After the US airstrike that President Trump ordered killed Iran's top general Qasem Soliemani on Friday, there were a lot of strong reactions from the usual folks.

How did we get here?

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has been making the talk show rounds, explaining how Iran and all of its proxies became so strong. He points to the Obama policy of appeasement of Iran and the resulting strengthening of the Shia militias in Iraq, Hezbollah, and other problems.

Why didn't we know who Soleimani was?

Now that we know what a dangerous person Soleimani was, why were most people ignorant of his existence?

Perhaps we can attribute our general ignorance of such an important person to the mainstream media. which has been focused on partisan issues in Washington, and not so much on people and events that can seriously threaten us.

Take Soleimani for instance: he has been operating in the middle east for decades. He has had a hand in many of the events that have been going on there, but have you ever heard of him?

UN Ambassador Nikki Haley did warn the UN about Soleimani:

In the mainstream media, Haley's warnings fell on deaf ears. They had "more important things to do," like trying to get rid of Donald Trump.

What the Democrats are saying

The Democrats have taken the position that President Trump is the real danger to the world, and Qasem Soleimani was an Iranian folk hero.

Colin Kaepernick accused the US of committing terrorism.

Bernie Sanders: “Trump’s dangerous escalation brings us closer to another disastrous war in the Middle East that could cost countless lives and trillions more dollars.”

Elizabeth Warren acknowledged that Soleimani was a bad guy, but she called the attack a “reckless move escalates the situation with Iran and increases the likelihood of more deaths and new Middle East conflict”.

Many are outraged that they were not consulted before the attack, but their arguments are baseless, as the president was fully within his right to take Soleimani out. Soleimani was a terrorist and he had been banned from Iraq.

Chuck Schumer warned, “When the security of the nation is at stake, decisions must not be made in a vacuum. It is paramount for administrations to get an outside view to prevent groupthink.”

Nancy Pelosi chided President Trump: “This initiation of hostilities was taken without an Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) against Iran, without the consultation of the Congress and without the articulation of a clear and legitimate strategy to either the Congress or the public.”

How will Iran retaliate?

Speculation abounds regarding what form Iran's promised "crushing revenge" will take. One way they could retaliate is through cyberwarfare.

It turns out that the cyberwar with Iran has been going on since 2009 at least, when Iran hacked Twitter. 2012 was a banner year for attacks. Iran mostly targets "soft" targets. The US targets government computer systems that are used to run Iran's nuclear program. They also target military systems.

Go here to see how many and how long Iran and the US have been hacking each other: US Iran cyber attacks.

Iranian General Gholamali Abuhamzeh mentioned some potential targets that could include the Strait of Hormuz, an important thoroughfare for American naval vessels and commercial traffic. He said there were at least 35 targets that Iran could reach including Tel Aviv.

Tehran also has announced that it named a successor: the force's little-known deputy chief, Brig. Gen. Ismail Qaani. According to the Washington Post, Qaani is not a networker like Soleimani, but an administrative guy. He has been around just as long as Soleimani, so it is expected that the empire Soleimani built will endure.

How will the US respond to Iranian revenge?

The State Department has pointed out that whatever the Iranians do, it will just be a continuance of what they have already been doing. That was the point of taking out Soleimani. He has been killing and maiming Americans for a long time now.

President Trump promised to target 52 sites that are important to Iran if Iran tries to get revenge for the death of Soleimani.

This is a developing story.

Watch Iraqis celebrate the death of Soleimani:

 

 

One day after a successful pre-emptive defensive strike took out Iran's top exporter of terror, Qassim Soleimani, the US State Department and President Trump are arguing that the strike was necessary to save American lives.

Ortagus stated: "We killed a terrorist yesterday."

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the strike was designed to disrupt Soleimani's plots, deter further plotting by Iran, and de-escalate tensions with Iran.

For more on Soleimani and his past go here.

President Trump justifies the strike

President Trump issued a statement justifying the strike:

General Qassem Soleimani has killed or badly wounded thousands of Americans over an extended period of time, and was plotting to kill many more... but got caught!

"He was directly and indirectly responsible for the death of millions of people, including the recent large number of PROTESTERS killed in Iran itself. While Iran will never be able to properly admit it, Soleimani was both hated and feared within the country. They are not nearly as saddened as the leaders will let the outside world believe. He should have been taken out many years ago!"

In his first official appearance since Soleimani's death, President Trump answered his critics with, "We took action to stop a war, not to start a war."

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Neither Bush nor Obama went after Soleimani

Neither President Bush or President Obama tried to take Soleimani out during their tenure. Bush thought it was too risky, and Obama wanted to improve relations with Iran. So, Soleimani continued his terrorist activities unopposed by the US until President Trump. Some described Soleimani as worse than Bin Laden or Al Baghdadi.

Senator Mitch McConnell justified the attack

Senator Mitch McConnell briefed the Senate and explained why Soleimani was such a threat, saying, "Soleimani made it his life's work to take the Iranian revolutionary calls for "Death to America" and "Death to Israel" and turned them into action." McConnel called Soleimani's actions destabilizing for the entire middle east.

Democrats assert that the President needed congressional authorization

Unsurprisingly, the Democrats are criticizing President Trump, saying that he should have gotten authorization before taking Soleimani out. 2020 candidate Tulsi Gabbard said that the strike was an act of war against Iran and hadn't been authorized by Congress. Nancy Pelosi, Adam Schiff, Chuck Schumer, and Pete Buttigieg echoed similar opinions.

