t be missed by many – especially in Syria, where he assisted the Assad regime’s bloody prosecution of the Syrian civil war – but he will soon be replaced. The irony – or is it more of a tragedy? – is that until this assassination there were budding signs of possible thaws and shifts in the region. Iran and Saudi Arabia were engaged in peace talks in Pakistan, and while the talks hadn’t yet yielded a positive outcome, they had been putting pressure on both Iran and Saudi Arabia to hash out a shared vision for Yemen’s future. At the same time, some of the largest anti-government protests Iran has seen in years also took place. All of this will probably now evaporate.

I worry for what comes next and I already lament the unnecessary deaths, from all sides, that will inevitably come. But, in the United States at least, nothing will change as long as our culture worships war without its consequences and as long as our politicians believe that war is good for their careers.

[loudlytransparenttrash]

Donald Trump may have perfectly played the Iran conflict. He’s been criticized for different reasons by the left and the right but it seems like Trump has effectively ended Iran’s continuing escalations without putting more American lives on the line. If this is where it ends, it’s a major win for Trump. 

Viewers of mainstream media were quick to assume Trump had just ignited the start of World War III. Of course, that couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, Trump’s actions in Iran proved to be critical in deterring war. The media were quick to focus on Trump’s supposed “random” “assassination” of a “revered military figure” and called it an “act of war” but even today, none have bothered to cover the crucial details that led up to that decision.

Last May, Iran began deterring, seizing and attacking ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz, a channel for a third of the world’s petroleum, including bombing three oil tankers. One of the ships was set to deliver oil to the U.S. In June, Iran shot down a U.S. drone. Trump ordered and then called off retaliatory strikes. In September, rebels attacked Abqaiq, the massive Saudi oil processing facility, resulting in a loss of 5 percent of the world’s oil production. Germany, the U.K. and France concluded that Iran was behind the attacks. In November, Iran announced they were increasing the enrichment of uranium, ignoring the limits in their nuclear agreement. Finally, in December, Iran attacked U.S. interests in Iraq, killed an American contractor and then used proxies to directly attack the U.S. embassy. After every Iranian attack, Trump decided against retaliation, so Iran pushed harder, eventually doing the one thing Trump used to draw his red line. Rather than push, Trump punched back, just as he promised he would.  

In May, Trump sent Mike Pompeo to deliver a message to Iran that if even one American were killed by the regime or its proxies, there’d be a U.S. military counterattack. Trump kept his word. Every one of these attacks crossed the red line Trump had set for Iran and each deserved a strong response. But Trump chose not to, until they killed an American citizen and attacked the embassy. Yet the media and Democrat politicians pretended it was a random and unlawful stunt by Trump and frequently suggested Iran is now justified to do whatever they wish in their own retaliation, and it’s all Trump’s fault. They’ve even gone so far to blame Trump for Iran shooting down the Ukrainian plane.

Democrat Jackie Speier appeared on CNN declaring that Iran shooting down Flight 752 “is yet another example of collateral damage from the actions that have been taken in a provocative way by the President of the United States.” 2020 Democratic contender Pete Buttigieg hinted at a similar notion, tweeting, “Innocent civilians are now dead because they were caught in the middle of an unnecessary and unwanted military tit for tat.” He also insinuated that Trump’s decision was unlawful. Another 2020 Democrat candidate, Amy Klobuchar, also falsely claimed Trump had acted without congressional authority. Elizabeth Warren described Soleimani simply as “a senior foreign military official” that was “assassinated” by the “reckless president” and blamed it all on Trump’s “escalations.” First off, American troops are lawfully in Iraq, the airstrike was duly authorized, justified and in no need of congressional authorization. Second, there was no “crossfire.” Iran was the only one shooting missiles. Trying to equate or tie America into Iran killing 176 people to “own” Trump is sick. Also, what’s up with making a terrorist leader out to be a decent guy? 

Soleimani was the head of the Quds Force, a unit of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a terrorist organization. For more than two decades, Suleimani provided Islamic terrorists in Iraq with rockets, bombs and projectiles designed to slice through American tanks. In 2011, he was sanctioned for plotting to kill the Saudi Ambassador to the United States. Suleimani also provided arms and aid to Hezbollah and Hamas - the terrorist groups hellbent on destroying Israel and killing Jews - and orchestrating their operations throughout the Middle East. He rallied militias in Pakistan, Yemen and Afghanistan whose members were deployed to fight against the U.S. He glorified jihad, personally funded and empowered terrorists groups which killed hundreds of American soldiers. 

