Qasem Soleimani Killing Breaks the Myth of Iran’s Power | National Review
The targeted killing of Iranian Quds Force general Qasem Soleimani and a leading Iraqi militia leader has challenged the view that Iran is an all-powerful country that can strike terror throughout the Middle East region without repercussions to it and its leaders. President Donald Trump s decision has been condemned by a chorus of supporters of Barack Obama s Iran deal as reckless. But it also calls into question whether Iran s ability to build up an empire of influence in the region was based largely on fear of reprisals, which kept the U.S. and other countries from actively opposing its slow extension of influence, rather than reality on the ground.
I note that National Public Radio is now referring to the event in question as the “assassination” without qualification. While of course that’s exactly what it was colloquially, it seems pretty clear to me at least that it was *not* an assassination legally speaking, but rather a justified killing within the laws of war, such as they are. On this I defer to a former student and military lawyer who works closely with the SEALs with whom I had lunch on Friday. He did not seem to think it was a close call. Soleimani being a general, engaged in terrorism against US personnel and assets, and being in Iraq, a place of ongoing US military operations, at the time of the fortunate events in question, are what we in the law biz call “good facts.” It may turn out to have been a big mistake–events are funny that way–but PDT seems to have acted legally.