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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsAs Tensions With Iran Escalated, Trump Opted for Most Extreme Measure
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/04/us/politics/trump-suleimani.html
By Helene Cooper, Eric Schmitt, Maggie Haberman and Rukmini Callimachi
Jan. 4, 2020, 7:31 p.m. ET
WASHINGTON In the chaotic days leading to the death of Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani, Irans most powerful commander, top American military officials put the option of killing him which they viewed as the most extreme response to recent Iranian-led violence in Iraq on the menu they presented to President Trump.
They didnt think he would take it. In the wars waged since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, Pentagon officials have often offered improbable options to presidents to make other possibilities appear more palatable.
After initially rejecting the Suleimani option on Dec. 28 and authorizing airstrikes on an Iranian-backed Shia militia group instead, a few days later Mr. Trump watched, fuming, as television reports showed Iranian-backed attacks on the American Embassy in Baghdad, according to Defense Department and administration officials.
By late Thursday, the president had gone for the extreme option. Top Pentagon officials were stunned.
Mr. Trump made the decision, senior officials said on Saturday, despite disputes in the administration about the significance of what some officials said was a new stream of intelligence that warned of threats to American embassies, consulates and military personnel in Syria, Iraq and Lebanon. General Suleimani had just completed a tour of his forces in Syria, Lebanon and Iraq, and was planning an imminent attack that could claim hundreds of lives, those officials said.
</snip>
By Helene Cooper, Eric Schmitt, Maggie Haberman and Rukmini Callimachi
Jan. 4, 2020, 7:31 p.m. ET
WASHINGTON In the chaotic days leading to the death of Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani, Irans most powerful commander, top American military officials put the option of killing him which they viewed as the most extreme response to recent Iranian-led violence in Iraq on the menu they presented to President Trump.
They didnt think he would take it. In the wars waged since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, Pentagon officials have often offered improbable options to presidents to make other possibilities appear more palatable.
After initially rejecting the Suleimani option on Dec. 28 and authorizing airstrikes on an Iranian-backed Shia militia group instead, a few days later Mr. Trump watched, fuming, as television reports showed Iranian-backed attacks on the American Embassy in Baghdad, according to Defense Department and administration officials.
By late Thursday, the president had gone for the extreme option. Top Pentagon officials were stunned.
Mr. Trump made the decision, senior officials said on Saturday, despite disputes in the administration about the significance of what some officials said was a new stream of intelligence that warned of threats to American embassies, consulates and military personnel in Syria, Iraq and Lebanon. General Suleimani had just completed a tour of his forces in Syria, Lebanon and Iraq, and was planning an imminent attack that could claim hundreds of lives, those officials said.
</snip>
This expands on Callimachi's tweets this morning: https://www.democraticunderground.com/100212837961
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As Tensions With Iran Escalated, Trump Opted for Most Extreme Measure (Original Post)
Dennis Donovan
Jan 2020
OP
Their stated rationale/story for Soleimani's s unraveling as we speak - this is huge
Dennis Donovan
Jan 2020
#2
msongs
(67,465 posts)1. if he says 6 billion ppl are planning an imminent attack will he kill us all? nt
Dennis Donovan
(18,770 posts)2. Their stated rationale/story for Soleimani's s unraveling as we speak - this is huge
This all points to Trump making an irrational decision - the MOST irrational choice available. Why? Wag the dog? Revenge because Soleimani made fun of him a few years ago on Twitter? He just lost his cool overall after watching the Embassy occupation?
It's past time someone stops him...
Buckeyeblue
(5,504 posts)3. And he is irrational
He doesn't understand a chess mentality where you anticipate four or five moves ahead. He is an in the moment thinker. He doesn't consider long term consequences, much like corporate America. Which is why running the government like a business is not a good idea.