REPORT: Trump authorized Soleimani’s killing 7 months ago

It’s being reported this morning that Trump authorized the killing of Soleimani seven months ago:

NBC NEWS – President Donald Trump authorized the killing of Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani seven months ago if Iran’s increased aggression resulted in the death of an American, according to five current and former senior administration officials.

The presidential directive in June came with the condition that Trump would have final signoff on any specific operation to kill Soleimani, officials said.

That decision explains why assassinating Soleimani was on the menu of options that the military presented to Trump two weeks ago for responding to an attack by Iranian proxies in Iraq, in which a U.S. contractor was killed and four U.S. service members were wounded, the officials said.

“There have been a number of options presented to the president over the course of time,” a senior administration official said, adding that it was “some time ago” that the president’s aides put assassinating Soleimani on the list of potential responses to Iranian aggression.

Red Line: Killing an American

After Iran shot down a U.S. drone in June, John Bolton, Trump’s national security adviser at the time, urged Trump to retaliate by signing off on an operation to kill Soleimani, officials said. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also wanted Trump to authorize the assassination, officials said.

But Trump rejected the idea, saying he’d take that step only if Iran crossed his red line: killing an American. The president’s message was “that’s only on the table if they hit Americans,” according to a person briefed on the discussion.

NBC News suggested in their piece that this news could “undermine” Trump’s justification for taking out Soleimani. But that assumes that Trump is lying about his justification. Many who’ve been briefed on the killing have already said was definitely justified based on what was explained in the briefing. Even Mike Lee, who was upset at the briefing, said the killing was justified.

The media is always looking for a way to undermine Trump. Can it not both be true that Soleimani crossed Trump’s red line by killing an American and was planning imminent attacks? I think the answer to that is absolutely yes. But hey media, keep on with the TDS. November is around the corner…


Comment Policy: Please read our comment policy before making a comment. In short, please be respectful of others and do not engage in personal attacks. Otherwise we will revoke your comment privileges.