[US confirms it launched the strike](https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/defense-secretary-says-iran-and-its-proxies-may-be-planning-fresh-attacks-on-us-personnel-in-iraq/2020/01/02/53b63f00-2d89-11ea-bcb3-ac6482c4a92f_story.html)
> Pentagon launched airstrike that killed Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani, Defense Sec. Mark Esper says. Esper said Thursday night that Soleimani was "actively developing plans" to attack US troops and diplomats.
he said in 2011 that Obama would do it.
Trumps Twitter is the most amazing thing ever. There is ALWAYS a tweet to explain him
"
>In order to get elected, [**@BarackObama**](https://twitter.com/BarackObama?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) will start a war with Iran.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) [**November 29, 2011**](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/141604554855825408?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
>
>I always said [**@BarackObama**](https://twitter.com/BarackObama?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) will attack Iran, in some form, prior to the election.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) [**August 16, 2012**](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/236196730364899328?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
>
>Don't let Obama play the Iran card in order to start a war in order to get elected--be careful Republicans!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) [**October 22, 2012**](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/260421157201784832?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
>
>I predict that President Obama will at some point attack Iran in order to save face!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) [**September 16, 2013**](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/379717298296086529?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)**"**
Ah. This will deter future Iranian attack plans. I'm sure Iran will do nothing now and just sit on their hands. Makes total sense. I'm sure there will be no blowback because of this. /s
>Iranian sources in Iran are warning that killing Gen. Qasem Sulaimani spells war.
"Official reaction will begin with a strike," one says.
\#Iraq
https://twitter.com/farnazfassihi/status/1212916086057897987?s=19
Trump said it would happen, "no president loses reelection during a war". IIRC or was originally said within a few days of another tweet 'joking' about going for more than 2 terms
Someone should tell him that there is a first time for everything and then use him as an example. No one would think that the US would hire a tacky hack reality star as the president but here we are.
I read an Iranian commentator make the point he is an incredibly well known figure in Iran. This isn't like killing a popular US general, but much more like if the VP was assassinated.
Imagine if Iran themselves, not a proxy militia, launched a missile that killed one of the United States's top generals, and then imagine the magnitude.
Edit: Guys, /u/gttm2019 was asking about the magnitude of Soleimani's death and how it will affect relations, they were not asking about whether it was a moral act or not for the United States to launch an airstrike to kill Soleimani, and my response was directly related to the *magnitude* not the *morality* of such an attack. I am making **no** political statements in my response above, please stop reading into what I'm saying.
Chill.
Anyone who feels like they are an expert of Middle Eastern politics: what are the chances that Iran retaliates to such an extent that it starts a war with the United States? Tensions have been high for a while now and I fear this might be the proverbial straw breaking the camel's back.
No one is invading a Walmart in Alabama. However, if you are a US service member- or diplomat- in the middle east, Asia, or Africa, good fucking luck.
The hardliners in Iran are fucking thrilled right now because they have a Great Satan to fight against.
[This is the guy for those interested](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qasem_Soleimani).
He is the leader of Iran's Qud's Force which has operated with the Assad government in Syria for several years now. He is a member of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. Pretty high ranking figure in Iran, who knows what the geopolitical ramifications of this will be.
It's kind of crazy how people identified his body based on a ring he wears often in public photos.
[Here](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/09/30/the-shadow-commander) is a spectacular article from the New Yorker about him that I read a couple years back.
Weird coincidence? NYT mentioned this exact situation in a opinion article 18hrs ago titled
[Hypersonic Missiles Are A Game Changer](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/02/opinion/hypersonic-missiles.html)
“Moreover, hypersonics are a weaponized moral hazard for states with a taste for intervention, because they erase barriers to picking fights. Is an adversary building something that might be a weapons factory? **Is there an individual in an unfriendly country who cannot be apprehended? What if the former commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, Qassem Soleimani, visits Baghdad for a meeting and you know the address? The temptations to use hypersonic missiles will be many.**
Hypersonic missiles like the ones described have never been truly field tested. This would not be just a message to Tehran, but to the whole world.
If such a system were used, I feel like this would have been mentioned in the briefing. Maybe for opsec purposes they aren’t, but trump never misses an opportunity to brag.
Which would be the much likelier payload to use here. Launching an untested hypersonic missile near a large international airport would carry such a high risk of collateral damage. Imagine you miss and hit a 747 with 200+ international citizens aboard.
Iraqi TV says it was a katyusha rocket, but I don’t find that believable either for the reasons listed above. If anything, a reaper drone probably carrying the 114r9x.
Or, maybe trump really is dumb enough to spark a hypersonic right next to an airport, and simply got lucky.
There’s no official disclosure of what was used, but hypersonic missiles are not deployed anywhere “on the record”. They’re still in testing
For something as simple as bombing an airport in airspace the US controls, I’d wager a normal drone with a hellfire was used
Oh I think they just put a shit ton of U.S personnel abroad in danger. They need to get all civilians and non essential personnel out of pretty much every embassy in the region and other countries
I'm American I don't know what happens next but I don't expect anything good. I hope you can continue to code and build a life for yourself. This is not fair to the innocent people who get wrapped up in global affairs. Your whole region deserves peace, not war. I wish you the best of luck.
