The reasons for the delay in the revenge of Sardar Soleimani.
Doug Bando, a senior researcher at the Cato Institute (an American political think tank) in a note, criticized the performance of the Trump administration in the face of Iran, especially regarding the martyrdom of General Soleimani, and evaluated any retaliatory action by Tehran as logical and based on the behavior of the White House. which is followed by parts of it.
Since the end of the Cold War, the era of dangerous threats to world peace was thought to be over, but in the years since, Washington has increasingly used military force around the world. It can be said that America has been at war almost continuously for the past 2 decades.
Of course, many of these battles have been fought in the shadows, such as the tension with Iran over the alleged attempt to kidnap and kill John Bolton, one of Donald Trump’s national security advisors, or the threat of former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Most critics of Iran support worse regimes such as the Saudi royal dictatorship; A regime that behaves cruelly inside the country of Saudi Arabia and much more aggressively in the foreign sphere.
In fact, after the murder and dismemberment of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Pompeo acted as a devoted adviser to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, protecting the Saudi leader from economic sanctions and other consequences of his crimes. Meanwhile, the Islamic Republic of Iran will never be Washington’s friend.
Several other US allies in the Middle East are repressing their own people and imprisoning American citizens on dubious charges. However, Bahrain, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and others have been courting Washington with donations, bases, arms purchases and promises of support.
American officials believe in human rights, but only to the extent that they evaluate it in line with America’s national interests. Of course, hypocrisy in foreign policy is not a new issue for Washington or any other government.
This was while the world is full of murderous people in positions of authority such as the Saudi crown prince, and governments do not target each other for the clear reason that if they do, there is a possibility of retaliatory action.
The Trump administration violated this informal practice by assassinating General Soleimani, and targeting him was rash at best. In addition, Sardar Soleimani was not a low-level force but an important political and public figure for whom public mourning in Iran was real and internal.
So far, Washington has been able to escape Iran’s retaliatory action only through the combination of 2 factors of “self-control” and “luck”.
Of course, the Trump administration failed in its attempt to prevent Iran’s retaliatory measures. Tehran launched a missile attack on a US base that caused significant casualties and costs, but Trump downplayed it.
Also, the Iraqi allies of Iran, who lost one of their senior commanders (Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis) in the US drone attack, targeted American facilities and the Washington embassy in Baghdad. Pompeo’s response was weak, and he planned to close the embassy if necessary.
The assassination of Sardar Soleimani taught Washington an important lesson, namely that Iran is a fierce competitor with unexpected actions. US policymakers should be aware that no killing will be without cost and that there will be retaliation against any future US intervention. Therefore, the Trump administration’s approach to Iran was a catastrophic failure, and the Biden administration must take a different path.
