As was to be expected after the US attack on General Qassem Soleimani the media speculation, comparisons with the Clinton impeachment and scare mongering has dominated the “news” media.

First we should establish the known facts:

• A US strike[i] killed General Qassem Soleimani, the powerful head of Iran’s elite Quds Force, in Baghdad
  • The Quds have been responsible for the death of hundreds of US personnel in Iraq.
  • The attack unfolded early on Friday local time in a precision strike on two cars that were carrying Soleimani
  • Soleimani had just arrived in Baghdad on a flight from Syria and was leaving the airport when he was hit
• The attack also killed Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, leader of Iranian militias in Iraq which led the attacks on the US embassy in Baghdad.
• Both the US Secretary of Defense and Secretary of State have stated unequivocally that the Iranians, using their proxies such as Hezbollah, Hamas and the militias in Iraq were plotting attacks against US personnel and interests in the region.[ii]
  • The attack has therefore been categorized as a deterrent or preemptive attack.[iii]

The media hype has focused on the unrest that this attack is going to create.  The speculation includes:

• Terrorist activities in the middle-east against US military and other targets
• Attacks by “sleeper” cells in the US
• Efforts by Iran to close the Straits of Hormuz
• Attacks against Israel by Iranian proxies
• Cyber-attacks anywhere in the world

The media has even gone so far in at least one case to refer to the attack as an assassination.  Of course this is an attempt to create another article of impeachment as assassination is against a US avowed practice as outlined in an Executive Order signed by Ronald Reagan.  This attempt is far fetched, but shows how desperate some “pundits” are.  The General was a military combatant on a battlefield and had just been responsible for an attack on a US embassy.  End of the assassination impeachment idea!

Each of the above attacks by Iran is possible.  One can be sure that US, Israeli and Saudi forces are watching for any and all such attacks.  One can also expect that any indicator of the possibility of a given type of attack could cause another pre-preemptive effort.

What if this attack, when coupled with the effect of the embargoes against Iran, is the tipping point that causes Iran to truly seek accommodation by pledging to withdraw its support of proxy forces throughout the region and agreement to adhere to a realistic regime of inspections and limits on its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of the embargo.  Most will find this unlikely.  It does clearly define the US goal vis-à-vis Iran.

A possible scenario is that Iran does seek revenge by one of the above types of attacks and it is soundly stopped or pre-empted.  How many such rebuffs can Iran tolerate before internal domestic pressures cause political change?

Finally. Might this attack convince the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that he is also at risk and be another cause of an Iranian reversal of policy?  Only time will tell, but all of the gloom and doom punditry is most likely just irresponsible punditry.

A follow up attack today killed another Quds Force leader.

As this gets posted the media is full of reportedly inflamed rhetoric from Iran and its proxies. Reportedly Iran has at least 35 targets on its target list, which could include US bases, ships, etc. and Saudi and Israeli targets.  We will follow such engagements, preemptions and reactions and report again in coming days.[iv]

[i] 1.  The speculation also abounds on the nature of the attack.  In one article the attack is described as an airstrike, a drone attack and a helicopter attack.  For sure it was one of these.  Each could launch precision munitions that could track and engage the two vehicle convoy.  The exact platform from which the munitions were launched may never be released.

2 ‘General Soleimani was actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region,’ the Pentagon statement said.

3..  Obviously, there was an ongoing surveillance of Soleimani using multiple means.  The New York Times reported that Friday’s attack drew upon a combination of highly classified information from informants, electronic intercepts, reconnaissance aircraft and other surveillance techniques. This shows how important the General’s activities were.

4. John Bolton is even reported as hoping that this will be the beginning of efforts to cause regime change in Iran. We will see.