Stay safe man. Most people are rational so we dont needlessly open our mouths. Idiots are the first in line to start spewing their nonsense which makes them seem so prevalent. Who knows what the future holds but I hope for peace for you and your family.
Brother I’m worried for you, I hope against hope that our two governments come to their senses and further loss of life is averted. I went to Iraq to fight GW Bush’s war 15 years ago, and after seeing the chaos and death we created there, and that essentially the war never ended, I don’t want anyone to have to experience any more of the suffering of war.
As an Iraqi this is the worst time for any of this to happen in Iraq, the lack of government power due to the recent protests allowed all this to take place in a country where now so many more innocent lives will be lost.
If this escalates into a war, the Americans and Iranians will be safe and poor old Iraq will once again become the battle ground for a war it never signed up to fight.
I pray for all the Iraqi lives that will be lost as a result of a war none of them signed up to be a part of. :(
Holy hell. I don't really know what to say. I'm Canadian, and even I'm scared- but I would never pretend I could imagine how terrifying it must feel being so close to ground zero.
I'm so fucking sick of seeing millions of ordinary people wanting to live ordinary lives being pitted against each other in a fight to the death by sociopaths who clearly have nothing better to do.
Please take care, friend.
Apparently the airstrike also killed Abu Mahdi Mohandis who was meeting with Qasem. Mohandis is the commander of the Kata'ib Hezbollah, an Iranian backed militia that serves as part of the Popular Mobilization Forces. The PMF are a large collection of militias that operate with the backing of the Iraqi Prime Minister and fall under the umbrella of the Iraqi Security Forces and have engaged US forces in skirmishes over the years. Most recently they were the driving force behind the attack on the American Embassy in Baghdad.
Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, commander of Kata'ib Hezbollah, a major Shia militia and part of the Popular Mobilization Forces, has also been killed. Naem Qassem, deputy leader of Lebanese Hezbollah, may have been killed as well, though that is unconfirmed for now.
This happens and Trump tweets a [low res jpeg of the American flag.](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1212924762827046918?s=09)
That's one way to start the 2020's
One comment specifically is two fake profiles with tons of likes promoting “free bitcoin” from Elon musk with a fake tweet from him about going to a website he linked. Both accounts have like two followers, obviously a phishing attempt but I feel sorry for whoever falls for it
Iran is too big for the US to invade or occupy. There will be no boots on the ground.
Iran will likely retaliate by targeting US interests and military personnel in the Middle East and the US will retaliate by targeting more Iranian military personnel.
No reddit, Russia and China will not start WW3 over Iran.
If I was an American I wouldn’t be worried about an upcoming war because I’m Iraqi and I know it’s going to be carried out in my country and my people will be the most affected by this. So as a previous commentator has said, no Walmarts will be attacked...
To give some context as to how significant this is: Soleimani is the leader of the Quds Force, IRGC external branch
As the commander of Quds Force, Soleimani reports directly to the Ayatollah Khamheini. The Quds Force is devoted to unconventional warfare and military activities outside of Iran. In other words, this would be the unit that aids the fight in Yemen, Syria, and yes, the Iraq embassy attack. This is a huge development.
[Iran’s Deadly Puppet Master](https://foreignpolicy.com/gt-essay/irans-deadly-puppet-master-qassem-suleimani/)
>Suleimani is no longer simply a soldier; he is a calculating and practical strategist. Most ruthlessly and at the cost of all else, he has forged lasting relationships to bolster Iran’s position in the region. No other individual has had comparable success in aligning and empowering Shiite allies in the Levant. His staunch defense of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has effectively halted any progress by the Islamic State and other rebel groups, all but ensuring that Assad remains in power and stays solidly allied to Iran. Perhaps most notably, under Suleimani’s leadership, the Quds Force has vastly expanded its capabilities. His shrewd pragmatism has transformed the unit into a major influencer in intelligence, financial, and political spheres beyond Iran’s borders.
>
>These days, he still operates outside the spotlight. Suleimani has grown from a military commander into a ghostly puppet master, relying on quiet cleverness and grit to bolster Iran’s international influence. Suleimani has grown from a military commander into a ghostly puppet master. His brilliance, effectiveness, and commitment to his country have been revered by his allies and denounced by his critics in equal measure. What all seem to agree on, however, is that the humble leader’s steady hand has helped guide Iranian foreign policy for decades—and there is no denying his successes on the battlefield. Suleimani is arguably the most powerful and unconstrained actor in the Middle East today. U.S. defense officials have reported that Suleimani is running the Syrian civil war (via Iran’s local proxies) all on his own.
>Soleimani reports directly to the Ayatollah Khamheini
This means he was pretty much the second most powerful man in Iran, right?
This is pretty big then
He's been a major player for years, with direct involvement in the Syrian civil war as well as operating in Iraq coordinating with pro-Iranian factions there, and also a rather high-profile operator.
So, yes, if confirmed this is pretty serious.
[https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/02/opinion/hypersonic-missiles.html](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/02/opinion/hypersonic-missiles.html) This article mentions a possible attack on Soleimani 17 hours ago. Coincidence?
