Marianna was also involved with the MHC News, the college newspaper, as one of the Copy Editors. Currently, she works as an Assistant Resident Director at the Rome campus for Loyola University Chicago.
- Qasem Soleimani: An Untouchable International Target - January 18, 2020
- XXI Century: The Reinassance of Anti-Semitism - January 14, 2020
By Marianna Maddock
This new decade has already started on very unstable grounds, especially since the recent US drone attack which killed Iranian military commander, Qasem Soleimani, and Iraqi militia leader, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.
These were blatant acts of war.
Soleimani has been on the radar for several years. He was in fact a clear “enemy of the United States.” Regardless of such obvious friction, President George W. Bush, Barack Obama as well as Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu have all resisted the urge to eliminate Soleimani given that he was so highly regarded in Iran and by Iranian allies.
All three nation leaders definitely had plenty of opportunities to kill Soleimani, but all three were just as wise to know that creating a martyr would not benefit their countries’ interests.
Here comes the Trump Administration who chose this moment to kill Soleimani – and such a killing is being justified. US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, claimed that the assassination was justified due to US intelligence suggesting that Soleimani was planning an “imminent” attack against American forces. However, no evidence was provided by Pompeo for such a claim.
If said allegations were true, then the drone attack would have been legal under the US Constitution since the US Commander in Chief is indeed obliged to provide self-defense for US service members. But again, no evidence was provided and as such, we are left with a bundle of speculation.
The aftermath of this attack is still in the making, especially as we wait to see what the Iraqi Parliament decides to do with the United States forces. The Iranians will undoubtedly respond, most probably counterbalancing the American attack on Iranian soil.
- Why Obama, Bush, and Bibi all passed on killing Soleimani?
- What brought the Trump Administration to put into effect the drone attack?
Suggested Readings
https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/death-iran-s-top-general-qassem-soleimani-means-america-has-ncna1110306
https://www.thedailybeast.com/why-obama-bush-and-bibi-all-passed-on-killing-qassem-soleimani
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/01/03/politics/trump-soleimani-strike-legal-justification/index.html
