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Poll: why did Trump order the attack to kill Soleimani?

Why did Trump order the attack to kill Soleimani?

  • High profile target who killed Americans, had to act, totally unrelated to Trump's domestic problems

    Votes: 17 31.5%

  • To distract from Trump's domestic trouble and to rally the country behind him for re-election

    Votes: 23 42.6%

  • A combination of both options 1 and 2

    Votes: 14 25.9%
  • Total voters
    54
  • Poll closed .
GreatNews2night

GreatNews2night

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See this link:

Iran Has Vowed Revenge Against the U.S. For Killing Its Shadow Commander | Time

On one hand, like the analysis I just posted indicates, Soleimani was directly or indirectly involved in the killing of at least 603 US servicemen, and in the injury of countless others. So, if a target of this magnitude is acquired by intelligence services, in a vulnerable situation (a convey traveling away from the airport on an open road) it is conceivable that a president will order a strike. Obama did as much to Osama bin Laden, and Trump did as much to al-Baghdadi; not many Americans lamented these two strikes. So, in this regard, the timing may have been coincidental; someone who displaces a lot around the region and is surrounded by a security apparatus doesn't offer to his adversaries too many opportunities to be taken down, and when one arises, from the logistical and strategical standpoints, one must act immediately, lest the target moves and can no longer be acquired. If this is what happened, the attack may have been unrelated to Trump's domestic troubles.

On the other hand, we know that Trump is a master of distraction, and often comes up with something to disrupt the news cycle when ne needs to do it. When Obama was up for re-election, Trump expressed the opinion that Obama might start a war with Iran to get re-elected... therefore, this kind of thought has demonstrably been in Trump's mind at least once in the past. So, maybe this target was acquired before but the president and/or the Pentagon advised for restraint, not to escalate the already tense situation in the Middle East, but now that Trump is in some trouble, maybe he thought "f... that, I need a distraction and I need to rally support behind me" and gave the green light.
.
And then, of course, it might have been a combination of both.

I'm posting this poll to see what people here think about what is behind Trump's decision
 
I shed no tears for Soleimani, whom is hopefully rotting in one of the nine hells, but

Representative Elissa Slotkin, a former Shia militia analyst, made it clear that both the Bush and Obama Administrations held off on killing Soleimani precisely because of the fear of the repercussions and threat of regional conflict.

I really hope we're prepared for the consequences.
 
DJT was well on his way to be reelected before all of this went down. I think he saw the opportunity, had the assets in place, intelligence data and, decided to go for it. It all fell into place and the Iranians weren't expecting it.
 
GreatNews2night said:
See this link:

Iran Has Vowed Revenge Against the U.S. For Killing Its Shadow Commander | Time

On one hand, like the analysis I just posted indicates, Soleimani was directly or indirectly involved in the killing of at least 603 US servicemen, and in the injury of countless others. So, if a target of this magnitude is acquired by intelligence services, in a vulnerable situation (a convey traveling away from the airport on an open road) it is conceivable that a president will order a strike. Obama did as much to Osama bin Laden, and Trump did as much to al-Baghdadi; not many Americans lamented these two strikes. So, in this regard, the timing may have been coincidental; someone who displaces a lot around the region and is surrounded by a security apparatus doesn't offer to his adversaries too many opportunities to be taken down, and when one arises, from the logistical and strategical standpoints, one must act immediately, lest the target moves and can no longer be acquired. If this is what happened, the attack may have been unrelated to Trump's domestic troubles.

On the other hand, we know that Trump is a master of distraction, and often comes up with something to disrupt the news cycle when ne needs to do it. When Obama was up for re-election, Trump expressed the opinion that Obama might start a war with Iran to get re-elected... therefore, this kind of thought has demonstrably been in Trump's mind at least once in the past. So, maybe this target was acquired before but the president and/or the Pentagon advised for restraint, not to escalate the already tense situation in the Middle East, but now that Trump is in some trouble, maybe he thought "f... that, I need a distraction and I need to rally support behind me" and gave the green light.
.
And then, of course, it might have been a combination of both.