But the war in Iraq, where Soleimani was killed, was authorized by Congress in 2001 by an almost unanimous vote. 

The preamble of the ‘‘Authorization for Use of Military Force’’ states:

Whereas, on September 11, 2001, acts of treacherous violence were
committed against the United States and its citizens; and
Whereas, such acts render it both necessary and appropriate that
the United States exercise its rights to self-defense and to protect
United States citizens both at home and abroad; and
Whereas, in light of the threat to the national security and foreign
policy of the United States posed by these grave acts of violence;
and
Whereas, such acts continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary
threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United
States; and
Whereas, the President has authority under the Constitution to
take action to deter and prevent acts of international terrorism
against the United States:

IRGC and Qods designated Terrorist organization

Obviously, the president has a duty to defend Americans against terrorism, and Soleimani was a terrorist. Indeed, the president designated "Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), including its Qods Force, as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) under Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act" on April 8, 2019. Soleimani was the Iranian Quds Force commander.

Congress approved the War on Terror long ago, and the strike on Soleimani was another action in that war. The strike was not a declaration of war, it was just another action in an ongoing war against terrorism.  Congress could amend the authorization, but, Congress is too busy with impeachment to worry about re-visiting the Authorization of Military Force.

Senator Lindsay Graham justifies the attack

Senator Lindsey Graham was asked if the president should have consulted Congress before the strike against Soleimani. He responded that that would be the last thing the president should do.

Graham emphasized that the strike against Soleimani was not an act of revenge, but a pre-emptive defensive strike to disrupt Soleimani's plans to attack Americans. Graham also said that Soleimani is dead today because he miscalculated what President Trump would do.

Graham advised that the US needs to let Iran know what will happen if they try to retaliate. He said that if the Iranians know what we will do, it will moderate their response.

Graham also warned that Iran has armed Iraqi Shiite militias and that the Iraqi government is in danger of being destabilized by Iranian influence.

Iran threatens "crushing" revenge

Iran's Supreme leader Khameini is threatening "crushing revenge." He is portraying Soleimani as a martyr. More to come.

Is a war with Iran next?

Fox News contributor Walid Phares suggests that Iran is not ready for a war with the US.

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Democrats want to blame a recent spate of antisemitic attacks on white supremacy/nationalism and President Trump, but they are having a hard time with that argument because the attackers just don't fit the narrative.

Antisemitic attacks on the rise

Anti-semitism seems to be on the rise in the New York area. According to the BBC: "New York City police's hate crimes unit said it was investigating eight anti-Semitic incidents reported since 13 December."

But actually, the attacks have been happening more than most Americans know. We don't really know because the attacks have not fit the fake news Democrat narrative and so they have been underreported by the mainstream media. The Jewish community understands this and has suffered because of it as the attacks continue.

December 10th Jersey City antisemitic attack

On December 10th, a kosher grocery was attacked in Jersey City. Three people were killed, including two Hasidic Jews. A police detective was also killed and the two shooters were killed. New Jersey's Attorney General Gurbir Grewal announced that the attack was motivated by antisemitism.

"At this point, the evidence points towards acts of hate. I can confirm that we're investigating this matter as potential acts of terrorism, fueled both by anti-Semitism and anti-law enforcement beliefs."

Indeed, one of the shooters, David N. Anderson, 47 was deeply steeped in antisemitism and driven by his ideology to violence.

According to the ADL, David Anderson posted many anti-semitic sentiments under the name of Dawad Maccabees.

 In July 2015 he wrote, “Brooklyn is full of NAZIS – ASHKE-NAZIS ).”  (“Ashkenazi” is the name of a Jewish ethnic group, which includes many Hassidic and ultra-Orthodox Jews.) He went on to allege that Jews were responsible for murdering black men because “the police are their hand now.” 

Monsey antisemitic attack

The latest attack at the home of a rabbi in Monsey, New York, was also not committed by a white supremacist, or President Trump. The machete-wielding attacker had expressed interest in the Black Hebrew Israelites movement as had the Jersey City shooter, David Anderson.

So who are the Black Hebrew Israelites? Again, according to the ADL: Anti-Semitic Black Hebrew Israelites assert that white people are agents of Satan, Jews are liars and false worshipers of God, and blacks are the true “chosen people” and are racially superior to other ethnicities. 

Misplaced blame

The mayor of New York Bill De Blasio finally promised to increase law-enforcement in the neighborhoods with large Jewish populations in Brooklyn. This is good news for Jewish people in Brooklyn, but De Blasio seems to be placing the blame in the wrong place.

DeBlasio said, “An atmosphere of hate has been developing in this country over the last few years. A lot of it is emanating from Washington and it’s having an effect on all of us,” de Blasio said.

After the Jersey City attack, Democrat Rashida Tlaib falsely blamed white supremacists in a tweet for the killings. She later deleted her tweet.

Joy Behar, a co-host on The View, also jumped to the same conclusion on national TV while interviewing former New Jersey governor Chris Christie. After discussing the vicious attack on the Jews in the deli and the policeman they also killed, Behar asked Christie, "You will concede that these white nationalists have been let out of their holes?" Sadly, Christie didn't call her on her assumptions.

Waiting for a solution

It will be hard to arrive at any solution to the accelerating antisemitic violence in New York until the problem is properly identified. While the Democrats try to pin blame on their favorite scapegoats, people continue to be injured and or die. Let's pray that the governor and the mayor do the right thing to protect the folks in New York.

Maybe it is time for these Americans to take their defense into their own hands.

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