[ April 23, 2024 ]
Astonishing oped in the NY Times is support of President Trump’s actions. Trump’s critics immediately accused him of needlessly provoking Iran, arguing that Mr. Suleimani’s assassination could lead to war. This is an analysis that ignores the fact that Mr. Suleimani has been waging war on America and its allies for years and was directly engaged in the planning of attacks.
Daniel F opines, “The New York Times can be so bewildering. Hard to know what to make of them when an op-ed like this gets through their TDS hysteria. Maybe a key editor was away in the Hamptons or finally took his medication. Whatever, here is a rare piece that doesn’t try to make President Trump out to be a venal idiot. Quick, read it before it’s retracted.”
Trump’s Ground Game Against Iran
The assassination of Qassim Suleimani is a seismic event in the Middle East.By Michael Doran, The New York Times, Jan. 3, 2020
Story continues below advertisementMore than any other American military operation since the invasion of Iraq, the assassination yesterday of Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani, the head of Iran’s Qods Force of its Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, is a seismic event. The killings of Osama bin Laden and Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leaders of al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, were certainly meaningful, but they were also largely symbolic, because their organizations had been mostly destroyed. Taking out the architect of the Islamic Republic’s decades-long active campaign of violence against the United States and its allies, especially Israel, represents a tectonic shift in Middle Eastern politics.To see just how significant Mr. Suleimani’s death truly is, it helps to understand the geopolitical game he’d devoted his life to playing. In Lebanon, Mr. Suleimani built Lebanese Hezbollah into the powerful state within a state that we know today. A terrorist organization receiving its funds, arms and marching orders from Tehran, Hezbollah has a missile arsenal larger than that of most countries in the region. The group’s success has been astounding, helping to cement Iran’s influence not just in Lebanon but farther around the Arab world.
Building up on this successful experience, Mr. Suleimani spent the last decade replicating the Hezbollah model in Iraq, Syria and Yemen, propping up local militias with precision weapons and tactical know-how. In Syria, his forces have allied with Russia to prop up the regime of Bashar al-Assad, a project that, in practice, has meant driving over 10 million people from their homes and killing well over half a million. In Iraq, as we have seen in recent days, Mr. Suleimani’s militias ride roughshod over the legitimate state institutions. They rose to power, of course, after participating in an insurgency, of which he was the architect, against American and coalition forces. Hundreds of American soldiers lost their lives to the weapons that the Qods Force provided to its Iraqi proxies.
Mr. Suleimani built this empire of militias while betting that America would steer clear of an outright confrontation. This gambit certainly paid off under President Barack Obama, but it even seemed to be a safe bet under President Trump, despite his stated policy of “maximum pressure.” Mr. Trump was putting an economic squeeze on Iran, and popular protests in Iran, Iraq and Lebanon were adding to the pressure, but Mr. Suleimani assumed that, in the end, control of military assets would win the day. Mr. Trump, it seemed, feared getting sucked into a war. Washington, in short, lacked a ground game.
In September, Mr. Suleimani and his colleagues reportedly pressed their advantage by attacking a Saudi Arabian oil field, an act of war that went unanswered. He followed this up by orchestrating attacks by Iranian proxies on Americans. The Trump administration had said clearly that attacking Americans was a red line, but Mr. Suleimani had heard threats in the past from American leaders. He thought he could erase Mr. Trump’s red line.
His departure will make Iran much weaker. It will embolden the country’s regional rivals —primarily Israel and Saudi Arabia— to pursue their strategic interests more resolutely. It will also instill in the protesters in Iran, Lebanon and, especially, Iraq, the hope that they will one day wrest control of their governments from the talons of the Islamic Republic.
In Washington, the decision to kill Mr. Suleimani represents the final demise of Mr. Obama’s Middle East strategy, which sought to realign American interests with those of Iran. Mr. Obama’s search for a modus vivendi with Tehran never comported with the reality of the Islamic Republic’s fundamental character and regional ambitions. President Trump, by contrast, realized that Tehran’s goal was to replace America as the key player in the Middle East.
The United States has no choice, if it seeks to stay in the Middle East, but to check Iran’s military power on the ground. For a president elected on a platform of peace and prosperity, confronting Iran was not an easy decision to make. Mr. Trump would undoubtedly prefer to be negotiating with Iran over its nuclear program rather than ordering the assassination of its most famous general. But the president realized that securing America’s regional position required a strong and visible response to Mr. Suleimani’s escalations.
