ASSASSINATION/IRAN/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump’s killing of one of Iran’s top military commanders means the elimination of a dangerous U.S. foe – but it also represents a risky escalation in a volatile feud that could backfire on U.S. personnel and allies in the Middle East and beyond. The Pentagon confirmed Thursday that Qassem Soleimani, who leads Iran’s elite Quds force, was killed in what it termed a ‘defensive action.’ Iraqi and other media said Soleimani died in an airstrike at Baghdad’s international airport. Some media accounts described the airstrike as coming from a U.S. drone, but the Pentagon did not specify…Even the possibility that the U.S. had directly targeted Soleimani – especially on Iraqi soil – sent shockwaves around the globe, spiking oil prices and leading to instant assessments of the potential fallout. U.S. officials have long depicted Soleimani as a paramilitary and terrorist mastermind, deemed responsible for attacks on American troops in Iraq and against U.S. interests all over the world.”
-Nahal Toosi, Daniel Lippman and Wesley Morgan, “Trump takes massive gamble with killing of Iranian commander,” Politico, January 2, 2020 10:01 pm