Does that theory, of justification based on "horrible past", only apply to generals from Iran, or can we apply it globally to all regardless of nationality? There are so many with "horrible pasts" that we would run out of Hellfire missiles in a week...
2
Fog of war created by a fog of lies. Tragedy ensues.
2
Trump should get a jacket with "It doesn't really matter" embroidered on it. It'd complement's "I really don't care" jacket very nicely. (insert sarcasm)
4
Wag the dog. Period.
1
Perhaps it is just as well that the press secretary is rarely seen since all she does is parrot the Trumpian lies.
5
According to Trump, "it doesn't really matter" that he ordered the killing of Qassim Suleimani, becaouse of his "horrible past."
He seems to admit that whatever he does or has done, nothing matters. It's what other people do or have done that matters - especially as a result of mistakes, failures, shortcomings etc.
I'm sick and tired of him. Dump him in November.
9
Trump's actions should have every American on their toes. He has opened up a huge can of worms which we and our military members will pay for another few decades.
And who warned our troops that missiles were headed their way? Too many ironies and lies. As always.
3
It certainly doesn't matter to Trump, but the power to k ill an official of any state and make war in the name of the American people, belongs to the people's congress. And they must be informed and included. The usurpation of that constitutional power is the act of a dictator.
8
When Trump loses in the 2020 campaign and is branded FOREVER as the worst presidential brand in American history, the last laugh will belong to history: He didn't matter.
5
"Get over it."
It doesn't really matter..."
Trump's base needs no explanation and the rest of us have to take up the slack or live with another four years of this...
"Who Controls Trump’s Environmental Policy?"
'Among 20 of the most powerful people in government environment jobs, most have ties to the fossil fuel industry or have fought against the regulations they now are supposed to enforce.'
https://www.nytimes.com/section/climate
3
I stand with Justin Trudeau on this matter. I believe that the tragic murder of the innocent civilians on the Ukraine flight could have been avoided if Trump was a more reasonable and measured leader. I blame Trump for their deaths. I can not wait to have a new leader in America.
7
Another "Get over it" moment. "I have news for everybody" . . . we won't. This president has sown the wind, now let him reap the whirlwind.
5
Please! It wasn't a "narrative" that collapsed, so much as it was Donald Trump's "lie", or "smokescreen", or "fiction", or "deceit", or "deception", or "evasion", or "distortion", or "fabrication", or "falsehood", or "concoction", or "misrepresentation", or "fabrication", or "mendacious explanation" or whatever else you want to call it that Donald Trump does on a constant basis.
4
We knew a Trump presidency would be a catastrophe, but it's still shocking that (1) he conducts foreign policy (using the term loosely) via tweet and (2) the tone and substance of his tweets continue to go from bad to worse. Please, fellow American voters, make it stop in November!
7
Apparently it mattered enough to have that rationale that they put it out there falsely in the first place. It is yet more evidence that the administration does not believe telling the truth matters but it does.
3
Well I tend to agree with the one of Trump's various tweet positions that said we shouldn't have been there in the first place.
But I sort of think that overthrowing several governments and supporting Saddam in his war against the Iranians understandably didn't make them favorably disposed towards us.
And they couldn't have been killing Americans if our government hadn't been sending them over there to be killed.
Which Trump is doing.
Is there some overall foreign policy here? If there is it is as much a secret as those supposed intelligence warnings of an imminent attack.
4
It's quite clear that having a "reasonable justification" for having a bunch of people murdered "doesn't really matter" to a guy like Donald Trump, because he's a textbook sociopath. Just as history is quite clear about what happens when a country elects and enables a sociopath such as him to be their leader.
14
So if we follow the illogical decision taken by Trump to assassinate Suleimani, it should be fine that a drone would fall on Trump's head cause the blood of immigrants and those on the Ukrainian passenger jet and those we don't even yet know about is on his hands. Makes total sense to me.
4
Suleimani did horrible things, but I have yet to see Trump or one of his supporters explain why he killed an enemy of ISIS.
8
Add extrajudicial killing and assassination to Trump’s list of foreign policy preferences.
8
Well, we went through the easily pierced lies, to changing the story, to "it doesn't matter". Next is "Everyone does it", "whatcha gonna do about it?" and finally "Suleimani was just a coffee boy and nobody knows who he was actually".
So...it must be Tuesday in the trump white house.
12
When Trump next decides to take out “a very bad guy” for whatever reason occurs to him today, or—for some other reason—tomorrow, will it “not matter”? Or if he decides to assassinate all the “bad guys” in the Middle East and start World War III, will survivors (if there are any) be told to, “Get over it”?
9
“In the 10 days since it carried out the drone strike that killed Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani, the Trump administration has been struggling to draft an after-the-fact narrative to justify it. On Monday, President Trump put an end to that hash of explanations. “It doesn’t really matter,” he tweeted, “because of his horrible past.”” This is just another example of Donald Trump’s inability to appreciate the necessity of rules and regulations in a democratic society.
12
"A Narrative Collapses as Trump Tweets: ‘It Doesn’t Really Matter’"
"In the 10 days since it carried out the drone strike that killed Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani, the Trump administration has been struggling to draft an after-the-fact narrative to justify it."
The political cartoonist for the Atlanta Journal Constitution has an absolutely on point cartoon for today.
It has the title of: "Mike Luckovich: Nose team" Please, check this one out. Here is the link and enjoy:
https://www.ajc.com/blog/luckovich/mike-luckovich-nose-team/DChB31kzrW2e21OsIELlYP/
12
The bigger threat is the continual tearing away at the threads of those institutions that are suppose to uphold the rule of law, and democracy. As these continual betrayals of those we elected to respect and uphold their public oath the public start to lose their faith and trust in those very institutions. What has history shown us when public faith no longer trusts its institutions?
6
This has been one of our most consequential national security decisions in decades.
If President Trump believes that the decision-making process “really doesn’t matter,” he’s free to find another job.
8
This tactic has become the Republican mantra. I didn’t do it. I did it, but not like that. Ok I did it, but so what.
13
To Mr. Trump: I merely think the Iranians (not stepping on the US flag) were intelligent enough to make a distinction between USA and its current president, and brave enough to put it on show.
5
Might we see another article of impeachment based on the war crime that appears to have been committed? That was a really bad guy, but the way Trump took him out looks from all evidence to be illegal.
6
@AdaMadman How do you know he was a bad guy? Other than from the endless propaganda coming from the Trump administration.
3
Trump's actions are like a menu. If you don't believe his first statement, just wait and soon enough you may hear another. Before long, you can have a choice of ta hird or fourth option. But wait, if Trump were a waiter providing you with today's options, then soon enough a new waiter will come forward to inform you of additional selections.
To deploy another metaphor, his presidency is a trial balloon presidency. Wait long enough and you'll hear something that seems truthful. Your choice.
3
How could it "not matter" whether Sulemani's assassination was due to an imminent threat or that it was called due to his past atrocities? Trump did not notify Congress and get their vote to move ahead, as he is required to do. This is just another example of Trump abusing his power. Instead, Trump behaves as if he can act alone and that he doesn't have to include Congress as an tri-equal partner as per The Constitution.
6
Trump is just lucky that Iranians mistakenly shot one of their own passenger aircraft down during the period of time he was escalating the rhetoric of hitting back hard if the Iranians did anything wrong. He threatened targeting 52 sites. The Iranians probably envisioned 52 cruise missiles headed their way. The ensuing protests about the downing of the passenger plane doused the rage somewhat that his drone strike has caused. Lucky is the new foreign policy. Trump's hoping his luck will hold out.
5
It was A UKRANIAN PLANE that was downed with many Canadian citizens on it and many of the other passengers destined to Canada!
4
Reports also indicate Pence and Pompeo had been pushing President Trump to strike Iran. Both are evangelical Christians, and Pompeo has actually said we're locked in a struggle against evil until the Rapture. Nothing matters, because Trump has been chosen by God, who will use him as His instrument, even if it brings on war in the Middle East. Evangelicals abhor as Satanic anything that involves international cooperation (addressing climate change, the U.N., even Soviet/American nuclear arms treaties back in the day). Sadly, not only will Trump get away with these lies, but his actions will solidify his evangelical support.
8
The Republican Party leadership knowing supported Trump's illegal efforts to start a war with Iran for his own political purposes (and theirs). What civilized nation would grant to a clearly disturbed person under impeachment for crimes against the state the power to launch a war causing the death countless innocent people?
What has happened to our country? How do we regain meaningful stability ? Why have the Republicans abandoned our Constitution, the rule of law and human decency? No true American can stand with Trump or the Republican Party.
5
It's well past the time to ignore what the President says or does and address the people who can do something about it: the GOP senators in Congress.
Of course there is no agreement as to the intelligence about Iran because there was no actual intelligence being acted upon.
As far as vilifying duly US elected officials of being traitors who have no past history of being traitors, well, that's just par for the course.
Are we sure it's not Sarah wearing a Stephanie suit?
2
It should be obvious to anyone with even a single grain of objectivity or common sense that the killing of Suleimani was done with the 2020 election in mind. In other words, Trump ordered the killing of someone to bolster his re-election chances. The timing should be a major indicator of that.
Trump said it doesn't matter because of Suleimani's horrible past. If that's true, then his killing would have been justified virtually anytime during Trump's time in office. That begs the question: If the killing was justified 10 days ago, why wouldn't it have been justified at an earlier time and why wasn't it carried out one, two or three years ago. Why now?
The obvious answer is that Trump had yet to be impeached those years ago and so didn't need a diversion and rally-round-the-flag moment to energize his campaign and sow further division in the American electorate for political purposes. This executive hit was part and parcel of Trump's campaign strategy and is revoltingly, sickeningly, par for the Trump course. We should as a nation hope that the murderous strategy backfires and Trump pays the price by losing his job.
7
Trump was bored at Mar-a-Lago and was worried about how impeachment would look so decided to create a diversion with no thought to loss of life.
So how many of those friends at Mar-a-Lago used that inside information for insider trading regarding war with Iran?
6
Speaking of the risk of nuclear war--it's time to call upon Israel to give up its arsenal of atomic bombs, which would make halting Iran's plans for building them much more likely. De-nuking is exactly what the region needs the most.
4
The issues IS NOT whether Suleimani was a bad guy - he was, but whether the US should have assassinated him, and whether there should have been consultation with the appropriate members of Congress beforehand, and whether the Iraqi gov't should have been notified that the US was planning a drone strike on Iraqi soil. The fact the Suliemani was a member of the Iranian gov't and armed forces, and that the US was not "at war" with Iran makes his assassination illegal according to international law as I understand it. The assassination is in and of itself and act of war by the US on Iran. Trump does not understand this, and it is his inability to consider anything other than his impulses that imperils America and the rest of the world. Trump has now effectively placed a target on any American gov't or military official. It is only the restraint exercised by the Iranian gov't that has presented Trump's impulsive, illegal act from causing greater bloodshed and instability in the Middle East. His shifting justification for the act is a reflection of his advisers' understanding of just how illegal and dangerous the killing was. It is time for Congress to re-establish their role in the use of US force.
4
Of course there is plenty of justification for assassinating Suleimani. But was it smart? Time will tell.
Are there no reporters brave -- and truthful -- enough to confront Trump -- when outright lies by saying things like "Democrats defed Suleimani -- by asking something like: "Pres. Trump, what do you say to the people who claim that Democrats aren't defending Suleimani but attacking your Administration's lies, cover-ups and disdain for the American Constitution"?
Imagine a world wherein journalists had the courage to immediately point it out when they hear a politician lying during press conference.
3
The headline "A Narrative Collapses as Trump Tweets..." could just as well read "A President's Psychological Equilibrium Collapses..."
His behavior is increasingly bizarre, dangerous, and scary.
6
As always, Trump projects. Yes, I agree DJ has a horrible past; I’ll settle for substantial jail time and confiscation of laundered money and properties.
3
Americans always follow Henry Ford's example: "history is bunk."
The grievances we, and the nations of Europe, have tallied-up with the Middle East date back to the first world war. Ostensibly the nations of the Middle East (nations drawn-up at Versailles by western countries) have been at war with us for 100 years.
Lest we forget, in the early 50's we orchestrated a coup in Iran that deposed a democratically elected Socialist and installed a puppet monarch.
We raged an illegal war, promoted by false intel, that killed hundreds of thousands in Iraq.
I could go on and on...
Yes, Suleimani has killed many Americans... as we have killed many, many citizens of the Middle East... and usurped their countries and economies.
This was an illegal, sanctioned assassination.
This solves nothing.
This was an adolescent act of ego and machismo.
7
@Bartleby S :"as we have killed many, many citizens of the Middle East... and usurped their countries and economies."
And if an American general would have been killed in combat operations in the Middle East you would be saying nothing like "they assassinated" an American official.
1
" ... a majority of respondents, 52 percent to 34 percent, viewed Mr. Trump’s action as 'reckless'. ” Indeed. I would add "self-serving", as this occurred when the evidence of his attempt to extort Ukraine into supporting his campaign was getting clearer. Newly revealed emails were firming up the timeline to Mr. Trump's embarrassment. Deflection, confusion, distraction, all are hallmarks of Mr. Trump's endless connivances.
5
Baghdadi, Soleimani, and now reports that he had another Iranian official in his sites in Yemen, but missed.
I'm wondering if what DOES matter to Trump is not that they are bad guys, but that he's winning the bad-guy body-count victory over Obama for Bin Laden.
3
Let's add a third Article of Impeachment. Surely, there is significant evidence of illegality, violation of international law, and if nothing else, credible evidence of being unfit to hold that office and endangerment of the world population. Provoking a war is a clear and present danger to the United States of America.
He joins a long list of War Criminals, he pardons War Criminals.... remove him from office and let him face the legal consequences.
5
Murdering another human being always MATTERS.
Now, I'm NOT saying Soleimani was a good guy. But Trump's comment here is certainly a window into HIS damaged mind. Whether it is on the battlefield, on the street, in self defense, in depraved indiffetence, or as a political assasination, taking another person's life matters. Again, don't spin this comment into a defense of Soleimani as such. It is only to say that with this statement Trump demonstrates again and in a new way ( I assume this is his first assassination) his complete indifference to any life other than his own.
3
Folks, we have to make sure trump does not get another 4 years. Vote blue, no matter who and stop fighting about Democrat moderates and progressives.