I'm posting this poll to see what people here think about what is behind Trump's decision
Click to expand...

For whatever reason, Trump helped take down a terrorist and the whole world is a better place because of it.
 
Jredbaron96 said:
I really hope we're prepared for the consequences.
Click to expand...

What consequences? The left giving more aid and comfort to my country's enemies? The left denigrating my country even more?

No worries, we expect the left to behave Un-American.

As far as Iranian retaliation, they have been killing us already, and we have been extremely patient. After a while it's time to strike back.
 
DamnYankee said:
DJT was well on his way to be reelected before all of this went down. I think he saw the opportunity, had the assets in place, intelligence data and, decided to go for it. It all fell into place and the Iranians weren't expecting it.
Click to expand...

That is utter silliness. Trump is doing the stagger while trying to swagger. Killing the general is fine by me, by Trump is not the guy to lead us in this situation. Watch!

The neo-con right are emboldening Iran and its allies. The left and center are trying to restrain the crazies of the neo-con right.

Real America expects Trump and the neo-cons to act this way, and that is why another solid Dem victory is coming this fall.
 
Jredbaron96 said:
I shed no tears for Soleimani, whom is hopefully rotting in one of the nine hells, but

Representative Elissa Slotkin, a former Shia militia analyst, made it clear that both the Bush and Obama Administrations held off on killing Soleimani precisely because of the fear of the repercussions and threat of regional conflict.

I really hope we're prepared for the consequences.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I think this could get real ugly real quick if not handled well.
 
DamnYankee said:
What consequences? The left giving more aid and comfort to my country's enemies? The left denigrating my country even more?

No worries, we expect the left to behave Un-American.

As far as Iranian retaliation, they have been killing us already, and we have been extremely patient. After a while it's time to strike back.
Click to expand...

The left wanted to send the Iranians another plane loaded with palettes of laundered cash with a note attached saying: "We're sorry...please don't kill us!"
 
jamesbyoung said:
That is utter silliness. Trump is doing the stagger while trying to swagger. Killing the general is fine by me, by Trump is not the guy to lead us in this situation. Watch!

The neo-con right are emboldening Iran and its allies. The left and center are trying to restrain the crazies of the neo-con right.

Real America expects Trump and the neo-cons to act this way, and that is why another solid Dem victory is coming this fall.
Click to expand...

Sounds like a raging case of TDS.
 
Jredbaron96 said:
I shed no tears for Soleimani, whom is hopefully rotting in one of the nine hells, but

Representative Elissa Slotkin, a former Shia militia analyst, made it clear that both the Bush and Obama Administrations held off on killing Soleimani precisely because of the fear of the repercussions and threat of regional conflict.

I really hope we're prepared for the consequences.
Click to expand...

We're not, lol.


Just thought I'd clear that doubt away for you.
 
Ikari said:
Yeah, I think this could get real ugly real quick if not handled well.
Click to expand...

I would like a fuller answer here. What exactly do you think will happen that would not have happened? Do you consider the option that Iranian leaders may think that any retaliation will lead to a harsh response. Something like eliminating their oil output. That would be a dagger current Iranian leadership would find hard to overcome.
 
washunut said:
I would like a fuller answer here. What exactly do you think will happen that would not have happened? Do you consider the option that Iranian leaders may think that any retaliation will lead to a harsh response. Something like eliminating their oil output. That would be a dagger current Iranian leadership would find hard to overcome.
Click to expand...

Nonsense, washunut, that is a pipe dream. The West is not going to allow Trump to attack Iran's oil industry. It would put the world into another great recession and start a regional war with Iraq allied to Iran against Saudi Arabia.
 
ObamacareFail said:
The left wanted to send the Iranians another plane loaded with palettes of laundered cash with a note attached saying: "We're sorry...please don't kill us!"
Click to expand...

Iran knows the American left has their back and will defend them politically. And so far the left has been doing just that. You can always count on the left providing aid and comfort to the nation's enemies.
 
DamnYankee said:
What consequences? The left giving more aid and comfort to my country's enemies? The left denigrating my country even more?
Click to expand...

It's our country, thank you.