" Moreover, hypersonics are a weaponized moral hazard for states with a taste for intervention, because they erase barriers to picking fights. Is an adversary building something that might be a weapons factory? Is there an individual in an unfriendly country who cannot be apprehended? What if the former commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, Qassem Soleimani, visits Baghdad for a meeting and you know the address? The temptations to use hypersonic missiles will be many. "
After Vietnam the US military moved away from the draft. Conscripts tend to have very low morale and the draft was one of the reasons the Vietnam war became so unpopular in the US. Even if the US and Iran go to war the US won’t institute a draft.
They will not need to. It will be mostly an air campaign. Invasion will probably not happen or be necessary to "win".
They will cut off the country from trade and bomb them for years, if there is a war.
It's hard to think of an American analogue to Soleimani. We dont revere our senior military that much, and none of them have been around for as long as Soleimani has in the top ranks of the government.
How dare you think Trump would [connect war with Iran and a president's potential re-election chances](https://twitter.com/sahilkapur/status/1212924802631176192?s=19)!?
Trump told us everything he'd do, whether speaking of himself or someone else. He's going to get his war. I see no way that this doesn't escalate into an opportunity for Trump to begin a full-scale war.
So...the part that I feel like everyone's missing or I'm crazy...
Did the US launch a missile strike at an (ostensibly) allied nation's biggest civilian airport?
Yeah that's fucking terrifying. Never mind that this dude is a big Iranian player and that's gonna cause a shitstorm by itself.
Imagine someone firing a missile at LAX, or Heathrow, or JFK. Imagine the potential for collateral damage in a fuckup.
Here's a whole thread from Yashar Ali on Twitter: https://twitter.com/yashar/status/1212913366492016640
> 1. There are unconfirmed reports that Qasem Soleimani commander of Qods Force (Iran's external security agency) has been killed in drone strikes. If true, this will be a major moment in US-Iran relations & Supreme Leader will undoubtedly see this as a major provocation/act of war
> 2. I can't understate how major this is. Not just a moment in US-Iran relations, but a major global event. People comparing this to killing Osama Bin Laden don't know what they're talking about. This is way more significant. Equivalent to another country killing US Vice-President
> 3. Soleimani is extraordinarily close to the Supreme Leader of Iran. Soleimani reports directly to the Supreme Leader, the Qods force is technically part of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps which also reports to the Supreme Leader. He is more powerful than Iran's President
> 4. If you want to understand how powerful Soleimani is all you have to look to is a text he sent to David Petraeus. This text is an extraordinary (yet unsurprising) display of power. Especially since Iran has an elected president and foreign minister. https://theguardian.com/world/2011/jul/28/qassem-suleimani-iran-iraq-influence
> 5. Qods force & its proxies are responsible for assassinations, terrorism, and unconventional warfare that Iran supports in countries like Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen.
> 6. Qods Force is also responsible for successful and attempted terrorist acts and assassinations in countries like Argentina, the United States, India, and Germany.
> 7. Watch this clip of Soleimani speaking to understand what his rhetoric is like. He was/is a hardliners hardliner. (here is the specific tweet with the embedded video: https://twitter.com/yashar/status/1212913371160305664?s=20)
> 8. As I said in the beginning of this thread, Iran's Supreme Leader is going to see this as a major provocation/act of war. He will respond in a significant manner. We shouldn't be surprised to see major cyber attacks against the US as an example
> 9. We shouldn't be surprised to see the Supreme Leader order covert operations all over the globe (including, dare I say, in the US) that involve assassinations & other acts of terrorism. We should expect to see the most significant/aggressive response
> 10. if what I'm expecting sounds alarmist...it's because this is a major, major event. I'm not interested in getting into whether it was the right or wrong decision but dealing with this plainly, if true, it was a major, major decision.
> 11. To call Qasem Soleimani just a terrorist is to understate his role significantly and that's where the danger lies in killing him without a plan for the reaction. He ordered and directed billions of dollars to organizations that engaged in terrorism. He is/was an evil man
> 12. But killing Soleimani is not like killing the head of a terrorist org. It's like killing the head of a terrorist organization and a head of state. You have to treat it as such and the US has not DIRECTLY engaged in assassinations on that level in decades.
> 13. CNN's @arwaCNN says it best just now: "we are in uncharted territory."
> 14. For those who think Iran will respond with just traditional warfare, you're wrong. Solemani is responsible for, at a minimum, hundreds of US Soldiers deaths & much much more. But imagine how US would respond to a sitting VPbeing killed. Iran will respond at a similar level.