In fact, such a response was long overdue. I know from my own experience, as a former senior official in the White House and the Defense Department, that the United States had several past opportunities to kill Mr. Suleimani but each time decided against it. This restraint did not make the world safer. It only gave Mr. Suleimani more time to build his empire, and, moreover, it enhanced his mystique as a man with an almost superhuman ability to evade detection.
To no one’s surprise, Mr. Trump’s critics immediately accused him of needlessly provoking Iran, arguing that Mr. Suleimani’s assassination could lead to war. This is an analysis that ignores the fact that Mr. Suleimani has been waging war on America and its allies for years and was directly engaged in the planning of attacks.
The world to which we wake up today, rid of its most accomplished and deadly terrorist, is a better place. Nowhere is this insight more evident than throughout the Middle East, where individuals are posting joyous videos to social media, celebrating the death of the author of so much of their misery. We should all — even those among us who don’t particularly care for Mr. Trump — join them in their good cheer, and continue to repeal Mr. Suleimani’s murderous anti-American legacy.
Michael Doran (@Doranimated), a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, is the author of “Ike’s Gamble: America’s Rise to Dominance in the Middle East.”
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35 Comments
4 years ago
We now have a very clear picture of just who the true enemies within the USA are and their vitriol which is so great they will side with muslim terrorists over the President of the USA who is trying to defend this country and it’s citizens.
It is one thing to dislike the President but it is nothing but PURE TREASON to side with muslim terrorists over the USA.
Take names and remember who these people are just in case we ever get a functioning DOJ as they should be first on the list of treasonous suspects to be rounded up.
4 years ago
Reply to
Frank Jasie
I’ll second that, and it should be a squad that knows no national boundaries. We’ve got some up north of you all that need to be stood up against the wall
4 years ago
This is NOT the op of the New York Times editors, just a guy from a semi-conservative think tank. I suppose it is a big deal that they gave it space.
4 years ago
Reply to
DoghouseRiley9
Agree. They didn’t want to be caught supporting a terrorist , so they allowed this article so as to Appear to stand with America to con the pubilc.
But Left/Liberals support illegals/jihadis !
Left/Liberal are also making ISIS / jihadis happy by making beheading fashionable https://tinyurl.com/y7k93bs9
Insane ?
4 years ago
Reply to
DoghouseRiley9
Someone is sure to have their ass fired when the editor returns to duty.
4 years ago
Wow! I’m shocked!
Well, I’m happily shocked that they finally have an article that’s not Anti-Trump packed with lies.
4 years ago
The comments to this NYT editorial in the NYT’s should be a hoot.
4 years ago
Probably the most humane way to deal with the situation. He probably never knew what hit him, maybe an instant of pain before going off to meet the 72 virgins. Saved countless lives of innocents who would have been his future victims.
Iran has already been at war with us for 40 years, so arguments that this might start a war are absurd.
4 years ago
Be cautious… if a liberal doesn’t agree, it could be retracted and something that pleases them replace it.
4 years ago
If only Trump were president in 1964. We would most likely have stayed out of Vietnam and killed off Yassir Arafat. What a better world this would have been.
4 years ago
Globalists at the NYT hate Iran, just like they hate rank and file Americans. They bow to their Zionist masters like every other major American media outlet. America is effectively under occupation by a foreign power, and you “patriots” cheer. Pathetic, and un-American. Our founding fathers are rolling in their graves.
4 years ago
Reply to
John Dragon
“Zionist masters”? Get real! If the “Zionists” had that much power in the world, there wouldn’t *be* any Jew-hating Arabs left in the world.
4 years ago
Wow NYT can’t be. Someone must have spiked their drinks on New Years and they are still under the influence.
4 years ago
Reply to
Arcadia P
Or maybe somebody at the NYT realizes that The Masses are not with the Dems, and has decided to hedge his/her bets.
4 years ago
It is probably no more than a symbolic gesture, and one that the Left have used for decades, just to prove that they actually really have “open minds” and only publish authentic honest material. Just because your enemy actually tells you the truth for once does not make him your friend.
4 years ago
Soleinami was often heard to say;
Quote “I pray to die a martyr” wow to be martyr for Satan. Allah
“The Great Deceiver”
Then there is that old saw “Pray not least your prayers be
answered”.
It’s a beautiful day in the Neighborhood…won’t you be….won’t you be a martyr?
4 years ago
Human rights apply to those who respect them.
They do not apply to those who use them to protect themselves against the consequences of their murders and inhuman crimes.
Such individuals need to know that they can be eliminated in the fastest and most effective way at all times.
4 years ago
Until now, the Iranians have acted like an undisciplined puppy; they start out licking your hand and if not taught otherwise will progress to biting you.