4
This administration’s finest and most heart felt moments:
“It doesn’t really matter” and “I don’t really care, do U?”
4
Donald Trump has a reservoir of vitriol. He chambers it and tweets at targets old and new. But, other than his stale barbs, that chamber is empty.
Compulsive as he is, to embody today's driving narrative, Donald Trump repeatedly fires that empty chamber. The ONLY Continuity of Tweet is -- more nonsense -- same lies.
What is the Republican Party counting-on? That the ‘It Doesn’t Really Matter’ tweet can remain THE SUMMATION for those the 60 million voters who must stick with the man who's told 15-going-on-16-thousand lies.
But,... it does matter. Lying and nonsense matters. Always has, always will.
3
So it "doesn't matter" what reasons we go to war over? It "doesn't matter" why we put American blood and treasure on the line? ONLY a Dictator wannabe who wants to be above all oversight would make such a ludicrous statement. All the more appalling is that it comes from a man who developed mystery "bone spurs" when it came to his time to serve..
4
Trump took out Suleimani so he could have his own, self-aggrandizing Obama/Usama moment. Nothing more. If we wanted Suleimani out of the way, it could have been done covertly, with no fanfare. Trump needs his base to continue the delusional belief that he's presidential. The most salient point here is that the 176 lives lost in the Ukraine airliner downed by Iran are on Donald Trump's head (with an assist by the incompetent Irani military).
4
A voice from the past:
"Rhetoric, self-adulation and lies, plunged Germany into the deepest abyss, when they stifled the sense of realty in our once strong and good people. The continuance of their rule threatens to make us slaves forever."
General von Falkenhayn
Berlin August 1919
3
Can’t wait to see Bloomberg’s commercial of Trump saying it doesn’t matter and then the Ukrainian plane exploding- that will be a good one.
Another good one will show the beer party in the rose garden when they voted down the Aca.
2
This is simply put, more of the same.
Trump’s after-the-fact attempts to justify the killing of Suleimani.
His denigration of Democrats who pointed out their disagreement of the action, not that they felt Suleimani was any kind of angel.
But what if someone tried to link this action with the counter strike that killed 189 people on that Uzbekistan passenger jet? It’s not a huge step to make that connection. But even if one didn’t, it underscores the stupidity of his action and inability to, at the same time, understand the potential backlash and disregard for the intelligence community’s input.
This is so similar to Bush’s lies about Iraq and WMD. Pitiful.
1
Donald Trump says the reason he ordered a bunch of people assassinated, "doesn't really matter", but it's the Iranians that need to be reigned in because they are a threat to world peace? Got it! And since McConnell won't remove him from office, we'll all just have to, "get over it", I guess.
5
On Monday, President Trump put an end to that hash of explanations. “It doesn’t really matter,” he tweeted, “because of his horrible past.”
Mr Trump you deserve to be impeached because of your horrible past.
8
The President of the United States lying to the people... DOES MATTER! Taking the U.S. down his immoral path does matter.
7
Ode to Trump
An American president with no shame
Who refuses to accept blame
And turns a blind eye
When people die.
May this country never see
A worse President
Than Donald T.
3
This is yet another Trump-Republican disaster - a total clown show, without the funny part. Vote very. single. Republican OUT of office in 2020.
6
"A Narrative Collapses as Trump Tweets: ‘It Doesn’t Really Matter’
President Trump cited Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani’s “horrible past” as possibly reason enough for the drone strike that killed him. "
Yes it does matter; a great deal in fact. Americans do not expect the man in the White House to run around ordering the killing of people, no matter how bad they are or have been, then creating lies to try and justify that killing and then when those lies fail miserably, just come out and say "‘It Doesn’t Really Matter’."
1
Having notorious Osama Bin Laden killed enabled Obama to cast himself as a Bold Leader in advance of the 2012 Election . Trump saw how it helped Obama to get reelected.
America has many lethal enemies.
Will both Presidents get reelected using this method?
1
If there are any adults left in the White House, please take away little Donald’s phone, ground him, and send him to his room. For about 9 months. Oh, and NO TV for you either, little man!
11
This is another reason the Senate has to take their responsibility seriously and call witnesses and truly try the president for his impeachable offenses. Trump not only has zero integrity, no American that truly cares about our future should want him to be leading this nation. He cannot be trusted to act responsibly and be accountable for his actions. His "B-team" cabinet is already shamefully cowed by his bullying and loyally defends his every mistake. If this is bad, imagine what a Trump presidency under the "C-team" will be like.
15
Seems like Trump needs to borrow Melania’s famous jacket.
8
what comes across most clearly of course is the UTTER CONTEMPT of this administration - executive & GOP - for nation, citizenry, democracy, dialogue…
any notion of honesty, respect for the electorate, consent of the governed long since left in the dust…
one more nail in the coffin of the American Experiment…
with Noble Leader on his way to re-election. go figure…
14
The American public has earned his contempt.
1
This president is forever tossing up test balloons to see what will float with the public. If his initial statement (mostly likely a lie) does not work, he will fold it back to one that appears reasonable.
From "eminent" attacks (this man cannot use spell check and does not comprehend the difference between eminent and imminent), to his "belief" that four embassies were in the sights of Suleimani, to "he's a bad man so what if we killed him" to the country finding out Suleimani was on the target list 7 months ago. . . It is all a reality TV test for this man.
This is precisely why he is so dangerous to our country. I don't think Donald Trump is an inherently evil man. But he has no moral core, no sense of ethics, no empathy. Bad combinations for a president.
I will shed no tears for the death of Qassim Suleimani. He killed a lot of American soldiers and was responsible for thousands and thousands of civilian deaths in over three countries in that region.
But wouldn't it have been refreshing for the president to hold a press conference after Suleimani was killed and simply state:
"Gen. Suleimani has been in our sights for over 7 months. He had American blood on his hands and I have no doubt that while there might not have been an imminent attack he was planning, he was not through orchestrating more deaths, more terrorism, more destruction.
I gave the command to end his life and I have no regrets."
11
@Len
"I don't think Donald Trump is an inherently evil man. But he has no moral core, no sense of ethics, no empathy."
Have you, Len, some other definition of evil?
12
@vishmael
A fair point.
2
And here we are on 5th Avenue.
19
Open season on bad guys? Not a good idea, as one's good guy is another's bad guy. Foreign policy by golf cart.
14
The “true motivation “ is to be a bigger man than Pres.Obama. He should know by now there is not a chance of that...
23
We have truly handed the keys of power to the lunatics in the asylum. We will now reap what we have sown.
16
We killed one of Iran's top people. Iran retaliated with missiles. One of them blew up a bunch of innocent civilians in a commercial airliner.
Maybe Suleimani deserved to die. I don't know, because like most Americans, I'd never heard of him before he was assassinated. But what I do know is that the end result of Trump and Iran increasing hostilities was the destruction of dozens of civilian lives. Escalation was foolish and we shouldn't have done it. That is there is to it really.
17
"It doesn't really matter..." I think we saw Trump just testing out his statement that he could shoot somebody and not lose any votes. Fifth Avenue, Iraq... what's the difference? He went big for his first kill. To openly assassinate an official of a sovereign nation on the soil of yet another sovereign nation and revel in it makes me wonder, who is next...? You can't stop at just one. There are so many people with horrible pasts. There must be a newly scribed 11th commandment that says "Thou shalt kill as you deem necessary, President Trump" Praise the LORD!
7
Well, if a “horrible past” is enough justification.....
Just sayin’.
23
Consistent indeed. Trump is insane and apparently 40-percent of Americans are either so unbelievably deluded or loons themselves.
There's truth, like it or not.
I'd just like every Trump voter to make certain to sign right up if this fool attacks Iran. Have some courage. Go fight for your President.
20
Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 matters.
21
And as a Canadian mourning the horrific loss of the 138 Canadian residents on that flight—53 of whom were my fellow citizens—it matters a great deal. Had it not been for the chest-thumping, testosterone-driven and utterly inept American President, that civilian flight would NEVER have been shot out of the sky.
Come November, please do something about him, America.
1
I wonder if Putin somehow benefited from General Suleimani being taken out? I wish I knew more about the dynamics on the ground. I thought Russia and Iran were part of the same NATO equivalent (forget what it’s called). But perhaps Suleimani had too much power and posed a threat to Putin’s grand schemes in the region. Doesn’t seem like Trump would do anything like this without a green light from Putin.
9
It's more likely that getting the US out of the region gives Putin full reign given his defacto leadership with Syria and Iran
This opens up the entire region's access to Europe,Asia and North Africa. That's what I see but then who knows we can speculate from now until the cows come home. It will reveal itself at some point.
2
Well, it didn’t happen on Fifth Avenue, but I guess Trump was right!
14
" On Monday, President Trump put an end to that hash of explanations. “It doesn’t really matter,” he tweeted, “because of his horrible past.”"
Risky thing for someone with a horrible past to tweet. But impulse control doesn't seem to be something he's ever learned.
19
So why don't we admit to ourselves what drone strikes actually are: terrorism. When anyone living in a certain area can be targeted for death because one American decided that "he was bad," then we are the terrorists, my friends.
24
"Why did I start another deadly, costly, and disastrous war in the Middle East, just like my Republican predecessor did? It doesn't really matter!"
Wars. Death on a massive scale. Trillions of dollars wasted. Terrorists emboldened. Tens of thousands of innocent children killed and orphaned. In the eyes of a man like Trump - and most of the modern GOP - it just doesn't matter.
With what Donald J. Trump doesn't know or understand about war, you could fill Arlington National Cemetery.
30
Obama got Osama Bin Ladin, so Trump thought he could one up him by taking out Saelimani. The differences between the two are beyond Trump. It's probably just that simple. And now his sycophants are trying desperately to cover that up.
22
“It doesn’t really matter”
To the contrary, I think it matters that this President* and his enablers lie constantly and American credibility throughout the world has been set on fire as a result.
It matters a whole lot.
20
Lies once mattered. Now not so much. It’s who we are as a nations.
Astros cheated? Anyone out there who can take my daughter’s college boards?
4
What is truly frightening in all of this, though, is the slavish devotion of Trump's supporters even in the face of all this waffling, story-changing, and backtracking.
Any rational human being can see that Trump and his White House are flailing around for a story that will stick.
Every time a new story comes out of Trump's Twitter or his White House I am reminded of the Jon Lovitz and his Pathological Liars Anonymous skits. Every time the story changes, the White House says, "Yeah, that's the ticket."
And his supporters keep on buying it. MAGA? I think not.
17
Look at Trump's horrible past-or that of Barr etc. Is Trump saying that if a country judges that an official in another country is horrible even if the first country is not at war with the second, the first is justified in ASSASSINATING a leader of the second country? If so then Trump, Barr, Pompeo and Esper should start wearing tin hats to protect themselves from what will fall out of the sky.
14
If it matters to a great number of Americans, it must matter to their president, unless this is a fake president, or a president only for part of the country.
13
So Trump had him murdered then? After all, he hadn't done any thing really according to the tweets except exist and be "horrible," which makes me laugh, for our president is a "horrible" human being, who lacks empathy, craves power and stomps on the Constitution every chance he gets, and the Republican led senate has allowed this. Trump ordered a man's murder just like the man he admires the most next to Putin, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia.
12
With that tweet, Trump has admitted he ordered a war crime.
26
When the reason for killing people "doesn't really matter" what's next? I'll tell you one thing, Bush and Cheney, the most successful mass-murders of the last fifty years, did a great job of preparing this country for that answer.
14
AssassiNation - one Nation indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all.
4
And, once again, he's RIGHT!
1
So, we can just execute officials of other governments, out of the blue, without really having a justification? And we're ok with having our president do this?
11
Now trump doesn't even believe his own lies. Sad.
13
Trump’s “it really doesn’t matter” is the new “I really don’t care do u”. Looking forward to seeing it on the back of a jacket soon. Heartless. Simply heartless.
10
One man's hero is another man's terrorist. What happens when the United States of America is declared a terrorist nation by another nation? What happens when someone like Pompeo or Cheney is declared a terrorist by another nation? Whose axis of evil are we going to eliminate? What dictator is the next on trump's list for assassination? Who is going to pick and choose?
12
It is a sad day in the United States of America that the President states that lies "don't matter".
14
Up is down, day is night...I didn’t say that....what I really meant is......my Mar-A- Lago member advisors counseled me to....
7
What matters, Mr. President, is that nothing- NOTHING- you say can be believed.
19
Cut to the chase. Trump had Suleimani murdered because he can. This conveniently diverts attention from the impeachment trial in the Senate and gives his base something to chew on. Suleimani’s murder is Trumps Kashogi murder one up.
10
So, in this Wonderland, we've come down to "sentence first, trial later."
6
Apologies if this has already been said, but did anyone check the timing of this tweet against the Fox News broadcast schedule? I’m pretty sure Fox News told him to tweet this, and frankly, the NYT should report it that way.
9
Suleimani was an evil person responsible for thousands of deaths. No question there.
But let's be honest. Generals, Iran's and ours, are in the business of fighting wars. And when you fight wars people get killed. Thousands of them.
So, the real question here is how is it our generals can kill people and not be assassinated but we can assassinate other countries generals and it's OK?
That's a question that needs to be discussed.
8
"It doesn't really matter. I just wanted to kill somebody."
14
If we use Trump's "logic" he was a horrible person, then is Trump next? He's a "horrible person" as well.
11
A Finnish friend once asked me, "Do you know that 90% of Americans never get angry?" "No," I replied, "How is that?" "Because they're angry all the time," came the rejoinder. My smile was rueful.
This article can be read in the context of a recent "Frontline" episode on the growing American political divide. The USA is increasingly riven by hatred, bigotry and ceaseless lies. We are slime-slathering ourseves in our own septage, often with mindless glee.
President Trump is the cheerleader for this hateful mendacity, a non-stop clammer of bile polluting the body politic on an hourly basis, often re-tweeted by our own Commander-in-Chief. But he is not the source.
Do "both sides" do this? No they do not. Leaders like Nancy Pelosi and Chuch Schumer do not amplify the cacophonous death rattle of people desperately fearful of sharing their power, privilege and wealth with an increasingly diverse American community.
The nation-destroying corrosion comes almost entirely from an extreme right wing that has hijacked the soul of a political party founded under the Lincolnesque banner of liberal tolerance.