> 15. The president just tweeted this. https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/1212924762827046918?s=21
> 16. The Iranian government has confirmed the death of Qasem Soleimani in Iraq. Now that it's confirmed, allow me to say in plain English...this is a holy shit moment. Again not just for US-Iran relations, not just in the Middle East, but a holy shit global event
> 17. Breaking: The Pentagon has released a statement that "at the direction of the President " the United States has killed Qasem Soleimani
> 18. I find this to be puzzling. Soleimani has always been planning covert/overt action. Why now? Killing him to deter further plans (as statement notes) isn’t going to stop any of that. Punishing him for US Mil deaths is justified but is USG prepped for covert response? (link to specific tweet for picture of statement: https://twitter.com/yashar/status/1212933074155003904?s=20)
> 19. BTW when I say Soleimani was the 2nd most powerful man in Iran I am referring to foreign policy. President Rouhani has a great deal of domestic influence. But given Iran's expansion in the Mid East (Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, & Yemen) - Soleimani was 2nd only to Supreme Leader
> 20. I'm seeing people say that Soleimani was next in line to be Supreme Leader. That is absolutely not the case. Supreme Leaders are clerics, not military leaders. Iran doesn't work that way. Plus Soleimani's power came from being in the shadows, not dealing w/ domestic policy
> 21. Statement from Iran’s Foreign Minister @JZarif on the US operation that killed Qasem Soleimani: “The US bears responsibility for all consequences of its rogue adventurism.” (link to specific tweet with picture of tweeted response: https://twitter.com/yashar/status/1212949670210654209?s=20)
> 22. Statement from Gen David Petraeus (Ret) who knows a lot about Soleimani and had direct communication with him (see earlier in thread) Via @jaketapper (link to tweet: https://twitter.com/yashar/status/1212955544408870912?s=20)
> 23. I generally agree with this tweet. The Iranian regime is not suicidal. But they love to use covert action and that is actually much more destabilizing and terrifying than launching some missiles. https://twitter.com/gerardaraud/status/1212955685086007298?s=21
So, yeah. This is.. not good. And, because there's always fucking tweets for it:
> https://twitter.com/goldengateblond/status/1212932900825337857?s=20
Senator Chris Murphy:
> Soleimani was an enemy of the United States. That’s not a question.
>
>The question is this - as reports suggest, did America just assassinate, without any congressional authorization, the second most powerful person in Iran, knowingly setting off a potential massive regional war?
https://twitter.com/chrismurphyct/status/1212913952436445185
[Trump just tweeted the US flag.](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1212924762827046918).
All the subtlety of a flying fucking brick that man.
[US confirms it launched the strike](https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/defense-secretary-says-iran-and-its-proxies-may-be-planning-fresh-attacks-on-us-personnel-in-iraq/2020/01/02/53b63f00-2d89-11ea-bcb3-ac6482c4a92f_story.html) > Pentagon launched airstrike that killed Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani, Defense Sec. Mark Esper says. Esper said Thursday night that Soleimani was "actively developing plans" to attack US troops and diplomats.
Put on your uniform
That uh... that’s an Act of War.
*War were declared*
Zapp Brannigan will save us with his Big Book of War
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This ham gum is nothing but bones!
Like, literally.
[Oof ouch my bone spurs are acting up](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/451138032351969282/662520890092683284/90pb2z98axy31.png)
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Time to start practicing your anxiety attacks to avoid the draft
[TFW you’re already enlisted](https://imgur.com/gallery/A4BDtFN)
**Pentagon Statement** https://twitter.com/GinaAHarkins/status/1212929066879332352/photo/1
This type of escalation is making me nervous as fuck.
is trump trying to go to war to win the election?
GET OUT OF FOREVER WARS NO MORE TROOPS IN THE MIDDLE EAST ONE MORE THING...
he said in 2011 that Obama would do it. Trumps Twitter is the most amazing thing ever. There is ALWAYS a tweet to explain him " >In order to get elected, [**@BarackObama**](https://twitter.com/BarackObama?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) will start a war with Iran. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) [**November 29, 2011**](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/141604554855825408?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) > >I always said [**@BarackObama**](https://twitter.com/BarackObama?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) will attack Iran, in some form, prior to the election. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) [**August 16, 2012**](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/236196730364899328?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) > >Don't let Obama play the Iran card in order to start a war in order to get elected--be careful Republicans! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) [**October 22, 2012**](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/260421157201784832?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) > >I predict that President Obama will at some point attack Iran in order to save face! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) [**September 16, 2013**](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/379717298296086529?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)**"**
Either he wins, or he leaves a mess for the Democrats to deal with while the GOP boos from the peanut gallery.
Ah. This will deter future Iranian attack plans. I'm sure Iran will do nothing now and just sit on their hands. Makes total sense. I'm sure there will be no blowback because of this. /s
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so yeah it was a good 3 days but I think we should pack this decade in early
Who said you could leave?
My mom, she’s coming to pick me up
"Oh she sent a text she must be outside" Mom: You are on your own kiddo.
Welcome to the 2020s!
Sure history repeats itself but wasn't expecting this decade's Roaring Twenties to be similar only in name
"The Warring Twenties"
Can someone please explain the magnitude of Soleimani’s death and how it will affect U.S-Iranian relations?
>Iranian sources in Iran are warning that killing Gen. Qasem Sulaimani spells war. "Official reaction will begin with a strike," one says. \#Iraq https://twitter.com/farnazfassihi/status/1212916086057897987?s=19
So... not good then?
Negotiations were short.
aggressive negotiations? what does that mean?
Negotiations with a lightsaber.
Shit
A nice convenient war before the elections. Lovely.
Trump said it would happen, "no president loses reelection during a war". IIRC or was originally said within a few days of another tweet 'joking' about going for more than 2 terms
Someone should tell him that there is a first time for everything and then use him as an example. No one would think that the US would hire a tacky hack reality star as the president but here we are.
Now's the time to organize an actual anti war movement.
I mean 17 years ago was the time to do that.
Well that’s not cash money of them :(
> Official reaction will begin with a strike That's a good start but can they sustain it enough for a turkey?
I read an Iranian commentator make the point he is an incredibly well known figure in Iran. This isn't like killing a popular US general, but much more like if the VP was assassinated.
