Conservative attorney explains why Trump and Pompeo’s justification for Soleimani killing should ‘concern every American’

Although Iranian military leader Qasem Soleimani was by no means the first adversary of the U.S. killed during a military operation, his death is inspiring a great deal of debate — even among blistering critics of the Iranian government. Conservative attorney/journalist Philip Rotner considers Soleimani’s death a troubling development in U.S. foreign policy, and he explains in a January 8 article for The Bulwark why the justification being offered by President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo should “concern every American.”

Founded by two anti-Trump conservatives, Charles Sykes and neocon Bill Kristol, in December 2018, The Bulwark is hardly a journal of pacifists and has a generally more hawkish perspective than, say, Antiwar.com (a decidedly isolationist/paleoconservative right-wing website known for its contributions from Patrick Buchanan, former Rep. Ron Paul and others). But Soleimani’s killing, Rotner stresses, is problematic in many respects.

“President Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo are justifying the targeted killing of the commander of Iran’s Quds Force, Qasem Soleimani, in terms that should concern every American,” Rotner explains. Continue reading.