Media reports shared the Iranian propaganda that Iranian citizens were saddened by the death of Soleimani. NBC News showcased the “huge crowds” that turned out to allegedly mourn Soleimani’s death. CNN also reported, “crowds swarm Tehran to mourn slain Iran military leader Soleimani.” These reports conveniently omit the fact that most of this crowd was forced to attend Soleimani’s mourning. A free Iranian journalist wrote that the government forced students and officials to attending Soleimani’s funeral by busing students in and ordering businesses closed. “According to videos sent to me by people inside the country, the authorities are making kids write essays praising the fallen commander. First-graders who didn’t know how to write were encouraged to cry for Soleimani.” 

Over the weekend, as a result of the confession from Iran that it did in fact kill the 176 passengers after denying any wrongdoing and accusing America of a false flag and “psychological warfare,” hundreds of Iranians took to the street, demanding that their leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei step down. Videos circulating Twitter feature Iranian students gathered outside their university in Tehran, shouting “Commander-in-Chief resign, resign.” While the American left blames Trump for everything that has gone wrong in Iran, Iranian protesters continue to fiercely condemn the Iranian regime. Much to the left’s shock, Iranians aren’t sharing their same level of hatred of America and Trump, that’s why not a single Democrat has mentioned the protests. In a recent video, it shows university students in Tehran refusing to tread on the American flag. Also, Trump’s tweet of support to the protesters quickly became the most liked tweet ever in the region. These protests are especially monumental considering 1,500 Iranian protesters were killed in less than two weeks late last year. 

The day after America responded, Trump said: “We took action last night to stop a war. We did not take action to start a war. Iran appears to be standing down, which is a good thing for all parties concerned and a very good thing for the world.” This does not sound like a guy trying to begin a world war, as many have stated. Donald Trump is many things but he’s not an ideologue. He stood by for months while Iran took increasingly belligerent actions that threatened world oil markets and shipping channels. The president gave a clear warning to Iran that his red line was the loss of an American life. Iran crossed that line and Trump responded forcefully. It’s extremely likely that the Iranian regime would have pressed forward with more brazen attacks if Trump didn’t respond. There's still time that it might but in the wake of Iran’s weak response, it appears that Trump pushed back just hard enough to send a strong message to the Iranians without entangling America in another unwanted war. For now, Trump’s plan has worked. Just don’t expect the media to ever admit it. 

[xf-2]

2020年1月3日、米軍の無人機がイラクの首都バグダッドにあるバグダッド国際空港を攻撃し、イラン革命防衛隊コッズ部隊のカセム・ソレイマニ司令官と、親イラン派民兵「人民動員隊」（PMF）のアブ・マフディ・ムハンディス副司令官を殺害した。

　コッズ部隊はイラン革命防衛隊の特殊工作部隊で、主に海外での破壊工作を担当している。PMFはそんなコッズ部隊の指揮下にあるイラクのシーア派民兵の集合体である。ムハンディス副司令官は、その中でも最強硬派の「カタイブ・ヒズボラ」の司令官だ。

イラク、イランの位置（Googleマップ）

拡大画像表示

ギャラリーページへ発端はイラクの「反イラン」デモ

　カタイブ・ヒズボラは2019年12月27日にイラク北部・キルクークの米軍基地をロケット砲で攻撃して軍属の米国人1人を殺害するなど、イラク駐留米軍への攻撃を繰り返してい���。対する米軍は翌28日にカタイブ・ヒズボラの拠点を空爆。それを受けて、同31日からは、在バグダッド米国大使館へのデモが発生。デモ隊は大使館の壁を放火したり、大使館内への侵入を試みたりするほど激化したが、このデモもPMF支持者が動員されたものだ。

　こうした事態に、米国のトランプ大統領は対応を迫られた。米紙「ニューヨーク・タイムズ」によると、トランプ大統領は12月29日にエスパー国防長官らから複数のプランを提示されたが、31日に米国大使館がデモ隊に襲撃されたことに激怒し、民兵の拠点への爆撃以上の作戦の検討を指示。最終的に1月2日夕刻、ソレイマニ司令官殺害の命令を下したという。