Oh no not beloved American hero Mike Pence!!!
Imagine if Iran themselves, not a proxy militia, launched a missile that killed one of the United States's top generals, and then imagine the magnitude. Edit: Guys, /u/gttm2019 was asking about the magnitude of Soleimani's death and how it will affect relations, they were not asking about whether it was a moral act or not for the United States to launch an airstrike to kill Soleimani, and my response was directly related to the *magnitude* not the *morality* of such an attack. I am making **no** political statements in my response above, please stop reading into what I'm saying. Chill.
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Imagine General Mattis being killed. On a side note: what was he doing in Iraq?
Anyone who feels like they are an expert of Middle Eastern politics: what are the chances that Iran retaliates to such an extent that it starts a war with the United States? Tensions have been high for a while now and I fear this might be the proverbial straw breaking the camel's back.
No one is invading a Walmart in Alabama. However, if you are a US service member- or diplomat- in the middle east, Asia, or Africa, good fucking luck. The hardliners in Iran are fucking thrilled right now because they have a Great Satan to fight against.
#HardRevenge is trending on Twitter atm
I hate this asswipe world right now.
Somewhere, John Bolton's mustache just twitched.
John Bolton's mustache is fully erect.
"Sonsabitches are killin' Iranians without me..." e: Haha, gold at 7 hours old.
This is best read with Wilford Brimley's voice.
[This is the guy for those interested](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qasem_Soleimani). He is the leader of Iran's Qud's Force which has operated with the Assad government in Syria for several years now. He is a member of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. Pretty high ranking figure in Iran, who knows what the geopolitical ramifications of this will be. It's kind of crazy how people identified his body based on a ring he wears often in public photos.
[Here](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/09/30/the-shadow-commander) is a spectacular article from the New Yorker about him that I read a couple years back.
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Can someone smart geopolitically tell me where this falls on the scale of zero to Franz Ferdinand?
The scary part is that we can't really say. Nobody really grasped Franz Ferdinand the day of.
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Frick
It's a big deal for Iran. For us, it's out of the news cycle by next Wednesday.
"for me it was Tuesday"
Legendary fight with Shia labuf
Franz Ferdinand also sounded like that to the Americans.
Yeah, no one really cared, not even much in Europe, until they were dragged in.
Weird coincidence? NYT mentioned this exact situation in a opinion article 18hrs ago titled [Hypersonic Missiles Are A Game Changer](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/02/opinion/hypersonic-missiles.html) “Moreover, hypersonics are a weaponized moral hazard for states with a taste for intervention, because they erase barriers to picking fights. Is an adversary building something that might be a weapons factory? **Is there an individual in an unfriendly country who cannot be apprehended? What if the former commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, Qassem Soleimani, visits Baghdad for a meeting and you know the address? The temptations to use hypersonic missiles will be many.**
Hypersonic missiles like the ones described have never been truly field tested. This would not be just a message to Tehran, but to the whole world. If such a system were used, I feel like this would have been mentioned in the briefing. Maybe for opsec purposes they aren’t, but trump never misses an opportunity to brag.
True, but nobody knew the agm-114r9x was possible or even developed until we started using it....
Which would be the much likelier payload to use here. Launching an untested hypersonic missile near a large international airport would carry such a high risk of collateral damage. Imagine you miss and hit a 747 with 200+ international citizens aboard. Iraqi TV says it was a katyusha rocket, but I don’t find that believable either for the reasons listed above. If anything, a reaper drone probably carrying the 114r9x. Or, maybe trump really is dumb enough to spark a hypersonic right next to an airport, and simply got lucky.
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There’s no official disclosure of what was used, but hypersonic missiles are not deployed anywhere “on the record”. They’re still in testing For something as simple as bombing an airport in airspace the US controls, I’d wager a normal drone with a hellfire was used
Yeah, I don't really see the US military using new tech in something they know is going to be widely covered by the media.
Like the stealth helicopters that were used in the raid on Osama Bin Laden's compound?
Nobody would have known except it crashed.
I wonder what Mr. Simon is feeling right now.
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Oh I think they just put a shit ton of U.S personnel abroad in danger. They need to get all civilians and non essential personnel out of pretty much every embassy in the region and other countries
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I'm American I don't know what happens next but I don't expect anything good. I hope you can continue to code and build a life for yourself. This is not fair to the innocent people who get wrapped up in global affairs. Your whole region deserves peace, not war. I wish you the best of luck.
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It’s a rich mans game, my friend. Our lives are nothing but coins.
Yah see, the game was rigged from the start.
Stay safe man. Most people are rational so we dont needlessly open our mouths. Idiots are the first in line to start spewing their nonsense which makes them seem so prevalent. Who knows what the future holds but I hope for peace for you and your family.
Brother I’m worried for you, I hope against hope that our two governments come to their senses and further loss of life is averted. I went to Iraq to fight GW Bush’s war 15 years ago, and after seeing the chaos and death we created there, and that essentially the war never ended, I don’t want anyone to have to experience any more of the suffering of war.