The cancer has spread beyond American boundaries. Is there an escape route abroad? The question matters because the United States is eating itself from within by its own home-grown malignancy.
Where does this all end? I dread to think but the cancer takes ever greater and noisier hold of a nation once envied for its cheerful happiness and now known mainly for its lethal rage.
11
I suspect that Trump feels quite powerful now that he had a chance to be judge, jury, and executioner in the case of Soleimani. At the same time, of course, Trump's behavior shows ignorance and disregard of international law, from the Nuremburg trials and Geneva Conventions to the present. George W Bush had his water boarding and Abu Ghraib, now Trump has his casual, "it doesn't really matter" assassination of an enemy. The GOP certainly cannot claim to be supporting law or making US soldiers safer by breaking international agreements on how enemies should be treated.
8
So Trump lied again.
It really does matter that Trump is a compulsive liar.
George W. Bush lied us into an invasion of Iraq in 2003 that has cost us thousands of lives and trillions in treasure. The tally still increases in lives and treasure to this day.
Someone whispered into Trump's ear that killing Soleimani would help him get through his impeachment trial more easily and get him more votes in the 2020 general election. He was very easily persuaded.
It hasn't worked out that way.
The most immediate ramification of this particular lie is that it could be strongly argued that it is a stand-alone impeachable offense and could be added to the list of current articles of impeachment.
Probably won't be, but many defendants in many courts of law are convicted and punished for more than just the crimes that they are technically charged with.
Al Capone was convicted of a crime that was invented just for him, tax evasion. His list of crimes was long, but the government had to invent a new one to get him. They got him, though and he spent the rest of his life in prison. Everyone thinks it was the right thing to do.
If we can't get Trump one way through impeachment we must get him any way we can through impeachment before he has a chance to do something that might destroy the United States of America.
The stakes are really that high.
We will get no do-overs.
9
Trump’s “policy” seems to be taken from a saying I’ve seen attributed both to a movie and Texas folklore: “Some folks just need killing.” I don’t mourn the general’s demise, but we are supposed to be a nation of laws.
6
Of course it matters.
Any time the government reaches out and kills someone, it must be justified. There must be some underlying principle that unleashes the power of the government to kill.
Trump probably isn't sophisticated enough to articulate his reason, but Rep. Khanna nailed it: retaliation (or retribution). So I wonder if that is an appropriate justification for exercising the power to kill.
In the US, retribution was used to justify many killings, all of which are a cause for shame now. I'm thinking about events like lynchings (the real ones, not the made up Trump kind), genocide against Native Americans, and more than a few police shootings. They all suffer from a common malady - lack of due process.
The Constitution acts to restrain the power of government. Trump and his cadre of Unitary Executive adherents are willing to throw governmental restraint out the window. I don't like slippery slope arguments, but this presents a classic case. If we allow the executive (Trump or any other) to jettison Constitutional principles for short term aims we open the door for further ignoring those foundational principles. The government is no longer properly restrained and it becomes difficult to shove that genie back into the bottle.
Trump narcissisticly misunderstands why Democrats hate his presidency. Rather than being about Trump, it is his repeated bold strikes against the Constitution. That is the most important reason to reject his approach to governance.
4
Evs. Those people don't matter.
Just like, 100s of thousands of Iraqi's killed, but it was an honest (or not) mistake. Evs.
Our soldiers didn't commit war crimes because you can only do that against real people. Evs.
Enough, hop in the suv and we'll head out to the mall.
And we are perplexed when people hate us?
6
Beginning with GHWBush and the unprovoked war on Iraq, continuing with Obama and his regime change in Libya and attempted regime change in Syria and continuing with Trump the US is responsible for more than a million deaths,directly or indirectly, maimed millions more, wrecked those countries, turning their cities to rubble.
They and their generals and the Americans who have been supporting them are the Real Evil.
And to think all that began with revenge for the destruction caused by nineteen, mostly Saudi men, with boxcutters... it would be comical, if it had not caused so much pain to the world.
3
@Lucy Cooke You have the wrong Bush. GHWBush liberated Kuwait after Iraq seized it. Perfectly OK in my book. GWBush invaded Iraq in 2003 on false claims of WMD. A war crime in my book.
1
Russians have already expanded trumps lies and turned them into another successful social media campaign. Now everyone exposed to them has made up their mind that trump was right and anyone saying otherwise is a liberal nut.
The lies have taken hold so why bother trying to keep up. He just has to keep that energy from those stories in his rallies and in his advertising campaigns and turn the story onto whatever he wants next. All media outlets will follow and he wins either way
2
Trump's action led to fatal consequences for 179 innocent people on a flight. It does matter!
6
'It really doesn't matter' because it is what Trump wanted to do, doesn't need to give a reason. We have one-man rule.
Being a monarch or dictator means never making a mistake or having to say you're sorry.
4
Six million Jewish lives didn't matter to a mad leader either.That we have a mentally ill man as President of the United States espousing that same rationale after murdering a leader in a foreign country is chilling. We know where that kind of thinking took us before. A a nation are willing to ignore the danger of Trump's aggression now knowing where it might lead?
8
@maya :"after murdering a leader in a foreign country is chilling. "
If an American general was killed abroad while in charge of troops or militias in directing attacks would you claim the general was murdered?
So, Trump lies, changes the story, then lies again. This is nothing new, the man might not be able to help himself. The real issue is why are we so comfortable with him doing this. Why does the American Free Press not adequately and consistently emphasis to the public, the great danger posed by a person with the power of the POTUS, when that person is loose with the truth. Instead, the Press tends to chase the story that is being distorted, failing to emphasis that the core of the problem is the constant lack of truthiness and this is not normal.
4
Another example of Trump blowing smoke to try and deflect attention away from his impeachment proceedings.
4
If we are judging who lives and who dies by their horrible pasts, where is Trump's drone strike? He surely deserves one.
6
That kind of idea would litter the streets with revenge killings. Trump is not one to forgive.
1
Once again, Trump trashes our Constitution and the rule of law in favor of Imperial "Do Anything I Want" logic. The problem with the Suleimani strike is that he never informed Congress, and he had no justification for the strike under law, which required "imminent danger" to justify his unilateral action.
We have a very dangerous man in the White House. He is destroying our democracy. And he has toadies like Pompeo and Barr who are protecting him from any curbs on his reckless exercise of power. He must be removed now or prevented from exercising a second term, where things will be far, far worse.
4
If Republicans agree with Trump that is acceptable to order the murder of a foreigner because of things he did years ago then, they they would understand if Iraq ordered the murder of Cheney and Condi Rice because the US killed 600,000 Iraqis based on their analysis and recommendations to go to war based on WMDs.
I don’t think they would support that......
They might not publicly support it, and they’d make a lot of noise about it, but underneath it all I don’t really think they’d care about that either.
…. “making the point that the Democrats seem to hate him so much they’re willing to be on the side of countries and leadership of countries who want to kill Americans."
Here is another spectacular example of Trump (via Grisham) projecting his own sentiments and motives onto others. Obviously, Trump hates Democrats and all patriots so much that he's willing to be on the side of countries and leadership of countries who want to destroy America.
3
How many lies must the Republicans tell for their followers to stop listening? Apparently, 15,000 lies is not enough to overcome their obvious prejudice.
3
“What difference does it make at this point?” Sound familiar?
1
Hillary didn’t say that in the context of a lie. Trump did. See the difference?
5
Committing murder "doesn't really matter" anymore.
Let that sink in.
7
I guess I didn’t make clear I was quoting Hillary Clinton’s response at the Benghazi hearing.when asked why she offered a false explanation for why the Libyan ambassador was killed in a terrorist attack. I never said I was defending Trump’s decision to take out a man who planned and oversaw the killing of hundreds of American civilians and soldiers and was placed on a terrorist watch list in 2017. The Obama Administration sanctioned him in 2011 after a failed attempt to assassinate the Saudi ambassador in Washington, D.C.
1
Trump, as a public figure, pretty much broadly defines the lowest the bar can go - and continually pushing it lower. His vicious lying personal attacks are disgusting.
8
I haven't read the 700 comments, so someone else may have made this point already. To me Trump's asinine tweet reminds me so much of when Melania wore that jacket with the motto "I don't really care, do you?" So: nothing matters, ever. Isn't this crazy?
4
The Twin Towers, "doesn't matter"
Children separated at the border, "doesn't matter"
Ukranian airplane downed and its occupants killed by pro-Russia militia, "doesn't matter"
Another Ukranian airplane downed by Iran and its occupants killed, "doesn't matter"
Lying to U.S. Congress and to the people, "doesn't matter"
Colluding with hostile countries to assure victory at the polls, "doesn't matter"
Spending billions of dollars to assure family is safe and continues to live a privileged life, "doesn't matter"
Plays golf more than previous Presidents on the tax payer dime, "doesn't matter"
GOP Tax Reform benefiting the wealthiest, "doesn't matter"
Doling out welfare to farmers that supported his trade insanity, "doesn't matter"
3
When will someone of stature and consequence call for the immediate resignation of this abomination?
He's not qualified to be dog catcher - sorry to those dog catchers who are rightfully offended.
3
When it comes to killing people, "it doesn't really matter", is the explanation of a sociopath.
7
What we on the left (or what passes for the left) don't yet fully understand is that the Republican party has abdicated any advocacy for democracy. Yes, there are Steve Schmidt's out there worrying and fretting and twisting their hands in anguish, but they are entirely ineffective and might as well not exist. As far as Trump's supporters are concerned the Republic is dead and they couldn't care less. Trump is dictator, or king, or emperor, or however he wants to style himself, to 60 million eager slaves, who salivate at the chance to wink and guffaw and show off their ignorance and laziness and chant "lock her up!" and be racist and stupid, and as subservient as possible to the worst person ever to enter our political arena.
4
Apparently, Trump CAN murder someone on 5th Ave and get away with it. Nice job, America!
4
The same can be said for Trump, and much of the rest of the civilized world agrees.
There is no narrative here that must be defended - the facts are clear and compelling.
2
Actually, it does matter. Not for some technical justification of the act, but for the motivation behind it. American citizens have a right to know if the President is using the US military as some sort of mercenary corps for the Saudis, as some in Congress have asserted and as the president seemed to indicate in an interview with Fox News. Let’s not forget that a concurrent assassination attempt in Yemen failed. The US hasn’t had an embassy in Yemen since 2015. It's no coincidence that the Saudis have interests in both places, and Iran has been moving aggressively in riling the Shi’a majority in Iraq. If we are expected to spend treasure and shed Americans’ blood then it should be in America’s interest, not Saudi Arabia’s.
4
When asked what evidence he had of an "imminent attack", Mr. Trump replied approximately: "I can tell you that I believe four of our embassies would have been attacked."
So, now, we are not governed by actual evidence, but by what Donald Trump believes to be true, or in many cases, by what he wants to believe is true. How many times in the last four years have we heard Donald Trump accurately recite facts in support of his policy views or executive actions? His track record is not good at all, but regardless of what his track record is, our nation must be governed by rule of law and actual evidence, not presidential delusions, whims, opinions, or prejudices.
5
Extraordinary statement of lawlessness, even for this administration. It doesn’t really matter
Watch out bad guys everywhere. And even more so, the remaining good guys
4
Trump is like a spinning top, and now unbalanced, he veers from extreme to extreme. With complex systems this phenomenon is called Catastrophe Theory, and it predicts a change in the normal Stable State. That means drastic and irreversible changes.
3
To be fair, "it doesn't really matter" to President Trump, VP Pence, Secretary of State Pompeo, and Trump advisors.
Does tge rest of America want war? How many Americans approve abnegation of the rule of law? Anyone?
1
Thank god we have a President that is protecting this country and its service personnel from terror leader.
2
Most Americans don't know it but Suleimani's "horrible past," in Trump's words, includes at least two instances of cooperation with the Americans. An obituary published in the Economist notes that after 9/11 Suleimani offered U.S. forces intelligence on the Taliban, but was rebuffed when Bush declared Iran to be part of the "Axis of Evil." And during the war against ISIS in Syria and Iraq, his Shia militias worked in concert with American bombing raids.
96
@Christy : "At least two instances of cooperation"
So he wasn't a bad guy after all. The Democratic candidates should point this out in their debate and on the campaign trail.
2
@Christy
C’mon you big silly, you know the scoop on this. This does not clear him from killing Americans. What’s your point?
@Christy
The US evil, past and present...
Trump’s assassination of General Suleimani was unethical and illegal under international law.
The Establishment and its media blame Suleimani for the death of about 600 Americans, a number dwarfed by the hundreds of thousands killed by the US in its unprovoked war on Iraq.
In late September, Iraqi Prime Minister Abdul-Mahdi visited China, to make a 20-year deal worth billions to supply Beijing with oil in exchange for projects to repair Iraq's war-damaged infrastructure.
Abdul-Mahdi revealed in a speech to his parliament after Suleimani's assassination... translated, "I visited China and signed an important agreement with them to undertake the construction instead. Upon my return, Trump called me to rescind the agreement, and when I refused, he threatened me with huge demonstrations against me that would end my PM-ship… , he will station Marines snipers atop highest buildings, who will target and kill protestors and security forces alike, in an attempt to pressure me."
The well respected Moon of Alabama blog has Arab sourcing for Mahdi's comments. https://www.moonofalabama.org/2020/01/blowback-from-the-soleimani-assassination-increases-as-iraq-reveals-how-trump-tried-to-steal-its-oil.html
The protests in Iraq started Oct. 1.
The link between the two is the US, outraged with the deal, decided to force Mahdi out of office.
This is the Washington Playbook...
think Ukraine, Syria
5
I suspect the loved ones of the 173 people on UIA Flight 752 might disagree that the reason their loved ones were killed "doesn't matter."
Contrary to President Trumps false impression of himself, he is not such a godlike figure that he is the sole arbitrator of what matters and what doesn't.
In fact, based on his repeated performance, he is one of the last people I would ever seek counsel from, on anything that requires even the slightest bit of wisdom or maturity.
7
Suliemani’s track record is sufficient evidence, he wasn’t planning a vacation outing with his bffs. The loss of of innocent life is tragic, but the blame is Iran’s, they set the stage and they pulled the trigger.