　同紙によれば、ソレイマニ殺害計画はもともと、大統領の選択肢を増やす目的で、国防当局がとりあえず含めていたものだったらしい。

　ソレイマニ殺害はたしかに事件としては衝撃的だったが、当然、そこに至った経緯はある。なにもトランプ大統領が唐突に決めたわけではない。

　まず、もともとは近年、イランがイラクでの影響力を拡大し、ほとんど「支配」するに至ってきたという背景があった。

　サダム・フセイン打倒後にイラクの政権を握ったシーア派政権はもともとイランとの関係は深かったが、2014年から本格化したISとの戦いで、さらにイランの影響力が拡大した。ISとの戦いにはイラク政府軍に加えてシーア派民兵が参戦している。その民兵組織「人民動員隊」（PMF）はイラク革命防衛隊コッズ部隊の指導下にあった。その工作を指揮していたのがソレイマニ司令官である。

　PMFはイラク政府の軍や治安部隊、警察に匹敵する勢力となり、IS敗走後のスンニ派地区で住民を虐待するなど、暴虐の限りを尽くした。その勢いはさらに強まり、2016年11月には、ほとんどイランの傀儡と化していたイラク国会で、PMFはイラク政府の正規の部隊と認定された。イラク政府もイランの強い影響下に置かれたが、同時に、ソレイマニ司令官はPMFを中心に強大な「支配権」を手に入れていた。

　その後、2017年7月にモスルが奪還されると、2018年から2019年にかけてISは壊滅。イランのイラクでの影響力はますます強化された。

そんななか、2019年10月、バグダッドを中心に大規模な反政府デモが発生した。その反政府デモは従来の宗派対立ではなく、腐敗したイラク政府への批判のデモだった。しかし、前述したように現在のイラク政府はイランの強い影響下にあり、今回の反政府デモは“反イラン”デモの性格も帯びた。シーア派の聖地・ナジャフのイラン総領事館も放火され、当然、イラン側も危機感を高めた。今回のソレイマニ殺害��至る緊張のエスカレーションは、そもそもはこの“反イラン”デモが発端になっているといえる。

　まず、これらのデモを、イラク政府治安部隊とシーア派民兵が実弾で弾圧し、400人以上の死者を出した。弾圧を主導したのは民兵組織PMFである。

　こうしてイランの影響下にあるイラク内の勢力が、イラク国民を弾圧する状況で、PMF内の民兵が米軍を攻撃した。当然ながら、イラク国民の関心を駐留米軍に向けるためだろう。PMFが国内での住民弾圧のみならず、米軍にまで手を出す時に、「親分」であるソレイマニ司令官の指示を仰がないということは考えにくい。つまり、少なくともここからはソレイマニ司令官が指示もしくは承認したテロ作戦だった可能性がきわめて高いのだ。

　そして、それに対し、米軍が反撃したところ、在バグダッド米国大使館襲撃デモは起きた。こうして米軍とPMF＝ソレイマニ陣営との緊張は急速に高まっていた。

次なる作戦を準備していたソレイマニ

　以上をまとめると、構図としては以下のようになる。

◎イランがイラク政府を事実上、牛耳る ↓ ◎イラク民衆が腐敗したイラク政府を非難し反政府デモ ↓ ◎反政府デモが“反イラン”デモに拡大 ↓ ◎親イラン派民兵が、デモ隊を実弾で弾圧 ↓ ◎親イラン派民兵「カタイブ・ヒズボラ」が米軍基地をロケット弾攻撃 ↓ ◎米軍がカタイブ・ヒズボラの拠点数か所を空爆 ↓ ◎親イラン派が米国大使館にデモ。大使館に放火を図るなど過激化する。

　こうした状況で米軍は、親イラン派民兵司令官と合流していたソレイマニ司令官をピンポイント攻撃で殺害したという流れである。

ソレイマニに焦点を当てると、前述した構図解説は、以下のようにも書き換えられる。

◎イランがイラク政府を事実上、牛耳る。イラク国内でのイラン側の工作を取り仕切ったのがソレイマニ司令官 ↓ ◎イラク民衆が腐敗したイラク政府を非難し反政府デモ ↓ ◎反政府デモが“反イラン”デモに拡大 ↓ ◎ソレイマニ配下の民兵が、デモ隊を実弾で弾圧 ↓ ◎ソレイマニ配下の民兵が米軍基地をロケット弾攻撃 ↓ ◎米軍がソレイマニ配下の民兵の拠点数か所を空爆 ↓ ◎ソレイマニ配下の民兵支持者を中心に米国大使館にデモ。放火を図るなど過激化する