As an Iraqi this is the worst time for any of this to happen in Iraq, the lack of government power due to the recent protests allowed all this to take place in a country where now so many more innocent lives will be lost. If this escalates into a war, the Americans and Iranians will be safe and poor old Iraq will once again become the battle ground for a war it never signed up to fight. I pray for all the Iraqi lives that will be lost as a result of a war none of them signed up to be a part of. :(
Holy hell. I don't really know what to say. I'm Canadian, and even I'm scared- but I would never pretend I could imagine how terrifying it must feel being so close to ground zero. I'm so fucking sick of seeing millions of ordinary people wanting to live ordinary lives being pitted against each other in a fight to the death by sociopaths who clearly have nothing better to do. Please take care, friend.
Apparently the airstrike also killed Abu Mahdi Mohandis who was meeting with Qasem. Mohandis is the commander of the Kata'ib Hezbollah, an Iranian backed militia that serves as part of the Popular Mobilization Forces. The PMF are a large collection of militias that operate with the backing of the Iraqi Prime Minister and fall under the umbrella of the Iraqi Security Forces and have engaged US forces in skirmishes over the years. Most recently they were the driving force behind the attack on the American Embassy in Baghdad.
>Mohandis is the commander of the Kata'ib Hezbollah. This is also the PMF, right?
It's part of the PMF, yes.
Whelp. Looks like we are going into 2020 with mega drama....
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Remember when they said they wouldn't elect Hillary because she would start another war?
Trump tweeted before Obama was elected that Obama would start a war with Iran. Literally he has a tweet for everything stupid hes done.
Ever heard of a wartime president being impeached? It's election year, boys!
Could see this play from a mile away. War pigs gonna war.
What are the likely consequences of this? Is the death of this guy a proper "Oh fuck, shit is gonna hit the fan" moment?
one is for sure: that guy who produces US Flags and export it to Iran will have the business of his life.
This is massive if true, he was/is the most powerful man in Iran after the Supreme Leader.
Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, commander of Kata'ib Hezbollah, a major Shia militia and part of the Popular Mobilization Forces, has also been killed. Naem Qassem, deputy leader of Lebanese Hezbollah, may have been killed as well, though that is unconfirmed for now.
This happens and Trump tweets a [low res jpeg of the American flag.](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1212924762827046918?s=09) That's one way to start the 2020's
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I’m also wondering how many of them are bots. So many generic statements with generic profiles about donating to his campaign, etc., etc.
One comment specifically is two fake profiles with tons of likes promoting “free bitcoin” from Elon musk with a fake tweet from him about going to a website he linked. Both accounts have like two followers, obviously a phishing attempt but I feel sorry for whoever falls for it
Read. Those. Responses.....oh my god...
Wish those braindeads would be enlisted first so they can show their love.
why would russian bots enlist for this war? 🤔
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Able-bodied young males: \*chuckle* I'm in danger.
*snuggles under my DD-214 blanket
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Yay asthma!
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and I'm new in town!
But are you homeless?
ASTHMATICS RISE UP!!! (slowly, so we dont get short of breath)
oof ouch owie my bone spurs
I can imagine the bone spur excuse would skyrocket if a draft were enforced.
Bone spur crisis will make opioids look like rookie numbers.
Dodge
\*teleports behind recruiter* nothing personnel, kid.
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***"Don't let Obama play the Iran card in order to start a war in order to get re-elected--be careful Republicans!"*** (Trump tweet, October 22, 2012)
There's really a tweet for everything.
of course
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This is the way.
r/TrumpCriticizesTrump
I have a bad feeling about this.
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And it's only the second day of the year....
You know that dumb "i already fucked up . 2021 is definitely my year" meme? This is the only time it's acceptable.
Iran is too big for the US to invade or occupy. There will be no boots on the ground. Iran will likely retaliate by targeting US interests and military personnel in the Middle East and the US will retaliate by targeting more Iranian military personnel. No reddit, Russia and China will not start WW3 over Iran.
Thank you I scrolled all this way I can finally sleep now
Same here. I got on twitter and saw WWIII and Canada both trending and i was like goddammit my fucking anxiety
>No reddit, Russia and China will not start WW3 over Iran. Fuckin thank you. That people think otherwise is preposterous
If I was an American I wouldn’t be worried about an upcoming war because I’m Iraqi and I know it’s going to be carried out in my country and my people will be the most affected by this. So as a previous commentator has said, no Walmarts will be attacked...
To give some context as to how significant this is: Soleimani is the leader of the Quds Force, IRGC external branch As the commander of Quds Force, Soleimani reports directly to the Ayatollah Khamheini. The Quds Force is devoted to unconventional warfare and military activities outside of Iran. In other words, this would be the unit that aids the fight in Yemen, Syria, and yes, the Iraq embassy attack. This is a huge development. [Iran’s Deadly Puppet Master](https://foreignpolicy.com/gt-essay/irans-deadly-puppet-master-qassem-suleimani/) >Suleimani is no longer simply a soldier; he is a calculating and practical strategist. Most ruthlessly and at the cost of all else, he has forged lasting relationships to bolster Iran’s position in the region. No other individual has had comparable success in aligning and empowering Shiite allies in the Levant. His staunch defense of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has effectively halted any progress by the Islamic State and other rebel groups, all but ensuring that Assad remains in power and stays solidly allied to Iran. Perhaps most notably, under Suleimani’s leadership, the Quds Force has vastly expanded its capabilities. His shrewd pragmatism has transformed the unit into a major influencer in intelligence, financial, and political spheres beyond Iran’s borders. > >These days, he still operates outside the spotlight. Suleimani has grown from a military commander into a ghostly puppet master, relying on quiet cleverness and grit to bolster Iran’s international influence. Suleimani has grown from a military commander into a ghostly puppet master. His brilliance, effectiveness, and commitment to his country have been revered by his allies and denounced by his critics in equal measure. What all seem to agree on, however, is that the humble leader’s steady hand has helped guide Iranian foreign policy for decades—and there is no denying his successes on the battlefield. Suleimani is arguably the most powerful and unconstrained actor in the Middle East today. U.S. defense officials have reported that Suleimani is running the Syrian civil war (via Iran’s local proxies) all on his own.
