The newest low point in Donald Trump’s behavior arrived last Friday when he ordered the assassination of Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani. The Trump administration claims that Soleimani was planning imminent attacks against the United States and therefore that killing him was an urgent necessity. Trump’s followers, most notably Vice President Mike Pence, have falsely tried to claim that Iran poses a dire threat to the U.S. and was somehow involved in the 9/11 attacks.
These pretexts are either verifiably untrue or implausible. Donald Trump apparently ordered the assassination of Soleimani — and the escalation to a de facto state of war between Iran and the U.S. — because he was afraid of looking “weak”. Continue reading.