　こうした局面で、ソレイマニ司令官はバグダッドに入り、配下の民兵司令官と合流した。米軍への攻撃を繰り返している民兵のトップと合流したということは、次なる作戦の準備だろう。今回の件で米国防総省は「米国外交官や米軍に対する攻撃を防ぐためだった」と発表したが、それはそのとおりだ。

テロ・弾圧・殺人の張本人だったソレイマニ

　殺害されたソレイマニ司令官は、20年以上にわたりコッズ部隊を率いてきた破壊工作のプロである。イランのハメネイ最高指導者ともしばしば直接会見するなど、ハメネイの子飼い的な立場にあり、海外でのテロ作戦などの謀略・破壊工作の全権を任されていたものとみられる。

　コッズ部隊はイラクやシリアで数々の工作を行ってきたが、多くのケースでソレイマニ司令官が直接現地で指導していた姿が目撃されている。後方のオフィスから指示と出すというより、現場で工作を直接指揮するタイプなのだ。配下の民兵が今回のように駐留米軍へのテロ攻撃を仕掛けるなら、直接その監督に出向く。つまり、彼本人が超大物のテロ工作員といえる。

　今回の攻撃は、米国側からすれば、イラクで合法的に活動している米軍が、自らに対するテロ作戦を指揮していたイランのテロ工作員を、自衛のためにピンポイント攻撃で殺害したことになる。米国側は「差し迫った脅威があった」「米国の外交官や軍人に脅威がある以上、何もしないわけにはいかなかった」としている。

　また、ソレイマニ司令官は、イラクやシリアで多くの人々を弾圧し、殺害してきた、まさに張本人である。イラクでは配下のシーア派民兵がISと戦う過程でスンニ派住民を大規模に虐待・殺戮してきたが、そうした作戦自体をソレイマニ自身が指揮してきた。

　また、シリアでは一般住民を虐殺するアサド政権を、イランの勢力圏をシリアに拡大する目的で、一貫して支え続けた。アサド政権の戦力が脆弱な戦線に配下の民兵「ヒズボラ」を投入。さらにアサド政権が劣勢になると、ロシアと共謀して大規模介入し、アサド政権を死守した。いくつもの町を封鎖して住民に飢餓地獄を強いた残酷な作戦も、コッズ部隊が主導している。イラクではたしかにISと戦うという名目もあったが、シリアで戦ったのはISより、もっぱら反IS系の反政府勢力である。

　敵対する軍事組織よりも一般の住民を攻撃したこうした戦争犯罪を、ソレイマニ司令官が直接、指揮してきた。生きていれば、今後も彼の手によって多くの人々が殺害されることになっていただろう。今回のソレイマニ殺害に対し、イラクやシリアの各地では祝福する声も多く聞かれる（下のツイートを参照）。

Massive crowds in #Idlib northern Syria are celebrating the death of Qasem Suleimani by the American attacks last night. They’re celebrating the end of that bad guy who caused their displacement and killed their children and the lovely ones...

6,869人が��の話題について話しています

なお、イランによるイラクやシリアでのこうした戦争犯罪行為は、ハメネイ最高指導者が細かく立案・指揮してきたわけではない。そのほとんどが、ハメネイ最高指導者の承認の下で、ソレイマニ司令官が立案・実行してきた。彼がいなければ、イランがここまで近隣国に露骨に介入して多くの人々を殺害することもなかったかもしれない。ソレイマニ司令官の罪はきわめて重い。

ハメネイ最高指導者は報復を示唆

　ただ、米軍の今回の作戦への懸念もある。イランによる対外テロはトップの殺害で大きなダメージを受けるだろうが、ソレイマニ司令官はハメネイ最高指導者の子飼い的な大物であるため、革命防衛隊が報復に動くことが必至だからだ。