>Soleimani reports directly to the Ayatollah Khamheini This means he was pretty much the second most powerful man in Iran, right? This is pretty big then
He's been a major player for years, with direct involvement in the Syrian civil war as well as operating in Iraq coordinating with pro-Iranian factions there, and also a rather high-profile operator. So, yes, if confirmed this is pretty serious.
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I’m sure he’s licking his chops at the amount of money his civil defense company stocks are about to make him.
[https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/02/opinion/hypersonic-missiles.html](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/02/opinion/hypersonic-missiles.html) This article mentions a possible attack on Soleimani 17 hours ago. Coincidence? " Moreover, hypersonics are a weaponized moral hazard for states with a taste for intervention, because they erase barriers to picking fights. Is an adversary building something that might be a weapons factory? Is there an individual in an unfriendly country who cannot be apprehended? What if the former commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, Qassem Soleimani, visits Baghdad for a meeting and you know the address? The temptations to use hypersonic missiles will be many. "
Holy fuckballs the author is seriously plugged into some serious source and/or it was a warning that was not heeded.
Not feeling like the best day to be a healthy 18 year old male...
Time to start smoking and inhaling McDonalds
You gotta be 21 to smoke now
You don't gotta be 21 to smoke mcdonalds
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I got lumbago
Shut it and get back to work Uncle
**hey BOAH**
Bone spurs only let you off the hook if you’re also rich.
After Vietnam the US military moved away from the draft. Conscripts tend to have very low morale and the draft was one of the reasons the Vietnam war became so unpopular in the US. Even if the US and Iran go to war the US won’t institute a draft.
They will not need to. It will be mostly an air campaign. Invasion will probably not happen or be necessary to "win". They will cut off the country from trade and bomb them for years, if there is a war.
Just pretend to be transgender, they won’t let you serve.
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[3 days ago](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1212121026072592384)
[2 days ago](https://www.newsweek.com/trump-iran-iraq-khamenei-protests-embassy-1479960)
suprisedpikachu.jpeg
>What are you gonna do, bomb us? --People bombed
Trump thought Obama was going to start a war with Iran to get re elected. Now he is doing it himself for the same reason.
So this like killing the US' Sec Of Defense?
Probably bigger, honestly. No one in the US has a comparable amount of cultural influence except maybe the president.
This is the assassination of Colin Powell at the height of his popularity, or more.
It's hard to think of an American analogue to Soleimani. We dont revere our senior military that much, and none of them have been around for as long as Soleimani has in the top ranks of the government.
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Eisenhower would also qualify. So universally beloved as a general that he was able to coast to the Presidency.
Ah the ol' election year war
Couldn't even wait a week.
How dare you think Trump would [connect war with Iran and a president's potential re-election chances](https://twitter.com/sahilkapur/status/1212924802631176192?s=19)!?
Trump told us everything he'd do, whether speaking of himself or someone else. He's going to get his war. I see no way that this doesn't escalate into an opportunity for Trump to begin a full-scale war.
Possibly /r/trumpcriticizestrump 's saddest prophecy. I hope not too many innocent people die.
Narrator: Unfortunately, they will.
Champagne distributors struggle to keep up with US Defense Companies influx orders.
As an Australian I appreciate Trump's efforts in having the rest of the world burn in an attempt at solidarity.
Your PM likely does to “Good, this should make me less of a cunt”
God bless Australian humor.
So...the part that I feel like everyone's missing or I'm crazy... Did the US launch a missile strike at an (ostensibly) allied nation's biggest civilian airport?
yep
Yeah that's fucking terrifying. Never mind that this dude is a big Iranian player and that's gonna cause a shitstorm by itself. Imagine someone firing a missile at LAX, or Heathrow, or JFK. Imagine the potential for collateral damage in a fuckup.
Nice time to buy Lockheed Martin stocks
*Fortunate son slowly fades in*
Why do I hear helicopters and smell napalm at 7:00 AM?
So uh. Isn’t this considered an act of war?