Appeasement by western governments, Canada included, hopeful that Iran after being fed billions of dollars would use those for the common good of their people led us to this juncture. Instead, Iran armed themselves, spread their terror through proxies while their people were deprived of basic freedoms. Those who blame President Trump, need to look themselves in the mirror and consider how their own actions contributed to this tragedy.
1
Perhaps Canada could impose sanctions on the US in response to Trump's action that led to the killing of 53 of its citizens.
1
'It really doesn't matter'
'Get over it'
'I really don't care, do you?'
The administration continues to be flippant in the face of crises, manipulating the truth and spinning it into some kind of 'Us vs.Them' charade that is projected onto those attempting to hold them accountable.
Sadly, the gaslighting reminds me a lot of toxic relationships I've been in.
I know the answer already, but is it too much to ask that we can interact with our elected officials without feeling bullied?
1
This is what happens when Mr Trump you have no credibility you lie some much no can believed anything you say. The actiosn since this attack shows that you had no plan and that you have lied and continue to lie. Now you have endangered not just US but the world. We are no more safe but less safe and this was all for no reason just more distractions.
1
@G: Uhm, you state that "the previous president failed to kill Bin Laden", but wasn't the previous president Obama, under whose watch Bin Laden was killed?
21
History will remember how this president brought our country perilously close to war with Iran and for no reason real other than he could. Presumably, he thought he'd kill two birds with one stone 1. make himself look a bigshot and 2. distract from his impeachment hearings. Instead, Mr. Trump looks a fool and people are more eager than ever to remove him from office.
20
For any other President, this shameless and dangerous lying would cause a crisis in their Presidency. But for Trump it doesn't move the needle even a drop.
So sad what our country has become.
28
If at first your lie doesn’t succeed, lie lie again: Donald Trump.
And should he really be talking about having a “horrible past”?
16
Can I tweet my list of evil people to Trump for elimination because clearly he’s looking to branch out into “Hired Gun.” Let’s see: Putin, Kim Jong-un, Assad, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Duterte... Aung San Suu Kyi should probably also make the list and how about taking care of ISIS, the Taliban and Al-Shabab too? No one’s arguing that Soleimani was bad. The capriciousness is the problem, Trumpists. Trump didn’t even know who Soleimani was three weeks ago and then, why all the lies? Because the truth is Trump just really really really wanted his very own “Bin Laden” hit to look like a tough guy and, as always, to try and stick one to Obama. Truly sick.
19
This was a straight up assassination.
15
I love that Trump says WE killed Soleimani.
7
From his own past statements, clearly Trump did this to divert attention from his impeachment and with hopes it’ll help his re-election , that’s the extent of his concerns.
17
Given the extraordinary amount of leakage in this administration, I'm surprised there hasn't been more substantive reporting on the military and security rationale for this strike- clearly this opportunity was presented to Trump, and it would be useful to know the story behind the advice of his advisers as to the pros and cons....Trump's tweets rarely offer any insight and this is no exception.....
4
trump may not know anything about anything, but he definitely excels at hate-mongering. My response to Mr. Schumer's tweet, I don't think we've hit rock bottom as yet. There's a lot more hate in trump to be uncovered, one nasty tweet after another. I hope to be in a happier place in November - after he is defeated in the U.S. Election. Otherwise, History will have taught us nothing.
11
Many generals and every president should be worried that other countries will follow Trump's lead and rationale.
15
This single tweet by Trump, “It doesn’t really matter,” sums up, in four words, why he has got to be removed from office. Whether it’s the law, the three branches of government and its checks and balances, the Constitution and myriad other American principles, values and institutions, for Trump, none of them “really matter,” and by extension, neither does the country or its citizens. If for no other reason, we cannot have a president for whom none of that, and so much more, “really matters”.
15
"Confused messaging." A "collapsed narrative." "Shifting explanations." And ample room for Trump's rebuttal, including the characteristically vicious smear that Democrats are "defending" Suleimani.
This reads to me like an exhausted mode of journalism, that has been shattered by history, and lost its relevance. The President murders a leader of a foreign government, lies transparently about his reasons for a week, and then concludes that reasons don't matter: he does what he wants, and he's not answerable to anyone. The media continues to go through the motion of pretending that the President's views should be presented in full and deserve fair consideration, long after it has become plain that "fair consideration" gives the President far more credit than he deserves, and long after it has become clear that the President will happily exploit that huge unearned increment of seriousness the media assumes he possesses.
10
I couldn’t’ agree more. This isn’t a “shifting narrative” - it was an outright assassination and apparently it’s too much to expect the media in this country to take the kid gloves off and call a spade a spade. I’m sick to death of media outlets - including, sadly, this one - of using all this softening language to describe outright crimes and atrocities.
We found ourselves on the very brink of war and probably the only thing that prevented that outcome was the fact that Iran doesn’t yet have nuclear weapons and we do - something we can thank OBAMA and preceding foreign policy regarding Iran for. But thanks to Trump, Iran probably will end up a nuclear state so the next time Private Bone Spurs succumbs to a whim to rattle his sabre at Iran, the outcome could well be very, very different.
2
As was obvious when this action took place, it is impossible to believe our President, his top advisers or our military anymore, because in three short years Trump has rendered the concept of truth meaningless. The lying is pervasive and constant, and it’s disturbing that mainstream media outlets like this one still try to parse administration statements as if they could be taken seriously.
Our democracy and system of government have been hijacked by the worst human being imaginable at the helm of a now thoroughly corrupted GOP. There really isn’t going to be anything left if we don’t get these people out of power in 2020.
12
"It doesn’t really matter, because of his horrible past." If that's sufficient justification then couldn't a case be made for almost every leader of every country being fair game?
7
The photo says it all. What a tangled web indeed...Can we elect someone worthy of the office please? DT you're mistaken--it matters very much.
7
After the protesters raised heck around the Green Zone, Iran made a public comment that there was nothing America could do about it. I believe this alone was the reason that Trump struck. He couldn't handle that one sentence. And now, the media has completely missed that connection in their study of reasons.
7
So, the new threshold for conducting state-sponsored extra-judicial killings is a belief that a foreign government official "has a horrible past".
This is how low the United States of America has fallen in just three short years of Trumpism.
If Trump is re-elected in November, we can expect to witness a further erosion of traditional American values, the rule of law and
Congressional oversight.
9
Imminent threat, past deeds, one embassy, four embassies, I just felt like it. I hope both Trump and Suleimani spend eternity together.
6
If Trump had said he order the assassination due to past bad deeds and an opportunity, while all good American patriots might agree or disagree with that decision, it would have been the truth. To lie continually only makes anything he, or the administration says as suspect.
4
With a nod to Bill Maher, I'd like to proposed a New Rule:
Any politician or government official that re-publishes doctored images or wingnut propaganda needs to be removed from office, immediately.
I recall the expanding use of email in the 90's and the flurry of chain emails threatening great harm from the universe for failing to forward the message to all your contacts. It's like this group of people in power are new to the platform and haven't figured out that everything it presents is not correct or reliable.
Of course, in Trump's case, one must factor in his go-to mode of lie first, double down later. That is the source of all his reality bending power. Lie Lie Lie.
Ugh. And people in this country want to reelect that regime? Unbelievable.
8
Republicans and most of the business community have worked for decades to “starve the beast” - attack, demean, underfund, and cripple our democratic republic’s government - in order to be free of any oversight and to maximize profit.
One wonders if any of them took into account the inconceivable cost - human as well as profit - of losing rule of law.
How does one budget for trying to run a business where there are no longer any rules, where laws and constitutional protections mean nothing, and to succeed means complete loyalty and obsequious fealty - even to the detriment of one’s business - to a clueless narcissistic (and, more importantly, to his mostly-likely-more intelligent successors who will bleed their companies dry or simply imprison CEOs who don’t fall in line).
What is the value of rule of law (evidence based evaluation and legally constrained actions)? What is the cost of losing it? We are just beginning to find that out.
5
The hypocrisy and entitlement of the American people is mind-boggling. Ok, Suleimani was evil and a murderer. Of Americans. Because, apparently, only American lives matter. We were (are) in the Middle East for no other reason than to control oil, mainly by overthrowing existing governments, which involves a astronomical murder of local civilians and destruction of cities and infrastructure. To a degree that is unparalleled by any other country or faction. So how are we better than Suleimani, and Iranians in general? I don’t see them invading the U.S., and dismembering our country and people.
4
No doubt Suleimani was a threat to humanity but Mr. Trump himself should be considered a threat to humanity when one considers all the lives which have been lost and the children whose lives have been ruined as a result of his unjust actions at our southern borders and his reckless missuse of presidential power.
4
The fact that Trump doesn't understand "strategic decision making" is worrisome. Suleimani is gone. Good riddance! Trump sees that as a positive. And maybe it is. Time will tell. But Trump's inability to see things strategically in terms of long range goals is a shortcoming that no American president should ever be lacking. Trump is inadequate as POTUS just because he is not a strategic thinker and relies on his gut instead of his brain and lacks knowledge of world history to help inform the brain that he seems unable to use rationally. He may be right sometimes like the proverbial "stopped clock", but he is wrong too many other times to continue to decide American foreign policy or any other policy.
4
Absolutely the guy’s past terrorism and killing of Americans was justification enough to take him out. As the President said, it should have been done a long time ago.
The only message Iran understands is strength, not appeasement.
2
Then why didn’t Trump use an argument just like yours to justify the assassination? Why did he lie? Your own argument undermines the president’s reasons. You should be as upset as anyone that the president you support lied. Are you? Do you care anymore about the truth? Do you still value honesty? I thought Trump “told it like it is”? Apparently not. As a Trump defender, that should concern you! Or is it ok because, after all, everyone does it.
3
And now what is the next step?
2
Nothing really matters anymore. There are no consequences for any action no matter how odious or perverted or unlawful. We have lost completely our sense of justice which is why our government was formed in the first place. We don't even understand what justice is anymore because fear is a better motivator. Justice isn't just removing a bad actor from the face of the earth - there are explicit processes debated and discussed and created to find someone guilty and then provide judgement. But why do we need all that when we have a President who can determine in a moment another's fate?
There are fellow Americans who don't care about the past, our Constitution, the rule of law, and the lessons previous actions have taught us and want to be ruled by a king who is supposedly divinely ordained. There is plenty of evidence to demonstrate this belief, but I fail to see Jesus choosing such a despicable, rank, and vile character to mete out His will. It's surprising to me that these same people who hold this belief also have faith there is a devil and cannot imagine they have been seduced by such a malevolent being.
6
Which of these are actual statements by Trump or members of his administration, A or B?
A. “No collusion. I wouldn’t accept foreign help in an election.”
B. “I think I’d take it.”
A. “No quid pro quo.”
B. “There was. It happens. Get over it.”
A. “I wanted a foreign power to investigate corruption in their own country. That’s all.”
B. “China should investigate the Bidens.”
A. “We killed Suleimani because he posed an imminent threat to America.”
B. “It doesn’t really matter why we killed him.”
All of the above, of course. Trump and his minions are nothing if not consistent in their inconsistency.
10
It does matter that we have a president who lies to the citizens every day. How can anyone vote for a president who has so little respect for the people who put him in office that he sees no disrespect in lying to us? All presidents have lied for various reasons in the past. But this president lies simply to protect his own self image. He is a disgrace to America, the reputation of our government and the Constitution on which the government is based. And he shows nothing but disrespect for those that put him in office and those in the Congress who are keeping him in the office that he does not deserve to occupy.
3
Trump: It doesn't really matter because everything Trump does is perfect.
1
176 people died as a result of him ramping the Iranians up. His actions were a war crime if there was no imminent threat. I suppose we can all be thankful that it was just Ukrainians Canadians and Iranians on that aircraft, people he has zero care for. Had it been Americans it would have meant a war. But I guess the people that died are as insignificant to him as his own personal lies in substantiating the hit in the first place
8
"It really doesn't matter." What does matter Mr. Trump? Lies, reckless, impulsive behavior and yet another politically motivated action that warrants the concern and questioning of the international community... I guess that's what matters to you but not to the majority of the American people who have come to expect this from you and your administration but won't stand behind you.
4
This was attributed to Karl Rove
“We’re an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you’re studying that reality – judiciously, as you will – we’ll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that’s how things will sort out. We’re history’s actors . . . and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do.” (Ron Suskind, NYTimes Magazine, Oct. 17, 2004).
For the life of me I do not understand why we as a country keep voting for Republican administrations and expect them to behave differently. Trump, Pompeo, Esper, etc, don't care if their answers to questions about Suleimani's killing don't satisfy the press or the American people. They don't care. Neither did Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld or Rice.
If their answers don't match, if they conflict, if the answers are 100% verifiable hogwash, Trump and company don't care. There's another lie being served up immediately. They lie as easily as other creatures breath air.
5
So Trump feels it's unnecessary to have a legitimate reason to assassinate a foreign leader, because "it doesn't matter. " This proves how Trump treats the American people with contempt. He will bring us to the brink of war, and thumb his nose at anyone who dares to question or oppose him.
The greatest danger to our national security is Trump himself.
4
He told Uncle Sam he had bone spurs to avoid serving his country.
Now he tells the country he’s above the letter of the law.
6
To quote Tripper in Meatballs, “It just doesn’t matter!” Nothing truly matters to his base. Everyone needs to understand that. There is no opportunity for rational debate, there is no chance for persuasion. I am waiting for him to shoot someone on 5th Avenue just to prove to the country he is right. We should all just ignore him and turn our attention to getting out as many voters in key states as humanly possible.
5
If it doesn't really matter, why lie so much to the American people, to your own administration, and to both houses of congress?
Trump lies all the time, but he lies in this way only on matters of significance.
4
Trump's insults typically are self-referential projections onto others. Unsurprisingly, "It doesn't really matter because of his horrible past" has logical force equal to, "It doesn't really matter because of my horrible past."
6
The difference between the insouciance implied by lifting “It Really Doesn’t Matter” from Trump’s tweet and the logical cogency of what he actually wrote in full (the tweet’s really not all that long, folks) is laughably vast.
For those who don’t see it that way, good luck in convincing your friends, Romans, and countrymen to lend you an ear for you to explain the definition of “imminent” and the timing of attacks by an avowed, dedicated, practiced, and efficient serial murderer of American soldiers and citizens.
You’ve got until November 3rd.
See you at the ballot box!