　実際、ハメネイ最高指導者はこの事態を受けてさっそく、報復を示唆するコメントを発表した。イランでは、ハメネイ最高指導者の言葉は重い。

　当面、イラク国内での米軍と親イラン派民兵との戦いは激しくなるだろう。

　このように、今回のイラン軍人殺害は、イランと米国の衝突のエスカレーションに繋がる危険があり、その評価には賛否両論ある。しかし、論点はまさにその部分だけだ。

　ソレイマニ司令官がこれまでどれほどテロ活動を主導してきたかを知れば、単に米国が一方的に理不尽な攻撃をしているとの批判はあたらない。前述したように、今回の攻撃への流れは、ソレイマニ司令官の配下の民兵組織が、反イラン・デモの高まりからイラク国民の目を背けるために米軍を攻撃したことから始まっている。

　また、彼がどれほど多くの人々の殺戮に直接手を染めてきたかを知れば、人道的にはソレイマニ司令官を排除したほうが、さらなる虐殺を防げることになるとさえいえる。

　1月3日、英国のラーブ外相は次のような声明を発表した。「われわれは常に、ソレイマニ司令官が率いたイランのコッズ部隊による好戦的な脅威を認識してきた」「ただし、彼の死後、すべての関係者に緊張緩和を要請する。さらなる対立は誰の利益にもならない」。

　日本のメディア解説では、中東専門家の多くが反米スタンスのため、とかくトランプ政権批判が中心になりがちだが、基本的にイランの問題は、核開発やテロ支援、宗派弾圧や独裁国支援のための戦争犯罪など、国際社会の安全に対して問題だらけの国家であるイランを、いかに封じるかの問題である。

　つまり、ソレイマニ殺害でイランを追い詰めることが、イラン対策上、戦略的に妥当か否かということで、そこは議論があるところだろう。

[reading-writing-revolution]

"One of the major justifications for murdering Suleimani is that he “caused the deaths of U.S. soldiers.” He was thus an aggressor, and could/should have been killed. That is where people like Pence want you to end your inquiry. But let us remember where those soldiers were. Were they in Miami? No. They were in Iraq. Why were they in Iraq? Because we illegally invaded and seized a country. Now, we can debate whether (1) there is actually sufficient evidence of Suleimani’s direct involvement and (2) whether these acts of violence can be justified, but to say that Suleimani has “American blood on his hands” is to say nothing at all without an examination of whether the United States was in the right."

[creepingsharia]

Leader of Iran-backed US embassy attack was welcomed by Barack Obama at White House in 2011

Hadi al-Amiri was of 'grave concern' to lawmakers as Obama's guest in 2011

Reports on Twitter state al-Amiri was taken into custody by U.S. Marines.

The leader of an Iran-backed US embassy siege in Baghdad was welcomed to the White House by Barack Obama eight years ago before becoming Tehran's 'point man' in Iraq.

Hadi al-Amiri was Iraq's minister of transport under then-Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and stood in the Oval Office as part of Maliki's delegation on a visit to the White House in December 2011.

On Tuesday, al-Amiri was among those leading the charge against the US embassy in Baghdad when it was stormed and set alight by pro-Iran militants. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo shared a photograph of Amiri amid the rioters, condemning him as an 'Iranian proxy,' and calling those shoulder-to-shoulder with him 'terrorists.'

The head of a leading pro-Iran Shia faction, Amiri exerts great power within Iraq's state-sanctioned Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) and was highlighted by Pompeo among three other men as the ringleaders of the siege.

The ease with which Amiri and these other commanders breezed through the heavily fortified 'Green Zone' has alarmed US officials, who have noted their militia's increased presence around diplomatic buildings in recent weeks.  

A former guerrilla fighter who fought for Tehran in the Iran-Iraq War, Amiri has been accused of terrorism against the US, of helping Iran to ship arms to Bashar al-Assad in Syria and has been pictured bowing before the Islamic Republic's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.  

As Commander of the Badr Corps, an Iranian vassal within the PMF, Amiri's men helped the US in their fight against ISIS in 2014 and 2015. But a recent spate of missile attacks by the Kataeb Hezbollah branch of the PMF, climaxing last Friday with the death of an American contractor at US base north of Baghdad, has revealed that Washington's friends in the region can soon become enemies. 

