This afternoon President Trump delivered a statement on Iran outlining the successful preemptive strike against Iranian terrorist leader Qasem Soleimani.

…“We took action last night to stop a war. We did not take action to start a war.”…

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[Rough Transcript] Thank you very much, and good afternoon.
As president my highest and most solemn duty is the defense of our nation and its citizens. Last night, at my direction, the United States military successfully executed a flawless precision strike that killed the number one terrorist anywhere in the world, Qassem Soleimani.
Soleimani was plotting imminent and sinister attacks on American diplomats and military personnel, but we caught him in the act and terminated him.
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After a U.S. airstrike kills Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani in Iraq, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tells ‘Fox & Friends’ that President Trump’s decision was necessary to deter further aggression and disrupt an ongoing terror plot.

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Details are starting to emerge about the killing of Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force.  As with all early reports a modicum of skepticism toward the details should be applied. However, here’s the expanded reporting from the Associated Press.

BAGHDAD (AP) — The Pentagon said Thursday that the U.S. military has killed Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force, at the direction of President Donald Trump.

An airstrike killed Soleimani, architect of Iran’s regional security apparatus, at Baghdad’s international airport Friday, Iranian state television and three Iraqi officials said, an attack that’s expected to draw severe Iranian retaliation against Israel and American interests.

The Defense Department said Soleimani “was actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region.” It also accused Soleimani of approving the attacks on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad earlier this week.

A statement released late Thursday by the Pentagon said the strike on Soleimani “was aimed at deterring future Iranian attack plans.”

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Iraqi State TV tonight reporting that Qassim Soleimani, leader of Iran’s Quds Force, the elite unit of the Revolutionary Guards, was killed in US airstrike near Baghdad. For context this would be the equivalent of U.S. General Norman Schwarzkopf being killed during Dessert Storm.  This is a major escalation… buckle up!
Oh man, this is huge. Soleimani was a bad guy, a terrorist, and responsible for many U.S. deaths; but this could also mean we are about to go into a full-blown war with Iran. Also killed was Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy commander of Iran-backed militias known as the Popular Mobilization Forces and other members within a convoy.

Qassim Soleimani (left) Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis (right)

Baghdad (AP) — Iraqi TV and three Iraqi officials said Friday that Gen. Qassim Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force, has been killed in an airstrike at Baghdad’s international airport.
The officials said the strike also killed Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy commander of Iran-backed militias known as the Popular Mobilization Forces.
Their deaths are a potential turning point in the Middle East and are expected to draw severe retaliation from Iran and the forces it backs in the Middle East against Israel and American interests. The PMF blamed the United States for an attack at Baghdad International Airport Friday.

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At the time of a Tuesday evening Fox News interview Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was affirming his trip to Ukraine was still planned.  However, by the time Pompeo woke up on Wednesday morning those plans were cancelled….  Perhaps someone told the secretary he needed to stay-attached to the crisis he helped inspire?

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday postponed a trip to Ukraine so he could focus on the situation in Iraq after demonstrators attacked the U.S. embassy.
Supporters of Iranian-backed Iraqi paramilitary groups stormed the U.S. embassy’s perimeter and hurled rocks in two days of protests. They withdrew on Wednesday after Washington dispatched extra troops and threatened reprisals against Tehran.

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First, the explanation from former CIA Director, current U.S. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo:

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Does this “escalation” have a familiar feel about it?
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President Trump responds to the domestic and foreign alignment of provocations.

President Trump doesn’t have too many options here.  However, he’s a much more cunning adversary than the Deep State has faced previously.  Strategically a good decision to head-off those carrying the banners in the war parade.  Secretary Pompeo, Secretary Asper, Joint Chiefs’ Milley have an alignment of domestic interests well organized.
Resounding applause will be heard from The State Department, the Pentagon, the CIA, Nikki Haley, Marco Rubio, Lindsey Graham, John Bolton, Tom Cotton, Adam Kinzinger, Mark Levin, Mitt Romney and a host of well positioned senators, soon to be jurists….
The domestic warning was akin to ‘we can create a Benghazi, watch‘.  POTUS takes the energy from the threat, uses a little judo adding his own energy, and controls the outcome.
“Happy New Year” is akin to “Relax, I got this“…. So now we watch.

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If they think Iran is attempting to bait the U.S. into military action in Iraq that will facilitate the agenda of Iran… then why would Pompeo, Esper and Milley take the bait?
The most likely answer is because they (DoS/CIA) wanted to take the bait… then stage an overreaction (DoD)…. and call it “defensive” (DoS)… which makes matters worse…. and draws us in deeper (DoD/DoS)… which is the excuse for war with Iran…. which is ultimately the end goal.

Only this time it’s obvious…
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Well, well, well…. we are not alone in our suspicions of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark Milley.
Tonight Col Douglas Macgregor outlines his own suspicions about the U.S. military attack in Iraq and Syria that parallel our initial gut reaction.  Macgregor states his belief that President Trump is being “skillfully misinformed”.  WATCH:

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POTUS has yet to make a comment about it.
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Secretary of State Mike Pompeo appears on Fox and Friends this morning to discuss several topics. One key topic was yesterdays U.S. military strikes in Syria and Iraq.
President Trump has been silent about the controversial strikes.  No White House statement, no press release, no tweets, complete and total silence. Overlay that silence with Secretary Pompeo, Secretary Asper and Joint Chief Milley’s rather odd briefing statements yesterday from Mar-a-Lago; and consider this interview:

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Note: President Trump likely watched this interview as he watched the broadcast.
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