There are important debates over whether it was prudent or legal for President Trump to order Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani killed. But an attack 12 years ago explains why the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps general invited such personal targeting.
On Jan. 20, 2007, U.S. Army personnel were stationed in the Karbala provincial headquarters in Iraq. Their mission was to liaise with Iraqi officials to protect Shiite Muslims celebrating in the upcoming Ashura commemorations, to be held a week later, in Karbala. At the height of Iraq’s 2006-2007 sectarian bloodletting, the commemorations were a top target for al Qaeda in Iraq. Ashura, after all, remembers Husayn ibn Ali’s martyrdom at the hands of Sunni forces during the 7th century Battle of Karbala.
But for Iran, the American gathering to protect Shia Iraqis from Salafi-Jihadists — something you might think Iran would value — wasn’t a cause for temporary cooperation. It was an opportunity for mayhem.
Likely informed by Iraqi collaborators, Iran’s Quds Force knew the layout of the compound, how to get access, and that American officers would be there. Later, U.S. intelligence gathering would show that the Quds Force had built a mock-up of the compound inside Iran in order to prepare the attack team. Trained by Lebanese Hezbollah and Quds Force officers, the cell was led by Azhar al Dulaimi. A member of the Revolutionary Guard-proxy Qazali network (still around today), al Dulaimi was Iran’s 2006-2007 go-to-guy for kidnappings in Iraq. This degree of separation from the IRGC to Hezbollah to the Qazali network to al Dulaimi’s cell was designed to shield the IRGC from culpability by at least providing some plausible deniability. It was vintage Soleimani.
But this was no normal operation. Authorized by Soleimani, the attack team gained access to the Karbala compound by utilizing U.S. Suburbans and equipping itself with U.S. equipment and uniforms. With basic English, they cleared the checkpoints and stormed into action. One American was killed as the team moved to kidnap U.S. military personnel. Four others were handcuffed and bundled up into the Suburbans.
The team sped off, successful. Or they would have been, had a U.S. quick reaction force not moved to intercept them. When it happened, they executed the kidnapped Americans, throwing them out on to the road.
Soleimani had supervised the execution of unarmed American soldiers in the custody of his forces.
Soleimani’s annihilation last Friday was thus one of his own making.
