[chrissnell]

Some context here:

This guy was directly responsible for hundreds (maybe over 1,000) U.S. Soldiers killed in Iraq by shaped charge IEDs manufactured by Iran and its Iraqi proxies. He also orchestrated clandestine raids and kidnappings, like the one that happened in Karbala in 2007. [0]

He was also responsible for the deaths of untold numbers of civilians in Iraq and Syria at the hands of Shia death squads and Shia militias/paramilitary forces. These are people who kidnapped innocent Sunni civilians off the streets and drilled holes through their skulls to kill them. (Sorry for the graphic description there, but this was ugly war)

He was in charge of the Quds Force, which is like the American CIA and Special Forces Command combined. But, he’s far more important than his Major General (2-star) rank implies. He’s probably the second-most powerful person in Iran. Equivalent in strength to a Vice President, but much more behind the scenes. This is huge. Imagine if David Petraeus secretly ran everything that the US did externally and then some nation killed him.

More context here: https://twitter.com/yashar/status/1212913366492016640

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karbala_provincial_headquarter...

[9nGQluzmnq3M]

Unpopular opinion: I'm pretty sure the US bears some responsibility for putting thousands of US soldiers in Iraq, not to mention initiating the entire quagmire by overthrowing Saddam without any plan for what to do next.

[chriselles]

Agreed. Iraq should not have been invaded.

[erentz]

It’s hard to imagine what the response is going to be. I don’t think a lot of people realize who this guy was or what this represents. (A lot of people are probably confused about what an Iranian general is doing in Iraq in the first place.)

I can only hope for the best outcome being something like Iraq asking us to leave, and then largely falling into the fold of Iran. And hopefully that not being opposed by the US (unlikely) and it being all the victory Iran needs. Maybe something like that.

The alternative at a minimum is going to be many more lives lost and billions spent. At the other end of the spectrum tens of thousands of US lives, hundreds of thousands of Iraqi and Iranian lives, and trillions more in US dollars thrown on the fire.

[Zhenya]

Why would the best outcome be the specific thing this action was made to prevent - the overtaking of Iraq by Iran?

[AnimalMuppet]

I don't think that's the specific outcome this action was intended to prevent. I think it was intended to prevent this guy from orchestrating any more killing of Americans. I think it was triggered by this guy's people killing an American contractor last week.

[jki275]

Iran & Iraq united is probably the worst outcome possible, as it will ensure our continued involvement to protect shipping throughout the persian gulf.

[gremlinsinc]

why should we GAF about shipping in the persian gulf. Cut our losses, and get the hell out of dodge. Let the rest of the world worry about it. I think Trump wants a war -- to help his campaign and 'legacy' such as it is. So we'll probably get a war.

[jki275]

No, Trump doesn’t want war.

Nobody actually wants war.

Go study up on the tanker wars and what Iran has done to the world economy in the past.

We’ve been in the gulf for decades, doing what our Navy does best - keeping peace.

[pieter_mj]

>(A lot of people are probably confused about what an Iranian general is doing in Iraq in the first place.)

Looting Iraq?

[freeflight]

> A lot of people are probably confused about what an Iranian general is doing in Iraq in the first place.

Coordinating with the local PMF forces [0] which just a bit earlier the US hit [1] in retaliation for the killed US contractor.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popular_Mobilization_Forces

[1] https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-50951742

[foogazi]

> I can only hope for the best outcome being something like Iraq asking us to leave

You think the US would leave Iraq to Iran ?

Iraq is essentially a buffer for SA / Israel

[true_religion]

Fair enough but this guy wasn’t a unaffiliated civilian waging a secret war. He wasn’t a terrorist. He was a General in Iran’s military acting upon their nation policy.

Once he’s dead he’ll simply be replaced with the next general in line, and the war will continue.

My context is that this is no secret from the countries leadership, just merely not official acknowledged like CIA actions.

[dogma1138]

The IRGC is separate to the Iranian military.

He didn’t act based on his nations policy he set it.

The primary mandate of the Commander of the Quds Force is to export the Iranian revolution.

He isn’t a military general in any traditional manner, he sets up and commands militias around the Middle East.

[freeflight]

> The IRGC is separate to the Iranian military.

It's not separate, it's an official branch of the Iranian Armed Forces [0]. You are similarly off-beat with pretty much all of your other statements.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_Revolutionary_Guard_Co...

[dogma1138]

I am not and you shouldn't rely on Wikipedia.

The IRGC is completely separate from the Iranian Military.

It is not bound to by the Iranian constitution, it is not bound to protect Iran but rather to protect the Islamic Republic, which is a completely separate entity.

The IRGC do not swear to protect the people of Iran but rather the ayatollahs.

They also do not share the same command structure exactly, the Iranian Army chief of staff is Abdolrahim Mousavi not Khamenei.

The Quds Force is also unique within the IRGC they do not report through the IRGC chain of command, hence Hossein Salami has no authority over Quds, but rather they report directly to Khamenei.

[freeflight]

> I am not and you shouldn't rely on Wikipedia.

I'm relying on publicly available information, if you have better information it would be common courtesy to share it, instead of merely proclaiming Wikipedia is wrong.

> The IRGC do not swear to protect the people of Iran but rather the ayatollahs.

According to that logic, not even Iranian law enforcement is there to protect the people, because that's also structured under the Military Office of the Supreme leader.

> The Quds Force is also unique within the IRGC they do not report through the IRGC chain of command, hence Hossein Salami has no authority over Quds, but rather they report directly to Khamenei.

On what do you base this interpretation? It's completely contrary to the structure of the Iranian armed forces described on Wikipedia [0].

Not to mention that you in your original comment, you called him the Commander of the Quds Force, and now you say he has no authority over them.

If you have a better source then share it, but just declaring "You shouldn't rely on Wikipedia", while offering nothing except your own words, is not exactly constructive to the discussion.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armed_Forces_of_the_Islamic_Re...

[foogazi]

Why would he be in Baghdad after the recent events ?

Do you think the next general in line shows up at Baghdad international too?