Who Was Qasem Soleimani?

I wanted to write an article about Soleimani. The purpose is to be able to do a U-Tube Video on this complicated man. I am writing this   Disclaimer: I went to Wikipedia for fact gathering and cited their sources when necessary. I endeavor to be accurate but I have not personally verified these facts.

Soleimani began his life working in construction and in his spare time weight trained and gave Karate lessons. He became known to Ali Khamenei and joined the revolutionary guard. When Saddam Hussein attacked Iran Soleimani trained soldiers and fought to repel this invasion. He helped suppress a Kurdish Separatist uprising in the west Azerbaijan Province and led organized irregular warfare missions inside Iraq. (1) After the war he was commander near the Afghan-grown poppy fields and earned the reputation as a fighter against drug trafficking. (2) During the 1999 student rebellion in Tehran Soleimani signed a letter to Mohammad Khatami saying that if he did not “crush” this revolt the army would, and that would be the end of Khatami. (3) In 2008 he helped to arrange a ceasefire between the Iraqi army and the Madi Army. (4) After the September 11^th attacks the United States worked with Soleimani for the purpose of destroying the Taliban. (5) This help ended when George W. Bush named Iran as part of the “axis of evil” in his 2002 state of the union address. (6) Incredible that we were working with him. It was Soleimani who strengthened the relationship between his Quds Force and Hezbollah to retake southern Lebanon in the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah War. (7) It was Soleimani who took personal control of the Iranian Intervention in the Syrian civil war. (8) This guy was everywhere. In 2015 Soleimani began gathering support from various sources to combat the resurgent Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and the main architect of the joint intervention involving Russia as a new partner with al-Assad and Hezbollah. (9) He’s a magic man. It was Soleimani who went to Moscow to shape a Russian military intervention that reshaped the Syrian war and forged a new Russia-Iran alliance in support of the Syrian and Iraqi governments. It was Soleimani that met with Putin to explain the map of the theatre and coordinate the escalation of military forces in Syria. (10) Works well with our enemies. Soleimani had a significant role in Iran’s fight against (ISIL) in Iraq. He was described as the “linchpin” bringing together Kurdish and Shia forces to fight ISIS. He was the organizer of the joint operations conducted by the two groups. (11) Soleimani played a critical role in the retaking of the city of Tikrit in Iraq from (ISIL). In 2016 photos published by Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) showed Soleimani attending a meeting of PMF commanders in Iraq to discuss the battle of Fallujah. (12) CIA chief Mike Pompeo said he sent a letter to Soleimani and other Iranian leaders holding responsible for any attacks on U.S. interests under their control. Soleimani ignored this letter when it was handed to him saying “I will not take your letter nor read it and I have nothing to say to these people.” (13) Soleimani was killed on January 3,2020 by drone strike near Baghdad International Airport. (14)

This is an abridged epithet of the many things this Great Man has accomplished. He reshaped the world. He could raise an army when starting with only a handful of men. With this army he went on to create nations. He was a warlord. He could have been a king. But he wanted to be a king maker. He was a revolutionary like Che Guevara. (Che Guevara helped dictator Fidel Castro in Cuba) Soleimani was worth ten Che’s. This is a man who fought with his heart and for things he believed in. Any man that fought with Soleimani wanted to be like Soleimani. Revolutionaries like Soleimani keep strongmen in power. Napoleon had Robespierre, Stalin had Lenin. The Ayatollahs had Soleimani. It is for this reason that we’re better off without him.

He was not a terrorist. Osama Bin Laden was a terrorist. Here’s the difference. Imagine Osama as a kid. If he didn’t like you would slash your tires or break your windows. Bad news for sure! But imagine Soleimani as a kid. If he didn’t like you would inspire all the neighborhood kids to wait for you, and when you came out of your house and they would throw rocks at you until you were dead. And when you were dead, they would wait for your family and make sure they were dead. Big difference! We need people like this working for and not against our great country.

 

References:

1. “The enigma of Qassem Soleimani and his role in Iraq. Al Monitor, (13 October 2013) Wikipedia the free encyclopedia.
2. “Qasem Soleimani Not Just a Commander” (10 October 2017) archived and retrieved. Wikipedia the free encyclopedia
3. Filkins, Dexter (30 September 2013) “The Shadow Commander”
4. “Iranian who brokered Iraqi peace is on U.S. watch list” McClatchy Newspapers. (31 March 2008) Wikipedia the free encyclopedia
5. Filkins, Dexter (30 September 2013) “The Shadow Commander” The New Yorker archived. Wikipedia the free encylopedia
6. Filkins, Dexter (28 June 2014) “The Shadow Commander” The New Yorker archived. Wikipedia the free encyclopedia
7. “Soleimani: Mastermind of Iran’s Expansion” The Iran Primer (14 October 2019) Wikipedia the free encyclopedia
8. Abbas, Mushreq: (12 March 2013) “Iran’s Man in Iraq and Syria”
9. “How Iranian General plotted out Syrian Assault in Moscow” Reuters, (6 October 2015) Wikipedia the free encyclopedia
10. “How Iranian General plotted out Syrian Assault in Moscow” Reuters, (6 October 2015) Wikipedia the free encyclopedia
11. Afshon Ostovar “Vanguard of the Iman: Religion, Politics and

Iran”s Revolutionary Guards. Oxford University Press P.227 Wikipedia the free encyclopedia

12. “Iran’s General Soleimani in Falluja Operations Room”

(26 May 2016) Mars News.com Wikipedia the free encyclopedia

13. “CIA Chief Pompeo says he warned Iran’s Soleimani over Iraq

Aggression” www. Reuters.com 2017. Wikipedia the free encyclopedia

14. Tom O’Connor: James Laporta “Iraq Militia Officials, Iran’s Quds

Force Head Killed in U.S. Drone Strike” Newsweek.com

(2 January 2020) Wikipedia the free encyclopedia

15. Wikipedia the free encyclopedia.