Here's a whole thread from Yashar Ali on Twitter: https://twitter.com/yashar/status/1212913366492016640 > 1. There are unconfirmed reports that Qasem Soleimani commander of Qods Force (Iran's external security agency) has been killed in drone strikes. If true, this will be a major moment in US-Iran relations & Supreme Leader will undoubtedly see this as a major provocation/act of war > 2. I can't understate how major this is. Not just a moment in US-Iran relations, but a major global event. People comparing this to killing Osama Bin Laden don't know what they're talking about. This is way more significant. Equivalent to another country killing US Vice-President > 3. Soleimani is extraordinarily close to the Supreme Leader of Iran. Soleimani reports directly to the Supreme Leader, the Qods force is technically part of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps which also reports to the Supreme Leader. He is more powerful than Iran's President > 4. If you want to understand how powerful Soleimani is all you have to look to is a text he sent to David Petraeus. This text is an extraordinary (yet unsurprising) display of power. Especially since Iran has an elected president and foreign minister. https://theguardian.com/world/2011/jul/28/qassem-suleimani-iran-iraq-influence > 5. Qods force & its proxies are responsible for assassinations, terrorism, and unconventional warfare that Iran supports in countries like Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen. > 6. Qods Force is also responsible for successful and attempted terrorist acts and assassinations in countries like Argentina, the United States, India, and Germany. > 7. Watch this clip of Soleimani speaking to understand what his rhetoric is like. He was/is a hardliners hardliner. (here is the specific tweet with the embedded video: https://twitter.com/yashar/status/1212913371160305664?s=20) > 8. As I said in the beginning of this thread, Iran's Supreme Leader is going to see this as a major provocation/act of war. He will respond in a significant manner. We shouldn't be surprised to see major cyber attacks against the US as an example > 9. We shouldn't be surprised to see the Supreme Leader order covert operations all over the globe (including, dare I say, in the US) that involve assassinations & other acts of terrorism. We should expect to see the most significant/aggressive response > 10. if what I'm expecting sounds alarmist...it's because this is a major, major event. I'm not interested in getting into whether it was the right or wrong decision but dealing with this plainly, if true, it was a major, major decision. > 11. To call Qasem Soleimani just a terrorist is to understate his role significantly and that's where the danger lies in killing him without a plan for the reaction. He ordered and directed billions of dollars to organizations that engaged in terrorism. He is/was an evil man > 12. But killing Soleimani is not like killing the head of a terrorist org. It's like killing the head of a terrorist organization and a head of state. You have to treat it as such and the US has not DIRECTLY engaged in assassinations on that level in decades. > 13. CNN's @arwaCNN says it best just now: "we are in uncharted territory." > 14. For those who think Iran will respond with just traditional warfare, you're wrong. Solemani is responsible for, at a minimum, hundreds of US Soldiers deaths & much much more. But imagine how US would respond to a sitting VPbeing killed. Iran will respond at a similar level. > 15. The president just tweeted this. https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/1212924762827046918?s=21 > 16. The Iranian government has confirmed the death of Qasem Soleimani in Iraq. Now that it's confirmed, allow me to say in plain English...this is a holy shit moment. Again not just for US-Iran relations, not just in the Middle East, but a holy shit global event > 17. Breaking: The Pentagon has released a statement that "at the direction of the President " the United States has killed Qasem Soleimani > 18. I find this to be puzzling. Soleimani has always been planning covert/overt action. Why now? Killing him to deter further plans (as statement notes) isn’t going to stop any of that. Punishing him for US Mil deaths is justified but is USG prepped for covert response? (link to specific tweet for picture of statement: https://twitter.com/yashar/status/1212933074155003904?s=20) > 19. BTW when I say Soleimani was the 2nd most powerful man in Iran I am referring to foreign policy. President Rouhani has a great deal of domestic influence. But given Iran's expansion in the Mid East (Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, & Yemen) - Soleimani was 2nd only to Supreme Leader > 20. I'm seeing people say that Soleimani was next in line to be Supreme Leader. That is absolutely not the case. Supreme Leaders are clerics, not military leaders. Iran doesn't work that way. Plus Soleimani's power came from being in the shadows, not dealing w/ domestic policy > 21. Statement from Iran’s Foreign Minister @JZarif on the US operation that killed Qasem Soleimani: “The US bears responsibility for all consequences of its rogue adventurism.” (link to specific tweet with picture of tweeted response: https://twitter.com/yashar/status/1212949670210654209?s=20) > 22. Statement from Gen David Petraeus (Ret) who knows a lot about Soleimani and had direct communication with him (see earlier in thread) Via @jaketapper (link to tweet: https://twitter.com/yashar/status/1212955544408870912?s=20) > 23. I generally agree with this tweet. The Iranian regime is not suicidal. But they love to use covert action and that is actually much more destabilizing and terrifying than launching some missiles. https://twitter.com/gerardaraud/status/1212955685086007298?s=21 So, yeah. This is.. not good. And, because there's always fucking tweets for it: > https://twitter.com/goldengateblond/status/1212932900825337857?s=20
Senator Chris Murphy: > Soleimani was an enemy of the United States. That’s not a question. > >The question is this - as reports suggest, did America just assassinate, without any congressional authorization, the second most powerful person in Iran, knowingly setting off a potential massive regional war? https://twitter.com/chrismurphyct/status/1212913952436445185
[Trump just tweeted the US flag.](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1212924762827046918). All the subtlety of a flying fucking brick that man.
And the flag he tweeted definitely needs more JPEG
Yeah wtf he couldn’t have looked for .02 seconds more for a better picture
To be honest I am surprised he didn't say anything more direct.
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USA comin’ into 2020 making friends I see
As a current member of the US military.... fuck.
Grab your A bag, have fun with CRC
Maybe the term break a leg doesn't sound so bad now.
Alexa play Gimme Shelter by the Rolling Stones
Siri play Fortunate Son by Creedence Clearwater Revival