President Donald Trump ordered USAF jets to decimate Kataeb Hezbollah bases and 25 were killed on Sunday night. Amiri joined thousands who flocked to funerals for the fighters in the Iraqi capital on Tuesday and then spearheaded the crowds who rushed through the Green Zone and breached the US embassy.

The 65-year-old, who was of 'grave concern' to lawmakers as Obama's guest in 2011, stood at the forefront of riots which prompted Donald Trump to deploy 750 Army paratroopers on Wednesday, with another 4,000 on standby.

Amiri would have been well known to the Pentagon as the former commander of the Badr Corps, which received funding, training and arms from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), designated a terrorist group by Trump earlier this year. 

The transport minister from 2010 until 2014, Amiri's guerrilla past fighting on Tehran's side during the vicious Iran-Iraq War remained clear even in the seemingly innocuous government position.

He was allegedly acting on the orders of the fearsome IRGC Major General Qassem Suleimani by allowing Iranian jets to fly weapons to the Syrian regime during Bashar al-Assad's brutal crackdown on his own people. 

Amiri denied this, but told The New Yorker five years ago: 'I love Qassem Suleimani! ... He is my dearest friend.'

General James Mattis told the magazine that without allies like Amiri in the Iraqi government, Assad's government would have collapsed in the early years of the Syrian Civil War.

Amiri has since re-taken his role at the helm of the Badr Corps, which was previously the military wing of the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), and which is made up of thousands of pro-Iranian former officers and soldiers who fled Saddam Hussein's reign. 

Louis J. Freech, FBI director under the Clinton administration and into the early months of Bush's administration, had been stunned by Obama allowing Amiri to step foot in the White House.

He condemned it at the time saying that Amiri, along with the IRGC, was engaged in 'countless acts of terrorism, which are acts of war against the United States.'

Freech also said he would 'love to sit down and talk to him (Amiri), show him photographs and ask him questions,' with regards to the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing, which killed 19 USAF personnel in Saudi Arabia.

Iranians were not indicted for the attack and it was blamed on Saudi Hezbollah, another pro-Iran terror group.

--------------------------

Meanwhile, the aforementioned “fearsome IRGC Major General Qassem Suleimani” was vaporized in an air strike late Thursday.

Iran’s Gen. Soleimani killed in airstrike at Baghdad airport

Gen. Qassim Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force, was killed in an airstrike at Baghdad’s international airport Friday, Iraqi television and three Iraqi officials said.

The strike also killed Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis, the deputy commander of Iran-backed militias known as the Popular Mobilization Forces, or PMF, the officials said.

A senior Iraqi politician and a high-level security official confirmed to the Associated Press that Soleimani and Al-Muhandis were among those killed in the attack. Two militia leaders loyal to Iran also confirmed the deaths, including an official with the Kataeb Hezbollah, which was involved in the attack on the US Embassy this week.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Al-Muhandis had arrived to the airport in a convoy to receive Soleimani whose plane had arrived from either Lebanon or Syria. The airstrike occurred as soon as he descended from the plane to be greeted by Al-Muhandis and his companions, killing them all.

Pentagon confirmed the report.

Hussein Obama and John Kerry were down with Soleimani - who was a key part of the Iran Nuke deal, as reported at the time:

Obama Strikes a Deal--With Qassem Suleimani

[azspot]

More likely than not, Suleimani’s death will lead to an escalation of violence between the US and Iran. Tehran will retaliate — maybe not immediately, but eventually — putting Americans at risk. That will, in turn, likely lead to an escalation that puts thousands more in danger. Instead of “freedom,” then, everyone gets war.

Killing Suleimani underscores a neoconservative fantasy

[businesspr]

Who Was the Iranian General Qassim Suleimani?

General Suleimani, the powerful commander heading Iran’s Quds Force, was considered a hero by some in the country. The anniversary of his death has attracted horrific violence. source https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/03/world/middleeast/who-is-qassim-suleimani.html

[antonio-velardo]

Antonio Velardo shares: Who Was the Iranian General Qassim Suleimani? by Emma Bubola

By Emma Bubola General Suleimani, the powerful commander heading Iran’s Quds Force, was considered a hero by some in the country. The anniversary of his death has attracted horrific violence. Published: January 3, 2024 at 12:44PM from NYT World https://ift.tt/pL4gcBX via IFTTT