1
Our eyes glaze over. We're numb. Trump merrily tweets it doesn't matter if there was no known imminent Iranian attack. The lies mount up. How many thousands? Who's counting? Our hopelessness grows as the Democrats prepare to decimate each other in tonight's debate. We're numb. Helpless. Trump laughs.
3
Most Canadians see the downing of the aircraft that killed 53 of our citizens as a direct result of Trump's decision to assassinate Suliemani.
Trump and those that pushed him towards that decision, without any tangible proof of an imminent threat, created an environment of fear and hair trigger nerves made worse by Trump's crazy twitter threats and known instability. It is no wonder such a tragic event occurred.
327
@Susanne Any similarity to other Republican administrations?
4
@Susanne. I see it this way, too. If the global standard of ethics is to whack any leading national leader for his/her lethally unsavory behavior then few of them -- and few os us through little fault of our own -- would ever be safe,
15
@Susanne Absolutely Trump was responsible for 53 deaths due to playing war. In fact he bragged about it at Mar-a-Lago over the holidays and gave friends heads up that something was coming with regard to Iran. How many of those people used that information for insider trading of stocks breaking the law?
9
Was the assassination of Soleimani an abuse of presidential power?
Many are issuing statements of disapproval. Are these statements enough or should something be done about it. What could be done?
2
Trump had said he could shoot someone in the middle of Fifth Ave., and no one would doing anything about it. Well, he just did (though it was Airport St., Baghdad) and no one has. Even the worst of the Nazi war criminals were entitled to a trial. Trump has appointed himself judge, jury and executioner, and no one cares. So much for the rule of law and due process
22
Our President has now moved from being a reckless idiot to an assassin. Dear America, is this what you voted for? Don't say "who" you voted for . . . it's more of a "what."
Thanks for listening and remember - November cannot come soon enough.
23
@James Thurber, so true. Though when November comes, it mostly likely won’t matter.
If Trump is no longer accountable to our Constitution nor our laws, even if he loses by a landslide, he won’t even have to pretend that there was voter fraud, he will simply not leave office. It is also likely that many of the Republicans in Congress may very well follow suit.
4
Trump lies even when there is no reason to lie. Lying is his main form of communication.
Then the people that work for him have to lie to support his lies.
How do they live with themselves.?
Four embassies were going to be attacked? That was the 3rd or 4th version of the story at least!
They are all lying so much that they cannot remember which lie they are supposed to be telling. Just business as usual for the Trump administration.
408
@ron
It doesn't matter if Trump lies.
Trump can say one thing one day and another thing the next day. It doesn't really matter. He can contradict himself. It doesn't really matter. He can tell the truth. It doesn't really matter. He can lie. It doesn't really matter. He can say anything he wants. It doesn't really matter.
He can say or do anything he wants (It doesn't really matter) because he is king of America and his subjects (GOP) will always love and adore him.
That's how it works... Get it now?
34
@William
It "doesn't matter" that Trump lies? It matters to me and plenty of other people too and we will vote.
15
@ron William was being ironic ... I think it's safe to say that he knows that it matters greatly but Trump is a sick puppy just as are those who believe he is a great leader.
4
The sad part here is that the media just rides along on this roller coaster without once calling this clown out for what he is; a blatant, unabashed liar. There is no policy here. No planning, no thought, no strategy. Just a clown sitting on the toilet with a phone tweeting lies and conspiracy theories and ineptitude and, and, and...I say now as I've said too many times before; how could so many people in this country really believe that this clown was really fit to handle the office of the Presidency in the most powerful nation on earth. Especially based on his track record. Or, as he so eloquently put it pertaining to Suleimani, "because of his horrible past". If that's justification enough for a drone strike assassination, well then, you know the rest...
26
@Max: Your post is at odds with what I've read and seen across most media outlets -- especially this one.
1
"It doesn't really matter'' is just Trump's version of his wife's raincoat. They don't really care. Do you? I do
25
When will his Administration and the Republicans in the Senate /Congress decide their integrity has been c ompromised too frequently by their dear leader .
Never ,until they are voted out of office .
14
Trump would slaughter Americans if he felt it'd further his own self interest.
21
“The Trump campaign is hoping that the killing boosts his popularity.”
What a perfect sum-up of this noxious person and his embarrassingly incompetent administration.
29
We took out a person who was organizing wars all around the middle east.
A person who was responsible for the dead of untold thousands of people of all races, colors and creeds.
Yet the president is faulted for this.
If you want peace, carry a big stick. But what's the point of the stick if you will be pilloried for using it?
We should have taken the general out many presidents ago, untold numbers of people would have been alive if we had.
4
@AutumnLeaf What you say maybe true. If so, why wouldn't POTUS tell the truth for once?
3
Because if a general is killed the conflict ends?
3
@AutumnLeaf Yes, but the United States was doing the same thing.
1
Finally, after several tries, Trump gets it right. The Baghdad U.S. embassy attack by Soleimani’s terrorist thugs (or “mourning protesters” as some in the sympathetic media call them) from Kataib Hezbollah was reason enough to kill him. Add on his participation in 1979 US embassy kidnappings, 650 American military deaths in Iraq, and hundreds of thousands of dead in Yemen, Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq. The only mistake Trump made, as well as former Presidents, was not killing him years ago.
6
This article is about Trump lying. If, as you say, Trump killed a bad guy who should’ve been disposed of years ago, then why did he lie about the reason? Why not use an argument similar to your own? Why lie? And why don’t you care about his lie? He lied to you for god’s sake, not just to liberals and Democrats. Why don’t you care?
4
Soleimani’s “mourning protesters” couldn’t have attacked the US embassy because he wasn’t dead then. Also, if the Press described his supporters as “mourning” that doesn’t imply sympathy for them. It’s just a statement of fact. You know...facts.
3
Perhaps the folks that are oh so outraged at Trump taking out this terrorist General should walk into a VA hospital and ask one of our Vets who served in Iraq that is now missing a limb or suffering brain damage as a result of Soleimani’s IED’s if it matters exactly when Soleimani was planning his next attack.
I’m sure you could get a better perspective on the subject.
Solemaini was responsible for the deaths of over 600 US servicemen. His rocket attacks killed a US contractor on Dec 27th, and his militia men attacked our embassy.
Does it matter when his next attack was going to come? Be it next week, next month, or next year.
And while some folks are complaining that Trump took out an official member of Iran’s govt, the other side of the coin should be considered.
Since Soleimani was an official member of Iran’s govt, and he led a campaign of IED terror against US forces, and recently attacked our embassy, doesn’t that mean that Iran was officially at war with the US?
Could one of our generals start attacking the forces of any other country without express permission from our President?
Going down this road of attacking Trump for taking out this general is a political loser. But hey, if you want to go over this this cliff, nobody will stand in your way.
6
@ProGrowthCapitalism The vet who served in Iraq, looking for WMD, knows all too well who sent him or her there. And that bunch was in the oval office.
24
Ugh!! We are not outraged that Trump killed a bad guy. We are outraged that he lied. Some of us still don’t like being lied to. You?
6
@ProGrowthCapitalism
We invaded Iraq - a country that shares a long border with Iran. We should expect that our soldiers will get killed and maimed over there. The other side has a right to do that, since we are in their country, and they, not unreasonably, believe they are defending their country. We knew before invading that Iran would back Shia militias, so this is expected. This was all expected and known beforehand. So don't bring the soldiers suffering in the VA hospital into this. The blame for that is with Bush.
2
Maybe I'm having a brain freeze, but for the first time, I agree with Trump: Suleimani needed to go. It was justice, maybe not strategically wise, but the world seems a much better place without him. He was an American-killer.
On a side-note, this incident could have been a powder keg, but somehow -- magically? divinely? -- Trump dodged that bullet. How does he do that? Sometimes I think that he is King Cyrus. How does this lead balloon stay aloft?
5
@Jim Muncy I'd say brain freeze. to think that this is over, the storm has passed and the sun is coming out? is the same type of wishful thinking that lead to the Iraq war. "if we only rid the world of Saddam" all will be well.
19
@coale johnson
No one can accurately predict the future; therefore, I don't know if it's over or the calm before the storm, but I do know that a very bad guy is no longer doing bad things to our fellow citizens. No, it won't end Iranian bad behavior, but it's a win for the good guys.
1
@coale johnson
We are still sweeping up the rose pedals from the welcoming committee.
And they say that President Trump is not a man of faith! He believes! I believe that he will exonerate himself when he testifies during his impeachment trial in the Senate! MAGA!
6
Trump is correct. Questioning the reasons why Trump ordered the killing of a murdering terrorist general who was fair game is purely hatred of Democrats for Trump. The generals past dirty deeds and murders was good enough reason. That is what every rational person knows and they will voice that this coming election.
12
People seem to forget that the world isn't a fairytale you don't just go killing bad guys and rainbows pop up. People die, Americans die, Iranians die, Canadians and Ukranians die, and anyone who is in the cross fight dies. And when has in the history of the middle East a war ever helped the situation?? This is just like the short sighted disaster in Syria which cost us years of effort and made multitude of American soldier's sacrifice in vain.
13
@NYChap Suleimani was not a terrorist. This is a flatly false statement. His crime was keeping the US and its friends from overthrowing Assad in Syria.
6
@NYChap So when is Trump assassinating the heads of state of North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Turkey? Since you believe that Presidents have carte blanche to assassinate leaders if they fund "murdering terrrorists" then almost every state leader is "fair game". And I would guess the biggest funder would probably be the U.S.
15
As an American I consider the leader of those of European descent who live elsewhere, Mr. Trump will always have my support.
1
This is why Congress needs to reclaim the power to declare war.
They have not done so since 1942 yet we have fought full out wars in Korea, Vietnam, Kuwait and Iraq, Afghanistan and Iraq with military action in Grenada, Panama, Syria and other nations. The justification for the War in Vietnam was a complete fabrication.
Trump's action in killing Suliemani was for all purposes an act of war. We have gotten how many explanations of why that act occurred? .... well none actually, just vague inferences... attacks on unspecified embassies, etc.
For Trump to say "It doesn't really matter." is beyond belief.
Taking military action against another nation is not to be taken lightly. This is why our Founding Fathers specified that Congress declare War. This would allow an open debate on the reasons and justification for doing so BEFORE going to war.
If Trump cannot - or will not - provide a specific justifiable reason for his action he should be removed from office. He is a danger to this nation and the rest of the world.
517
@cynicalskeptic I think his attitude will change if a is made to realize how vulnerable he is to similar "justice".
18
@cynicalskeptic
If you really think about it, Trump just said what he has learned by watching politics all his life. Vietnam was sold to the public based on a lie, and no politician was removed. Same for Bush/Iraq. Probably a few others too. He probably thinks, "Why should I be the first politician removed for lying to Americans?"
Congress needs to claw back its' powers, and we need to let that happen.
35
@cynicalskeptic the reasons for no declarations of war transcend U.S. politics, and I'm certain you wouldn't want the alternative. What we really need to call for is that any use of military force against a foreign adversary should require Congress to be informed at very least, and if it goes on for more than a very short time and requires comittment of troops and materiel consistent with war, then is should require Congress to mandate it.
Actually, that really is already the law, it's called the War Powers Act. If this Administration is acting in deliberate defiance of that law, as they appear to be, then it should be added to the articles of impeachment, or perhaps more importantly, those involved at the Cabinet level should be impeached and prosecuted as well.
22
So the trump campaign was "hoping that the killing boosts his popularity".
Unbelievable.
Thankfully, the poll referenced indicates the majority of respondents thought it was a reckless thing to do.
Had it indicated otherwise, I could easily believe he would be looking for someone else to kill.
It's crazy stunning to even acknowledge that a president of the United States ordered a person killed, with all the seriousness of ordering breakfast, and that his reason for doing so "doesn't really matter".
How in heck did we get here and nearly forty percent of Americans think this is ok?
624
@Deb Trump’ s support amounts to about 35~40% of the voters and is unshakeable. He is fully aware that he cannot win over the rest of the country, so everything he does is with an eye towards rallying and exciting his base, ensuring they will be worked up enough to come out and vote.
85
@Deb
Because the Party of "family values" decided to annoint a womanizing and misogynist, loud-mouth bigot, and corrupt transactional lout; because individual citizens voted for him and otherwise declared their approval of his character, they now must support anything and everything he does or says.
To do otherwise would be to admit they were wrong. They were mistaken. That they embraced the darkest part of themselves and unleashed it upon innocents.
Just read the accounts of former Nazis and their supporters.
It was all in fun. Words never hurt anyone.
It was the times, everyone was a Party member or wanted to be. You couldn't get ahead unless you went to rallies, signed up, saluted and marched.
I was just doing my job. I was following orders.
I knew it wasn't right but it wasn't my place to speak up.
It wasn't my fault.
63
@David G
wow really? what is Dems craziness? wanting affordable heath care?
Not engaging in endless wars that are bankrupting the USA? Not wanting to lock kids in cages? Not wanting women to lose reproductive rights? Wanting women to get equal pay? Not wanting to decimate the EPA and the climate?
seriously, you and your friends prefer trump?
48
Will Trump reply with, “It doesn’t really matter.” when we’re all dragged into another endless war in the Middle East or when he ignites WWIII? Will he adoring supporters still claim he’s the greatest thing to happen to the USA when the country is forced to declare bankruptcy? Very likely in my opinion!
7
Yes, they will go down with the ship praising Trump and blaming democrats, you bet.
3
The problem with the argument from Trump and some of these commenters that “ it doesn’t matter , he was a bad guy anyway and deserved to die “ is this ; when you take out Solimeini there’s an avid General waiting in wings to replace him who will just do the same things as Solimeini did . This Iranian campaign of using proxies to harm American troops is not going to stop just because we killed Solimeini . In fact , it just may rev them up to seek more info revenge . Also , it has almost insured the resurgence of ISIS as Iraq has told us and in no uncertain terms that they want us out of there. (So much for fighting ISIS. ) And it led to this unfortunate downing accidentally of a passenger plane by error , because of tensions being so high.
So on its face, this weak justification is illogical and doesn’t even accomplish the mission they’re intending . It can only serve to hurt more Americans, not save them .
For every action there is a reaction and in this case killing Solimeini does not protect us because just like in a Broadway play there is a replacement just as skilled ready to go on a moment’s notice to play the same exact part , just as well .
