I'm beginning to think it was Mike Pompeo who convinced Trump to stage this incident and do it the way it was done. It would come as no surprise to me if this whole thing was Pompeo's idea.
I do agree with one statement Trump (or his speechwriter) made, though - "Iran has been nothing but trouble" ever since the downfall of the Shah in February, 1979.
I hope they have a good, workable plan in place to deal with the aftermath, but based on what I'm seeing so far in the news, I'm not holding my breath. I'm wondering who and/or what will be the first victim of Iran's retaliation and when it will happen - and then what Trump will do about it. I hope he doesn't manage to plunge us into World War III.
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Pompeo again declines to present evidence of 'imminent' threat that led to strike against Iranian general
by Nicole Gaouette and Jennifer Hansler, CNN
January 7, 2020
Washington (CNN) - Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday defended the basis for killing Iranian General Qasem Soleimani because of the threat of an imminent strike but declined to present any evidence, saying President Donald Trump's decision was "entirely legal."
"There's been much made about this question of intelligence and imminence," Pompeo said at the State Department. "Any time a president makes a decision of this magnitude, there are multitude pieces of information that come before him."
Pompeo said that senior officials presented Trump with the threats "in broad detail."
The top US diplomat didn't offer any evidence of looming threats, but instead referred to past events that he said Soleimani was responsible for.
"We could see clearly everything Soleimani has done," Pompeo said, pointing to Iran's influence in Lebanon and other countries in the region where he said Tehran has denied people "sovereignty and freedom."
"If you're looking for imminence you need only look at the days that led up to the strike that was taken against Soleimani," Pompeo said, referencing the death of an American contractor in late December. He said the action against Soleimani "fit perfectly within our strategy" for countering Iran.
"It's the right decision, we got it right, the Department of Defense did excellent work," he said, adding that it was an "entirely legal decision."
Pompeo mocked statements by Iraqi and Iranian officials that Soleimani had gone to Baghdad on a diplomatic mission, saying it "wasn't true."
Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi told the Iraqi parliament that Soleiman had traveled to Baghdad to discuss and coordinate a de-escalation of tensions with Saudi Arabia. Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif told CNN Soleiman's mission had been diplomatic in a Tuesday interview with CNN.
Pompeo ridiculed the idea. "Anybody here believe that?" he asked facetiously during the press conference with reporters at the State Department. "Is there any history that would indicate it was remotely possible that this kind gentleman, this diplomat of great order, Qasem Soleimani had traveled to Baghdad for the idea of conducting a peace mission?"
Pompeo went on to say, without presenting evidence, that "we know that wasn't true. We not only know the history, we know in that moment that was not true. Zarif is a propogandist of the first order."
https://us.cnn.com/2020/01/07/politics/ ... index.html