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Source: Washington – Bandar Aldoushi
Two of President Donald Trump’s top aides desperately tried to prevent him from assassinating Iran’s highest-ranking military officer, General Qassem Soleimani, in the days leading up to the January 3 attack, according to veteran journalist Bob Woodward’s book, ” Anger “.
Insider picked up a preliminary version of the book, which will be released next Tuesday. Woodward reported that on December 30, Trump told South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham: “I am thinking of hitting Soleimani,” the leader of the hard-line Iranian paramilitary force that supports militants attacking American forces. .
Bob woodward
Trump and Graham were playing golf at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, when Trump came up with the idea. “Wow, that’s a giant step!” Graham replied, apparently annoyed by Trump’s suggestion, as the book says.
The South Carolina senator told Trump that if he orders Soleimani’s assassination, he will also have to plan what steps to take if Iran escalates the conflict.
“If they come in some way, they will, you have to be ready to get rid of the oil refineries,” he said. But he added that if Trump did, “it would be an almost complete war.”
According to the book, Trump said of Soleimani: “He deserves it.” “We have all this information showing that Soleimani is planning attacks,” he added.
Lindsay graham
Graham responded that Soleimani “had always done that.” He added that Trump should consider his response and what Iran could do to respond, especially “with the upcoming elections.” “This runs the risk of a great war,” Graham said.
Then Trump spoke about the Iranian-led missile strikes that killed an American contractor in Iraq on December 27. The day after Trump and Graham spoke, pro-Iranian militias stormed the US embassy in Baghdad. “We will not let them get away with it,” the president said.
Graham still calls for extreme caution and tells Trump, “Sir, this is overrated. How about hitting someone of a lower level than Soleimani, which would be easier for everyone to absorb?”
It was a startling statement from Graham, one of the most aggressive members of Congress who has largely called for greater US military intervention in foreign lands.
Woodward stated that Graham was not the only one anxious. Also Mick Mulvaney, the acting White House chief of staff at the time, presented an “urgent request” to the South Carolina senator.
“You have to find a way to stop this talk of hitting Soleimani,” he said, pleading with Graham, “Maybe he’ll listen.” Four days later, Woodward wrote that Trump ordered the strike.
Despite Graham’s unspoken reservations about the strike, he publicly supported the president’s decision. “This was a pre-emptive and defensive strike planned to eliminate the organizer of the attacks that had not yet arrived. At the expense of the region and the entire region,” Graham said in an interview with “Fox and Friends” on January 3. “.
Although it was widely agreed that Soleimani was responsible for the deaths of US forces, Trump’s decision was highly controversial. It was a move that Trump’s direct predecessors, Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, avoided, knowing that the consequences could be disastrous.
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