9
With all of this waffling back and forth about why Trump issued the order to kill Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani, the only sense I have gotten from Trump's attitude is that he did what he did because he could. Who was going to stop him and why didn't someone? Presently presiding at the helm is someone far more dangerous and treacherous than ever imagined.
Trump MUST be voted out on November 3, 2020.
12
Lies, lies and more lies. They won't stop until the Republicans or the base object to them. Politicians want to save their seats and the folks rationalize by thinking everybody lies. All of them have lost their sense of proportion, not to mention values and courage. Truth and the constitution mean nothing as long as Dow Jones keeps hitting new high. Let's hope this is the darkest before the dawn.
5
Trumps impulsiveness is only exceeded by his ignorance. All of his decisions are filtered thru his solipsistic worldview, yet his blindness to 2nd or 3rd order consequences of his assassination of a high profile, hugely popular, sovereign state actor, could be his undoing in his personal & business life.
The Iranians play the long game. If he spent any time at all, studying Iranian history, he would know that there is a direct link between our coup against Mossadegh in ‘53 & the US hostage taking in ‘79. Or the low intensity proxy wars & terrorist strikes Tehran has sponsored all across the world over the last 40 years.
Mr. Trump is vulnerable in a way that no other American President has been vulnerable: he has family members working directly for him in the WH & has 19 Trump branded properties across the world.
His boundless ignorance might literally be his personal undoing.
7
For those of you who daydreamed through their Social Studies classes in high school, there was in France a ruler, Louis XIV, whose expression of absolute power and authority over his country was in his words 'L'etat c'est moi' ('I am the state')
We now have a President of the United States who ruling in an elective office and not one of royal succession by Divine Right, who maintains the same attitude that Louis XIV expressed.
We will not survive as a Republic if our president's behavior is not curtailed and controlled by our elected officials.
7
He has lied 15,000 times (on record) since 2016; and violated so many protocols of power that we've lost track. He's demanded Congress become a puppet assembly. Dozens of corrupt cronies of his under indictment or in jail; thousands of lawsuits and criminal investigations underway. Tons of documents he's hiding; tons more that suggest foreign influence. "It doesn't really matter... if he was planning x, y, or z on that date, because of his horrible past." His ex-wives agree. Get the butterfly net, big enough to catch the crooked sons and the son-in-law, and we're done with him.
5
Perhaps the reason a 'President' thinks he can lie and do whatever he wants is because the Congress conducted business as usual (must get myself reelected!) after Bush and his minions were perfectly exposed to have lied to start a war. Bush and his buddies are living the good life because Congress accepted the lies with an... "oh well.."
....and Facebook need not be concerned with 'pols' lying on the platform: everyone of them speaks with artifice and lies.
2
You mean because others lied, Trump has no choice but to lie? You mean all of us will lie if not held in check? Does Trump (and all of us) have the moral duty to tell the truth? Or is it ok to use the excuse that “everyone does it!”
This nation has no standing to criticize Iran or anyone else when it comes to perpetrating violence. I suppose everyone would be fine with Iraqis assassinating GWBush for what he did to them?
3
It needs to be said loudly ‘Even if President Trump’s justification for killing General Suleimani were factually provable, and even if he was not just an extremely talented soldier but also a man with a horrible past and terrible moral character, the President’s decision is singularly extreme for its’ stupidity’. There is not one itsy bit of cleverness about a killing a ‘big name’ and starting a war that in turn puts thousands of American soldiers at risk of death or becoming prisoners of war.
6
No in the administration will tell the real truth. Trump was watching Fox and just randomly pointed at the option of killing Sulemani during a commercial break.
4
That 'justification' alone could trigger a response from any number of US enemies, the logic '“It doesn’t really matter,” he tweeted, “because of his horrible past.” is bizarre and almost certainly 'illegal'.
3
Imagine a criminal trial for murder wherein the defendant testified, "It doesn't really matter why I killed him." In Idaho, that defendant would be eligible for the death penalty based upon the aggravating factor of utter disregard for human life.
6
The US has caused thousands and thousands of deaths in Afghanistan and in Iraq on account of the wars there after Sept 11th. We don't know how many deaths occurred in Iran after the US, in 1956, overturned that country's democratically elected government and installed the Shah and his secret police. The Us lost over 58,000 in Viet Nam, and caused thousands more deaths there. US policies in South and Central America have caused many deaths there. Then, there's Saudi Arabia, whose citizens were mostly responsible for Sept 11th ...and who also still condones stoning and cutting off people's limbs. So, the Iranian general was not a good guy --- Neither are we.
4
Hello? Sure, Suleimani was a bad guy. What's new? What's new is that Trump's impeachment trial is beginning. What's not new, besides Suleimani being a bad guy, is that Trump's real concern is political advantage. Firm up those hawkish supporters in the Senate. Subordinate morals and policy effectiveness to personal interest. The "national security" team looks like a bunch of tongue-tied fools because they are trying to justify actions for which the justification has little to do with national security. Nothing much new here.
2
Yes, it does matter. It matters very much.
I can not wait until we are spared Trump’s vile epithets!
4
Has not the Prez just opened season on himself?
He's never been very strategic - just one lie at a time.
7
Who decided Trump was God and has the power to decide who's allowed to live? He thinks you're "horrible" and nothing more is needed? Just Trump, the almighty, decides. Regardless of what any of us think about Sulemani, his murder was an illegal execution. Trump should be made to answer for it.
5
As for Congressman Gosar's posting of a fake photo showing Obama and Rouhani shaking hands, let us remember that real photos of Trump actually shaking hands with Kim Jong Un exist, as do "love" letters and video clips of Trump describing the "love" between the two "men".
I wonder if Gosar and many other trumpers can see the irony/hypocrisy here?
6
Surely this is the beginning of anarchy - where there is no semblance of order nor what seems to be mocked as a parochial belief in international law. Just a Wild West version of justice carried out by “wily-critter” caricature of a sheriff (Trump),
5
Yeah, nothing matters. It's hard to tell the difference between murdering thugs: Suleimani, Putin, Kim, etc., all bad people. But trump will kill the ones he can and then make up a reason.
Take out your Sharpie and draw in all the embassies Suleimani was going to bomb.
So what if killing an important person starts a war? The US can win it in a NY minute. So, nothing to worry about. Nothing to see here. Nothing burger. Nothing matters.
And most of all, it's nobody's business if trump wants to rub out somebody godfather style. Certainly not the American people's.
9
Mr. Trump and his pathological lies,
don't really matter.
3
...and the Party of Trump critters in the Senate will do absolutely nothing.
4
The idea that "it doesn't matter" expresses a sentiment that we do not need a reason to execute bad people. It might be an emotionally satisfying rationale, but also one with bad potential consequences. We need our government to articulate clear, legal reasons for killing people. Extrajudicial killing is a big deal. While it may not seem like a big deal in the case of some Iranian general, every instance of weakly justified state killing makes it just a bit easier for the US and other governments to do it again. "He's a bad man" or "he killed Americans" is not enough. I'm sure there are plenty of US service people whom foreign governments consider "bad men" who killed their people. I worry that this logic can eventually be turned on regular Americans, and I certainly don't want foreign governments applying that logic to our service people. We need to justify extrajudicial killings!
190
@Joe, when Laura Ingraham asked Trump, "Don't the American People have a right to know what specifically was targeted, without revealing methods and sources?" he was widely quoted for saying the "reveal" about the "four embassies". But his answer to the question itself, was, "Well, I don't think so, but...." Meaning that he does not believe, "The American People have a right to know."
His administration also failed to inform the gang of eight. They did not properly document their actions to Congress under the War Powers Act.
The reason this man is being impeached is because his Administration is not using its power lawfully. That this particular action is not being written up in the press as an abuse of power and an unlawful act is on the press, not the Congress, not the American people or anyone else.
The institutions that are entrusted with speaking truth to power are precisely those that should be using words like, "We need our government to articulate clear, legal reasons for killing people. Extrajudicial killing is a big deal."
Instead, go watch any news channel or read any article, they all preface a comment like that with a disclaimer on what a bad man Soleimani was. If the press is that worried about risk minimization, does it surprise anyone that the Republicans in the Senate don't speak up?
4
@Joe Trump is too ignorant to understand that his indifference to law puts US soliders at risk.
5
Bibi Netanyahu and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman are dictating Trump's Iran policy.
Sheldon and Miriam Adelson pumped some 20 million dollars into Trump's 2016 campaign; they got lots of bang for the buck.
Trump's exoneration of Prince Mohammad bin Salman in the grisly murder of Jamal Khashoggi is irrefutable proof that the Saudi royal family has tremendous influence in the Trump administration.
5
I bet that explanation would have gone over wonderfully if any Americans had died in the Iranian ballistic missile strikes.
3
@Chris Hinricher
Yes, as you point out, from a political fortunes point of view, it was a real stroke of bad luck for Democrats that there were no casualties. Good fortune for Trump - because any casualties could have been used to eviscerate the logic of his Middle East foreign policy.
Sad, though, to wish for something like that...
"When the Democrats try and defend him, it’s a disgrace to our country."
No democrat is trying to "defend" Suleimani, they are trying preserve law and order from a lawless act of killing him. And yes, the reason for his killing does matter.
6
Of course, in a civilized country murder-by-whim does matter regardless of who the individual is, but Trump's mind is not a particularly civilized place. Lots of purgatorial noises and craziness infest his thoughts and beliefs. He's not normal. Trump is a very, very disturbed person as history will reveal. He is a GOP Frankenstein. Soon the villagers will decide what to do with the monster. Will he continue to rape and pillage and murder?
8
Why, why, why doesn’t this headline say what happened: A lie collapsed. Trump has no narratives, strategies, or policies. He has prejudices, conspiracy theories and lies. Start telling it like it is and stop muddying the water.
9
I get it -- just like the identity of the whistleblower didn't really matter after tons of other evidence showing Trump's guilt came to light.
And yet -- Trump persists.
7
It matters because according to international law, which the US is a party to, such assassinations are legal only if such action will prevent an IMMINENT attack causing loss of life. That's why everyone has been addressing the imminent attack issue since day two. Otherwise it is a war crime.
6
The problem is the inconsistent answers, which suggests that Suleimani was killed on a whim of Trump rather than a thought through action - the later gives us comfort, the prior concern.
3
As a Canadian who mourns the loss of so many of our brightest minds and hearts, both already citizens and those destined to become Canadian, I must ask when Trump's horrible past will catch up to him.
No, I do not imply a drone strike or a shooting in broad daylight on Fifth Avenue - but a reckoning with any of his own ill-gotten gains, ill-fated deals, ill-advised remarks, ill-causing diet, ill-tempered outbursts, and generally disgusting treatment of women, perceived opponents, and anyone designated by his arrested mind as "the other."
I wish the courts, the IRS, the part of the public that still dotes on this dotard, and his cholesterol count would suddenly call a halt to his existence as president.
I don't include the GOP because I doubt it will come to its senses.
Trump's unchecked horrible past has resulted in a horrible present, a waking nightmare for Canadians who grieve as we study the pictures and life stories of their beloved neighbours, professors, doctors, engineers, dentists, PhD students, and their children.
The rest of the world prays that Trump's reckoning comes no later than the ballot box this November.
14
The "narrative" never stops changing with the occupant (putting it nicely) of the white house. It can change several times in a day and usually, none are truthful.
5
I am sure that Trump was given a reason for the assassination
but has simply forgotten what the rationale was. Instead of saying something like that he couldn't say for security reasons he makes stuff up so that appears that he is in command of the facts. He does it all the time.
4
During the last campaign, there was a report about the Trump organization’s involvement with an Iranian company that was alleged to be money laundering for the Revolutionary Guard. It got swept aside as the bizarre behavior of this president took center stage. This morning I read elsewhere that General Suleimani was involved with that company, so Trump was doing business indirectly with him. Journalists should ignore the endless distraction of his deranged statements and investigate his clandestine business deals. Early on they were, now it’s constantly about the sideshow.
6
@Scott Myhre
I agree. Without the assassination none of the subsequent chain of events would have happened.
2
Trump can say one thing one day and another thing the next day. It doesn't really matter. He can contradict himself. It doesn't really matter. He can tell the truth. It doesn't really matter. He can lie. It doesn't really matter. He can say anything he wants. It doesn't really matter.
He can say or do anything he wants (It doesn't really matter) because he is king of America and his subjects will always love and adore him.
2
So Trump lies like crazy at first, then, when he lifts his head out of the fox hole, it appears that in the short term he can get away with it and tempers have cooled, he eases into telling another story closer to the truth. How can anyone vote for this guy for a second term?
7
A Persian Spring is blowing towards Iran.
1
Democrats are not trying to defend Suleimani, if we are not at war then it's an assassination. Why is it republican presidents are so willing to perform war crimes - Bush with his torture & DJT with assassination? This guy was a very bad individual and apparently had free reign to run about Iraq, why didn't we just snatch him for a free ride to Gimo? Oh ya, DJT wouldn't have been able to beat his chest.
4
And it truly doesn’t matter. We have rid the World of a radical murderous terrorist who had lots of American blood on his hands and who continually looked for opportunities to take more American lives. So now he is dead, and the only thing that matters is that he will kill no more.
And this is what is wrong with support for the Trump presidency. Trump blatantly lies and his supporters don’t care. The ends justify the means. Also, if as you say, all that matters is that a terrorist is dead, then please ask the president you support why he lied about the reasons for the assassination. Why not tell the truth from the start? I’ll answer my own question. Trump lied because he knew that murdering Soleimani “just because” is indefensible and illegal. He eases his supporters towards the ugly truth, slowly, methodically and carefully. And he successfully manipulates his credulous supporters. But his manipulation will never succeed with more critically thinking Americans. I for one, really don’t like being lied too. Truth is a value I cherish.
1
"Mr. Obama never met Mr. Rouhani in person."
For now. But history is written by the victors. Your grandchildren may be taught that Obama was, in "fact," born in Kenya and that President-for-life Eric Trump's father deposed him in an epic wrestling match. Obama cheated, but Donald still triumphed. Anything else is fake news.
Hey, check out this photoshopped pic of Pelosi wearing a head scarf. Really tells it like it is.
2
Donald Trump is a complete and total disaster. Let Donald Trump implode.
13
Has it been only ten days? It already feels like a lifetime with Trump. US people may feel Trump's chaos is limited to them, but it's not. Trumps narcissistic behavior dominates most news channels. President Trump does not fair well on the world stage.