Enter the animal trainer, Trump.
So what if Trump didn’t seek congressional approval? Obhammud never asked permission to take out the unsympathetic character Anwar al-Awlaki and his adolescent son, both US citizens who never fired a single shot.
4 years ago
Reply to
Drew the Infidel
and also the fact I read that he dropped more bombs on people than any other president in history. What a guy.
4 years ago
Nah, don’t trust the NYT at all… I’ll wait for their real strategy to roll out, whether it’s to attack the author or run an editorial slamming Trump for everything anyone has complimented him on in his lifetime.
Time will tell…. Wait Three…. days, weeks, months… to find out what they’re really up to.
4 years ago
Good article
4 years ago
Provoke Iran? Unbelievable, do these people never read the news reports? Iran has been provoking the West and USA in particular for half a century and the West has been lying down and taking it. No more thanks to DT (except the disgusting EU of course)
4 years ago
Well amen to this. One guy on CNN commented and compared Suliemani to
Cardinal Richelieu. Can you imagine?
4 years ago
Received via e-mail at the White House:
General Qassem Soleimani, “Trump, you filthy Infidel, are you going to send us pallets of cash like Obama did?”
Trump: “Sure, are you still at the Baghdad Airport?”
4 years ago
Wow! The NYT publishing an op-ed supporting Trump!?! Pigs are going to fly and you will soon need a sweater in hell! They do know the truth, they just never report it.
4 years ago
But they also had an op-ed by former national security adviser Susan Rice on how Trump and his team knew NADA about international diplomacy. This is the same lady who was treated by the Chinese like hired help when Obama flew in to his last G20 summit, pushing and shoving her on the tarmac while they rolled up the red carpet they had laid out for other leaders and forced Obama to use the service door at the rear of AF1 to exit.
She forgot the first thing about international relations – nations respect power, not those who use restraint when it should be used.
4 years ago
Some people think they can start a war and expect their kids to fight it. The way they fight is peculiar in that they have certain unwritten boundaries they don’t usually cross. For whatever reason, probably political, Suliemani was “off-limits,” but I suspect it was because of friendships with people like John Kerry and Barack Obama. Israel had him in their sights years ago but probably checked with Washington before taking any action. Obama hated Israel but loved Iran, and for that reason, Israel was told to “stand down.” Well, BHO is gone, and we are uninstalling him now. It is expensive for us because it has stopped the motion of this country by having Democrats demanding their oversight. For that reason, I am glad Trump acted without a mandate from Congress. He was well within his power to do so, but it was not met well with the Democrats. It was with horror that we learned that Obama had sent $150 billion in cash to Iran. A very short time later, an American patrol boat in the Straits of Hormuz was taken hostage by the Iranians, and Obama paid their “ransom.” I don’t know that the reversal of Obama’s actions is possible. I see that country is hurting for cash, and I saw a video of a recent demonstration against the ayatollas and Suliemani because they were sending money to the Gaza Strip instead of helping feed to people. The video was not State released, and the media has not reported further on it. It sometimes seems we have both journalists and anti-journalists when it comes to “fake news.” We know one group lies, but we often can’t tell when they are telling the truth, which they sometimes do.
4 years ago
I guess on Jan 3rd pigs were flying at the NYTs.
4 years ago
If the CIA was worth a $h!t it would have dealt with these demons years ago. I long for the days of the OSS that was filled with patriots.
4 years ago
The most dangerous warmongers and enemies of the American citizens, of the American civilization, and of many other “Western” countries are to be found inbetween their polititians and their administrations.
Unfortunately the US have an unglorious and sometimes dubious history regarding their “assistance” for other countries – the Philippines, Mexico, Iran, the ME, and several others can tell you a thing or two about it…
However – times have changed, especially with Trump, but the question is for how long – if Trump is may be followed by Pence or similar hopefully all becomes better.
Good and fair and balanced trade-connections may be the key to more peaceful and prosperous relations between all countries.
Under the actual global conditions and situation Trump is the right man for that – beside he absolutely knows that nothing but overwhelming military power and it’s categoric use is crucial to successfully defend and to reach that goal.
4 years ago
British SAS had Soleimani in its sights in 2007 and were ready to take him out in a matter of minutes but our then Foreign Secretary, David Milliband said no, talking was better than killing.
How many people have died thanks to that cowardly decision?
But why should he care? He is now very comfortably president and CEO of the International Rescue Committee, getting $450,000 a year plus plus. You can live quite nicely on that, even in New York City.