As far as Iranian retaliation, they have been killing us already, and we have been extremely patient. After a while it's time to strike back.
Click to expand...

So the solution is to give them even more reason to kill us. Fantastic work.
 
Interesting, only 10% so far attribute to Trump purity of intention. 90% admits that distraction and re-election are either the only factors or figure in a combination with other factors.
 
What I think will happen is that the Iranians will launch an attack against an American ally in the region which will calculatedly include the death of a few Americans (one or two would do) so that they can save face and declare that they have retaliated, but without engaging in a large-scale direct attack on Americans (such as blowing up an embassy) that would most likely result in full-blown war which Iran would catastrophically lose. I think the Ayatollahs are interested in regime survival. They can't afford not to retaliate or else they risk domestic turmoil from their own people's dismay at the death of someone they saw as a hero, but they can't afford a direct full-blown war with the United States either.
 
Jredbaron96 said:
It's our country, thank you.
Click to expand...

It's my country.

So the solution is to give them even more reason to kill us. Fantastic work.
Click to expand...

They have been killing my countrymen already. How many American lives does my country need to lose before you deem it enough? 10? 100? 1000? More?

BO bent over and took it in the ass, I don't think DJT will.
 
jamesbyoung said:
The neo-con right are emboldening Iran and its allies. The left and center are trying to restrain the crazies of the neo-con right.
Click to expand...

Wrong. Leftists are providing Iran with political backing within my country. Leftists are giving Iran the exact aid and comfort they need.

You can't trust leftists. They will side with America's enemies every time they get an excuse.
 
DamnYankee said:
Wrong. Leftists are providing Iran with political backing within my country. Leftists are giving Iran the exact aid and comfort they need.

You can't trust leftists. They will side with America's enemies every time they get an excuse.
Click to expand...

The center and left are providing the correct political thinking in our America, while the righties are trying to start a war with a third-rate country in order to keep Trump in office.

You can't trust Trump or his supporters. They are America's enemies.
 
Hm, only 8.3% of responders so far have attributed purity of intentions to Trump. Under the risk of derailing my own thread by posting an off-topic post, I find it interesting. I was expecting a more 50-50 result between conservatives, moderates, and progressive posters.

So if even the right wing posters are attributing to Trump some self-serving motives, why is it that they doubt so much that when Trump called the Ukrainian president he had his self interest in mind rather than the purest anti-corruption intent?

Well, maybe there's just not enough conservative posters responding to this poll yet, but if the trend continues, it might be appropriate to raise this question.
 
DamnYankee said:
DJT was well on his way to be reelected before all of this went down. I think he saw the opportunity, had the assets in place, intelligence data and, decided to go for it. It all fell into place and the Iranians weren't expecting it.
Click to expand...

/Thread
 
jamesbyoung said:
The center and left are providing the correct political thinking in our America, while the righties are trying to start a war with a third-rate country in order to keep Trump in office.

You can't trust Trump or his supporters. They are America's enemies.
Click to expand...

Perhaps thinking of your fellow Americans as “enemies” is part of the problem
 
Lutherf said:
Perhaps thinking of your fellow Americans as “enemies” is part of the problem
Click to expand...

The far right and Trumpers have been denigrating their political opposition forever, much of it as enemies, so step down, Lutherf. The neo-cons in the Bush and Obama admins are America's enemies as well.

Will America ever learn to mind its own business and avoid entangling alliances and costly military adventures?

This country has been at war since 2001. An entire generation has grown up only knowing conflict. This is disgusting.

The more we focus on maintaining global dominance, the more we neglect our own people. I am so tired of the older generation’s knee jerk warmongering.
Everyone got tired of being bogged down in Iraq and Afghanistan. Those wars cost too much in terms of lives and resources. Do you really think this country has the stamina to occupy another Middle Eastern country?

I can’t believe how many people have forgotten about those fiascos. How’s does this stuff just go down the memory hole? Why should I expect anything less? The same folks who grew up watching the horrors of Vietnam cheered for the invasion of Iraq.

Everyone needs to stop the chest thumping and think for once.
 
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