"It really doesn't matter...because of his horrible past." ; Trump on the assassination he ordered.
Yes, Mr. Trump, it does! No one believes there was any imminent threat to the embassies, The constantly changing excuses and facts has convinced us. By his own admission, Trump is guilty of cold blooded murder in a foreign country for nefarious reasons. He is responsible for the deaths of countless innocent people! His questionable motivation, the mistreatment of his own people, the pathological lying, his disregard and utter contempt for domestic and international law further cement his low, amoral, despicable character.
Mr. Trump should consider himself tried and convicted by the greater world. The persons accountable for 'individual 1' are his base and the GOP who enabled his criminal conduct. He is a blight on the United States and all humanity!
President Trump will be remembered as an Impeached, corrupt politician who tried to bring a nation to the brink of disaster and his failed attempt to start WW III. His legacy will be recorded along side other notable people like Stalin, Mussolini, and Adolf Hitler!
I respect and support the struggle of people of the US. PLEASE, vote him out in November!
15
Targeting Suleimani was, as originally reported, an 'option' laid out by the security/military advisers. An option for (or against) what is the question. It could be just that Trump is not willing to (or capable of) explain it on Twitter. So the real answers must come from those who gave it as an option to him.
8
With the impeachment trial soon to be underway it’s hard to see how anything he says really matters especially when even a finding of guilt probably wouldn’t have much influence on his supporters or detractors.
Everyone is dug in and he’s just got to go.
11
Conceivably the president thinks "it doesn't matter" that he ignored the War Powers Act because he thinks the War Powers Act is unconstitutional. Sen. Tom Cotton told Mark Levin recently that he and every president since Richard Nixon considers it unconstitutional; of course Cotton and President Obama are the only two mentioned who are constitutional lawyers. In any case, nobody has asked the Supreme Court to rule on this. Until the law is voided, it is the president's sworn duty to enforce it.
6
As a businessman, Trump was used to doing whatever he wanted, without consulting anyone else. He could go rogue whenever he wanted, because it was his company. America, on the other hand, is not his company. But Trump still doesn't understand the value of listening to advisors and consulting smarter people. First, because he's convinced no one is smarter than he is. And second, because he's never really held accountable and he never has been.
13
@Amelia "As a businessman, Trump was used to doing whatever he wanted, without consulting anyone else"
I can tell you that as businessmen and women there are lots of us, even CEOs, who don't have free reign to do as we please. What is more accurate is that "As the owner of the family run business, Trump was used to doing whatever he wanted"
11
Surprise, surprise. The one thing Trump can be trusted on ... at least based on the record ... is his claim that he can get away with anything. He apparently believes this because of what he considers his strength, his power of presence and ability to persuade. I think it’s because of our weakness insofar as we don’t know what to do with the likes of him. Our caring isn’t enough. His being president doesn’t, of course, help the matter. The power of chaos is revealed, and it is norm-setting and destructive. That’s what we have in Trump.
9
At least the Administration's stories were questioned sufficiently to enable the actual truth to emerge, even if not clearly admitted. That is a sort of progress. Keep pushing back on all the lies. Facts, like votes, matter.
7
Thank you for continuing to report on this incoherent president and his failures. I have reached the limit of what I can stand to take in, however. I find myself literally fighting the impulse to throw my device against the wall in frustration and fury that everything that I was raised to cherish about what this country has strived for no longer matters. ‘It doesn’t really matter,’ is the phrase that summarizes this American tragedy.
11
If the deaths of Americans is reason for assassination, this administration is guilty.
"That said, there’s no question the Trump administration has been trying to make it easier to emit PM2.5 pollution. As Vox’s Umair Irfan reported last year, the Trump EPA has been cracking down on the use of reductions of PM2.5 as a “cobenefit” in justifying regulations meant to reduce other kinds of emissions. That, in practice, means fewer restraints on PM2.5 emissions.
This is despite the fact that there’s a large and growing body of research implicating fine particle pollution in everything from lower school test scores to lower work productivity to deaths (particularly in the elderly). Just in 2019 alone, studies have come out associating particulate pollution with violent crime, lower GDP, childhood stunting in India, and increased mortality."
1
This issue of whether or not Suleimani was a dangerous person is neither here not there; the world is filled with much more dangerous actors. A serious, stable leader doesn’t flirt with Armageddon by unilaterally and petulantly provoking a dangerous nation, and doing so at a time that is curiously on the heels of an impeachment and prior to an election. However, I find it equally disappointing that every time the Republicans go on the offense against a state or bad actor in the Middle East, it’s almost always met with approval by many that would otherwise be critical of Republican motivations. And this isn’t any Republican, but one with no vision, no plan, and no policy other than playing strongman performance art to crowds, giving McConnell and company what they want, and politically surviving.
7
If one's past is the sole yardstick, then we can conclude that a person with 11 bankruptcies, poor credit and multiple infidelities is not fit to be a leader, correct?
10
Trump's Suleimani narrative collapses? Unfortunately, as far as continued support for Trump is concerned, that doesn't really matter either.
4
If the decision to kill Suleimani was so necessary, the Trump administration would not need to struggle "to draft an after-the-fact narrative to justify it."
It's that plain and straight forward, or at the very least, shouldn't it be?
5
We must take to the streets to show Donald that, actually, IT DOES MATTER. If we don't rise up to demand his accountability, we will be proving him right.
8
"It doesn't really matter because of his horrible past" says the guy responsible for the deaths of our allies the Kurds in Syria, refugees from violence who met their death after being turned away at the border or deported without due process, for refugee children who died from inadequate care while in custody, who cut social benefits for those who don't have shelter or enough to eat, who spends our taxes in court trying to overturn coverage of pre-existing medical conditions...
6
Let’s be honest, while all this is true- Trump is impulsive and contradicts himself constantly regarding foreign policy, this Iran situation is a win for him and his supporters. There will be no war with Iran, which I thought their could be while the smoke was still wafting from the missile crater. Iran made a terrible error in shooting down an airliner over their soil, triggering massive unrest internally. Sanctions are crippling them on the economic front. Was this Trump’s intention? I highly doubt it, but vast swathes of Americans think so, and it is being twisted by the RIght into “liberal support Soleimani!”
Sometimes the football is thrown into a pile of defenders, yet the receiver somehow catches it for a touchdown. Democrats are still arguing that he shouldn’t have thrown the ball, while Trump and Co. are running down field for the next play.
1
“It doesn’t really matter”
Sounds a lot like DJT can’t even pretend to care anymore.
Is this the Commander in Chief’s position now on the reasons to potentially start a war with Iran?
Trump drags the country through a manufactured crisis and now we find out that “ it doesn’t really matter”.
4
Mr. Trump has spent his entire life retorting, "do it because I said so". This is yet another example of him trying to apply the same process to the presidency.
5
Wow, honesty! That’s arguably a brand-new Trump tactic. He’s probably thinking that this particular in-your-face honesty will fire up his supporters (for whom lynchings are anyway much more appealing than a lot of tedious legal jabber) and “just dare” the opposition to try to do something, knowing they’ll be shouted down.
It may even work out that way, but there’s also a chance that that could backfire. We now see that even some of his staunchest Congressional supporters are beginning to criticize him. If he sees his support crumbling, I can even see a chance of his pulling a Nixon, resigning before he’s forcibly removed. However, being Trump, he wouldn’t go quietly. I can see him quitting the GOP - “you’re not loyal enough, you’re fired” - and starting a new party of his own. It would attract members, but they’d all come from the GOP, which would weaken it. (Vindictive as Trump is, that would even cheer him.)
Bottom line: Trump’s honesty might be very good for the Democrats, and bode well for the coming elections.
4
Trump just put his stamp on one of the most violent tendencies of mankind: mob rule and violence. We are a country of laws and justice based on our constitution. The chief executive of the USA is supposed to do what is best for the whole country. That course of action is not something that any president has ever known based only on his own "divine wisdom". Especially one that apparently does not read, review position papers or seek the counsel of experts. It is easy for Trump to say that any country that does not agree with us is "bad" or that their past is "horrible" but does that really confer on us the right to commit high tech assassinations of foreign leaders? Rather than such decisions coming from the dark of Trump's mind, the way forward is through public and respectful dialog that mutually benefits both sides. That has been the place of diplomacy. Unfortunately, Trump's alliance with the most brutal dictators around the world shows us his violent outlook towards all of humankind and its societal institutions. He will take us back to governance both at home and abroad by the rule of the most powerful.
6
I think the real reason for the murder of Suleiman was to distract attention from Trump's impeachment. It didn't work. In fact, I think "murder" should be added to the impeachment charges.
7
"It doesn't really matter": Trump's philosophy on everything not involving his bankbook.
7
Taking this guy out was proof even a stopped clock is right twice a day....but it should have been done covertly.
Subtlety is not a Trump virtue.
3
Trump isn't the only entity only concerned how this impacts domestic politics. Here is another NYT article that virtually ignores the fall out of his revenge killing by barely noting that the assassination started a sequence of events that ended up with 57 Canadians dead and many other casualties from other countries on that mistakenly downed airplane. One wonders if there had been a single American on that plane whether these discussions and analysis would be different.
9
I will forever believe the attack was a wag-the-dog maneuver. This becomes more clear as time passes and we end up with various explanations. One of my big concerns about Trump is that he could stumble and bumble our way into a war. Well...
8
We are no better than any other nefarious actor as we stoop to their level. We were a country governed by laws. We need to return to our roots and be that shining beacon of hope.
7
A life based on lies. And now a shared pull downwards. Truly the inverse Midas touch.
10
Let's just all try to imagine if President Obama had come out and said "It doesn't really matter" when it came to any sort of international crisis. And now to see where we are in 2020. The mainstream media continues to minimize, downplay and yes, gaslight their readers by hammering home the point- does it really matter in the end why 45 continually makes choices more and more on his own, based on false and horribly faulty intelligence (and then bad mouth the intelligence community), or more likely, gut instinct. The founders wouldn't know what to make of him, except to push for the 25th amendment. We're about 10,000 miles past that now.
11
"It really doesn't matter" . Really.
If this isn't a red Flag to Mitch McConnell and his Republicans in the Senate that Trump is an unstable man and needs to be removed from Office I don't know what is. They are allowing him to push the Nuclear Button. I guess the only thing that matters to the Administration, Trump, McConnell and Graham is Party and themselves , not the American people.
Extremely dangerous.
Nancy needs to Subpoena Bolton and the rest of them.
The way Trump is going we are either going to end up in a war or Putin will be handed the keys to our Kingdom. Oh I mean our Country.
8
The statement, It doesn’t really matter,” he tweeted, “because of his horrible past,” should send a chill up the collective spine of every freedom loving American. One man, the POTUS, is basically justifying his actions and behavior, any action and behavior, by his, personal definition of what's horrible. As we have seen he didn't consult with Congress as any rational, law abiding, Constitutionally mindful POTUS would do. And it looks now, based on recent reports, he had 7 months to do precisely that. Instead, he consulted with a small group of administration toady's who serve as his explainers, excuse makers, spinners, and emboldeners. What if Trump decided to use a nuclear weapon if another one of his "red lines" was crossed. If you consider that possibility, with " it doesn't really matter" in that light, you appreciate the risk this person exposes us to. Frightening.
9
@Harley Leiber Don't forget he 'consulted' with his crew while at Mar-a-Lago with no security measures in place.
1
"It doesn't really matter," our president tweeted about the killing-by-drone of a "bad person."
I wonder if any of Trump's supporters have considered that our president is now a sitting duck for some Iranian proxy who is bent on revenging the assassination of General Suleimani. I wonder if Trump has considered this very real possibility.
As I watched the national football championship last night, it occurred to me that the whole world knew, in real time, the exact location of our president. The next time our president holds one of his "patriotic" rallies, the whole world will know where he is.
Anybody else in that rally with our president would be a sitting duck, too, wouldn't you say?
Actions have consequences.
3
In the end the press gets exhausted and goes along with “it doesn’t matter,” whenever Trump has been shown to be lying. He has lied in excess of 14,000 times. At some point no one should really trust anything he says about anything.
6
This is like having Maxwell Q Smart tell us why he did it. Would you believe imminent action? No? Would you believe 4 embassies? No? How about 2 ? No? Doesn't matter.
Maybe he can just go to the Cone of Silence. Forever.
5
In this country, the Constitution should always matter--even if someone has a horrible past.
5
So now we lose even the pretense of “imminent danger?” The people who praise Trump’s rash and unconstitutional decision to assassinate a foreign official without congressional declaration of war are unpatriotic and unamerican. Being a patriotic American means believing in rule of law and the Constitution’s restraints on absolute power. Trump is not the law, and his power should not be absolute.
4
What passes for truth these days, in the trump world, is the lies that survive the early rounds of news reporting. Sooner or later they will be all be proven false. It just takes a little more time because there are so many of them.
5
An attempted civil war in Syria has given that country a mass murdering dictator, millions of refugees, torture prisons, and strengthened Putin's hand in the region. Will creating a Syria type disaster, this time in Iran, make Americans safer? Does anyone feel safer now with Suleimani assassinated by the US drone strike?
2
With that (il)logic, everyone is vulnerable.
3
So, since it doesn’t matter because of his horrible past, what happens when a rogue nation or player comes here, and are empty to assisinate some of our very bad guys? How will Mr Trump feel then, since he has opened the ugly door for these actions to take place? I suspect he will not be able to even see any correlations.....
2
Commander-in-chief does not mean “judge, jury, and executioner” on anyone deemed a “horrible person.” There was no declaration of war between US and Iran, yet after multiple spins Trump is settling into the sole justification that “Trump can kill because Trump deems this individual worth killing.” No declaration of war necessary. No need for Consultation or approval by any other branch of government. You have to be pretty short-sighted to think this is in any way appropriate in a constitutional democracy. This kind of presidential power should have been reined in long before Trump came to office.
3
A very large percentage of the soldiers sent to the middle east are related in one way or another to Trump's base. ( sons, daughters, spouses, cousins, etc.)
These lies are NOT working!
3
"It doesn't really matter."
TRANSLATION: "I painted myself into a corner of lies."
6
Are we not yet totally tired of this man? Please fellow citizens, vote him out in November.
