Quote Originally Posted by Burney View Post
He was an enemy combatant who clearly considered himself at war with the US and its allies and operated accordingly. He had been allowed to live this long, but clearly an attack on a US Embassy had to be answered for and there was no more effective means of doing so than to kill the man who commanded it (they actually wrote their allegiance to him on the embassy walls, ffs!).

As for 'What if it makes things worse?' Well what if doing nothing emboldened them to undertake even more ambitious and bloody attacks on the US and its allies? And, since we're doing unknowables, what if it makes things better by getting Iran to wind its fúcking neck in and stop killing people? And yes, I do think the latter scenario is extremely likely.
He was not an enemy combatant - he was a general in the military of a country which is not at war with the United States. Regardless of what they thought of him and his actions, that has to be respected.

We could play what if scenarios all day and not really get anywhere. My main point is that it is far too early to be considering this a success, it could turn out very badly for everyone and one Iranian general is not worth that risk. Past history suggests strongly that Iran is not going to buckle because of this, quite the opposite. Sanctions are having their impact, an impact which may have just been undone by assassinating someone.

Madness imo.