7
Do you suppose he even knows of the US coup d’etat in 1953 to depose Iran’s democratically elected prime minister to install our puppet Shah tyrant? An act that many trace to 1979 hostages and today’s instabilities, that underscores complexity of our relations with Iran today. Not that he’d believe it. I suspect he’d call it Fake News.
4
Why is he tweeting in Arabic? I never thought that something we would have to fear from this person is that he would say something in a language he cannot read or write in, intended for cultures he has no understanding for, presumably relying on the perfected software of google translate. I am even more terrified this morning.
1
Creating a diversion from Trump's impeachment---that's what really matters.
5
As much as I dislike Trump, he is in many ways bringing from the darkness into the light how 'acts of American policy' are typically executed by the CIA, Special Forces and military advisers, IMF, and consultants such as Cambridge Analytics.
As long as the Republican Party welcomes him as one of their own, and validates his crazy, Trump turns out to be right — it doesn’t matter.
2
Trump lies about 40 times a day. He conveniently forgets the damage he does when he has not thought something through. The problem is he can't follow a thought very far. He has gut reactions and that is all. No consideration for damage. He causes collateral damage all the time, but just forgets it and lies and says he is the greatest and the short lived news span tends to accept it. He lives in his own sound bites.
Meanwhile children languish in cages for years, a plane full of youth with bright hopes is shot down, climate catastrophe is ignored, a democracy is in tatters, long term allies are rebuffed and dictators and murderers are pardoned and praised, governmental safety regulations are systematically trashed, the rich get richer and the poor are poorer, and it goes on and on. Trump leaves a trail of damage and destruction behind him but tells the world he is the best and brightest. He is rightfully impeached but changes the subject with missiles and war mongering.
This whole charade is beyond belief.You could not invent it. Trump is nothing more than a wrecking ball. A wrecking ball loose on a ship in a storm. We are the harassed passengers in a country that is the battered ship.
5
Actually, it does matter.
5
Critics of trump should be wary, see how easy it is for his simple mind to rationalize doing harm to someone he’s labeled “bad”. He’s becoming emboldened with every step he takes because McConnell has made Congress impotent. This is only going to get worse.
3
Vigilante justice has no place in international affairs. And where is the compassion for the 176 people who died because of this impulsive move on the part of the president? Collateral damage?
3
If a foreign country had a strong military presence here, or in Canada, and one of their wilder ‘warriors’ had plunged a knife into an injured 16 yo fighter....and taken potshots at young girls and old men for seemingly no reason, then who the “terrorists” are might look a little different. Especially if those acts had oddly been described as the work of a “brave patriot” by the CinC of the occupying country.
The fact that many in Trump’s base think that Schumer’s and Pelosi’s depiction is accurate in those doctored tweets is proof enough that who the ‘bad guys’ are depends on your vantage point. Or more sadly, just your gut feeling.
2
I've been wondering if Suleimani stepped on some Russian toes in Syria, or outlived his usefulness to the Iranian regime or something. Given a pretty clear link between Tehran - Moscow - Washington, it occurs that this might have been engineered outside of the White House.
1
@Dan
You give them all too much credit.
Trump is unable to coordinate with anyone but his own ego. The Iranians aren't very successful at running their own country. Russia is devious but in the end the country is being run for the benefit of Putin.
1
Does it mean it would be fine, acceptable even, if someone from Iraq or Afghanistan assassinates Bush or Cheney? Apparently it doesn’t really matter, they also have an horrible past.
5
Canadians paid the ultimate price for the ill-advised actions of the President of the United State. If Canadians could impeach and remove this president it would do it in a flash.
5
DJT now needs a jacket to match Melania´s with the "I don´t really care, do you?" slogan on the back. He could wear it to his rallies.
This admission of retaliation makes his "Lock her up" comments seem more like a promise than a rallying cry.
Surely our intelligence and armed forces could have removed Soleimani while in the commission of an act that would completely justify our actions.
Instead DJT has once again besmirched our standing in the world, sowed doubts among our allies, prompted Iraq to expel our troops thus enabling ISIS, and due to a series of events led to the downing of the Ukrainian passenger jet. All that for what?
3
What is really disturbing is - 90% of the Republican party still supports this guy. Doesn't really matter what he does.
So yes, a significant portion of the country seems fine with another war based on false intelligence.
5
@Joe Yes, because it's never about the intelligence. It's about the hatred and the animosity. Manufacturing a pretext after the fact is just political cover, and apparently it's not even really needed in this case.
1
No single American is defending Soleimani; the attacks against the President are just simply (once again) all about lying, improper process and ignoring the rule of law. As the impeachment process grinds to the easily discernible acquittal conclusion it looks like our only hope is to take this fool out of office the old fashioned way, via the ballot box; if Trump’s re-elected in 2020 then the people will have truly spoken and we’ll have to deal with another 4-yrs.
2
"It doesn't really matter" that Trump lies with impunity to Trump supporters either. I never knew Americans could be so easily conned until Trump got in the WH.
2
Donald j. trump still maintains the comportment of a spoiled, mean spirited 8 year old brat. Consistently lying to the electorate and the citizens used to be alarming, as it destroys credibility; what's changed when he does it every minute he's awake?
3
Isn't there a law on the books forbidding assassination of foreign leaders? Trump's tweet is an admission of a felony.
2
I often wonder about trump sitting in these decisive meetings surrounded by advisers and military experts who have studied the history and political issues of other countries for years and how inadequate he may feel not knowing anything they are talking about. Does he sit and nod and try to project deep understanding while wondering how he can improve his golf score or when he can get to Mar a Lago. Does he amuse himself trying to remember what part of the world these ungodly places with funny names are in and do they have beaches he can put condos on. If one does not read briefing papers , is ignorant of the history and culture of other nations whether friend or foe, has no interest or curiosity in the thoughts and desires of the leaders of many countries what do you do ? You fake it ! A past master at this , choose any option and bumble through it later. Sad and even sadder are his enablers who prop him up. I understand his briefers have cut their presentations to the easiest form with charts and pictures and lacking nuance. Why not just hand him a comic book.
1
This has gone beyond ridiculous. Mr. Trump is a clear and present danger to the Republican Party, the United States, and the world. He must be removed.
5
I guess Trump is going to start wearing Melania's coat - "I don't care, do U?" The rest of us are appalled, angry and actually, really do care.
20
Could Trump be this obtuse, unwilling to see things from Iran's perspective? What would these United States have done, in a similar vein, if Iran assassinated our secretary of state and the military command combined? This impasse cannot be resolved by Trump's warmongering, by corralling Iran in a corner and taunted to death. We need diplomacy instead. Now, Too bad it is absent in Trump's lexicon.
4
The only thing that those people understand and respect is force. And we have it, and they don’t.
1
@Brewster’s Millions By "these people" you do mean Trump & Co, right?
@Brewster’s Millions Food for thought, I guess. But brute force is not a sign of strength, weakness instead. Let's remember that a bully is a coward in disguise. And we ought to be better than that. As I said earlier, Trump doesn't get it, clueless insofar diplomacy's strength is concerned. To everybody's loss!
Our president succumbs again to hypocrisy, propaganda, lying and division.
One wonders how long our democracy can take such punishment before it is so damaged that it is transformed into a mere shadow of "the last best hope of earth".
I suspect Mr Lincoln is watching and holding his breath.
6
~“because of his horrible past.”~
Based upon this standard alone, his own, trump should be removed from office. Too bad sexual assault is not part of the articles of impeachment....or marital infidelity....or his association with Jeffrey Epstein.
12
So if a foreign leader deems any US official a “horrible person” - one of our generals or ambassadors or even Glorious Leader himself, they can order an assassination?
Oh, no, I forget. Glorious Leader is special. No need to follow anybody else’s rules. Just like America is special, no need to follow the international law we impose on everyone else. So much for “the law is the law” among the Trump crowd.
8
"President Trump put an end to that hash of explanations. “It doesn’t really matter,” he tweeted, “because of his horrible past.”
WOW. There it is everyone. The various false explanations, rationale and justification "doesn't really matter." The arrogance is spellbinding.
When did this monster's role evolve from being an elected politician to being a demigod or the divine right of kings?
Clearly, he's been hanging around Putin far too long for someone's influence has surely rubbed off.
12
The world is too dangerous a place for this “make it up as you go along/fake it ‘til you make it” policy of the Trump administration. We — and everyone else across this planet — need to have at least some iota of confidence that the United States is acting prudently, with sound judgment and reasoning. Trump and those who parrot his ever-changing talking points have squandered that confidence. Just as his “fake news” mantra has thrown shade upon the media, his daily excuses and narratives for such rash actions have thown bigger shade upon our trustworthiness and reliability as a world leader.
But “it doesn’t really matter,” does it?
7
It certainly doesn't matter to Trump, but the power to kill and make war in the name of the American people belongs to the people's congress. The usurpation of that constitutional power is the act of a dictator.
9
"It really doesn't matter because of his horrible past"?
Seriously?
Wow.
Now I REALLY want to know who put the hit out on Epstein.
11
Scary to think that these childish, impulsive, repetitive and insidiously deceptive tweets are actually coming from the President of the United States and leader of the free world.
No words can describe the level of danger, damage and shame this man is forcing on our nation.
8
Who elected him judge, jury, and executioner without oversight and an understanding of the consequences? Suleimani was a horrible person, but the US constitution declares every person deserves a fair trial (you know, unlike the one the Senate will conduct on impeachment). If he is so hellbent on eliminating all those who are responsible for the deaths of thousands, why hasn't he gone after Kim Jong-Un, the Saudi MBE or Putin?
6
With all of this waffling back and forth these past few days about why Trump issued the order to kill Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani, only justification I have NOT heard and probably will never hear or read him say is "I gave the order because I could. We killed him because we could" although that truly feels more like the honest truth.
8
It doesn’t really matter that as a result of Trump’s insatiable ego this unnecessary attack ultimately led to the tragic death of 57 Iranian-Canadians. Most immoral or amoral man to ever hold high elective office.
4
Well, “if you give a mouse a cookie . . . “
“We killed Suleimani, the No. 1 terrorist in the world by every account. Bad person, killed a lot of Americans, killed a lot of people. We killed him.”
I could be mistaken, but isn’t the American president typically considered the most powerful terrorist in the world at any given point in time?
Outside of the United States, of course. Within our borders, it’s dangerous to voice an opinion like that.
4
Trump is right. It really doesn't matter because he already explained that he could shoot someone dead on 5th Avenue and nobody would do anything about it.
6
Does trump not realize other countries (and rogue operations) also have drones? He’s got a target on his back now. And so do American officials, including his Offspring PseudoAdvisors. Not to mention his properties all around the world.
5
more proof americans elected a man with the emotional maturity/stability of a spoiled five year old.
which was, apparently, his rep as a five year old.
or at least that's what people are sayin'.....
4
The major reason is his appetite for blood has been whetted.
4
Our foreign policy can now be summed up as "might makes right". Any bad hombres can be dealt with and any sovereign nations must simply understand that we have bigger guns and conventional rules of engagement no longer apply.
I can already hear the shrieks of indignity from Fox and friends when when the rest of the world follows our lead and starts knocking off our leadership.
3
Another day and another assault on the truth. Just an average day in the life and small mind of the most corrupt President and White House in American history.
The malfeasance of the "Trump Republican" party is as astounding as it is unbelievable. The damage wrought by another 4 year term from this tinpot dictator will be irreversible.
4
Lies, lies, and more lies. Deception. Ignoring Congressional protocol. Single handedly taking action for personal gain. The man and his cronies only moral compass is a mirror. ........... And the GOP Senate, complicit now in any troops in harm's way and obstructing the impeachment process... not to mention complete loss of integrity could not care less.
6
Hapless & clueless as usual, 45*?
4
When the truth doesn’t matter, why does anything matter and why is anyone surprised?
This administration and its enablers are teaching our children (and many adults) great lessons:
1. The ends always justify the means.
2. It is better to ask for forgiveness than permission.
3. Act first and think later. You can always come up with some rationale to justify what you did (if you have to).
4. I do because I can.
5. Because you disagree with me, you are a corrupt criminal and everything that underpins your beliefs is fake.
6. A free press is the enemy of the people.
7. Discredit every institution and every person of integrity that could be a check on you so that no will believe any of them when you are criticized.
8. Never apologize and never admit being wrong.
9. If you want to work for me you must sign an oath of blind faith and loyalty.
10. Oh, by the way, after you have bent over for me and made yourself look ridiculous defending my inane words and deeds, you’re fired.
4
No one's life is worth a grain of salt if it does not meet thrump and Putin's standards. Thrump must not be allowed to set markers on the next outlaw to be assassinated. If moscow mitch gives thrump a pass on this and other criminal acts the people must respond at the ballot box.
6
Other things that don't matter:
*Thousands of children separated from their families and held in detention centers
* Failing to give aid to Puerto Rico, even though they have suffered two major earthquakes in a week
*Destroying a nuclear arms treaty (not a great one but the best we've had)
*Removing most of the structure that protects our environment
*Using one of the world's great religions as a manipulative political tool
*Playing with and ignoring the Constitution so that ignoring it now has a historical precedent.
Hey, it doesn't really matter.
10
If 'because of his horrible past" is a reason to kill someone I dare say that there is a long list of others that fit the description ... Assad, Putin, Maduro, Obiang, etc.. We should and could assassinate them all? "It doesn't really matter?!
6
I think think his tweeting FAKE pictures will definitely help him with the suburban mom vote he desperately needs. LOL
3
More lies. And on matters of national security.
Poor admin employees trapped in webs of fabrication. Poor Americans trapped trying to live with this.
4
I am deeply embarrassed and ashamed to be an American with Trump as President. Until that fateful day in November 2016, I thought we were a better country. Sadly I think he actually represents what we have become as a society: intellectually lazy, greedy, entitled, wholly corrupt and broken.
13
Poor Stephanie Grisham. She tries to say things as confrontational as her predecessors but nobody cares. She is irrelevant.
4
The Emperor Of Ice Cream, and LIES.
Thanks, GOP. November.
6
To paraphrase a wise man
“Don’t just comment, vote!”
5
Spartacus : I would kill them all. Batiatus : Then do it in the arena. Fight for me, and the honor of my forefathers. Prove yourself, climb to the pinnacle, gain your freedom, and that of the woman you've lost.
Trump: It doesn't really matter
1
But Trump has a "horrible past" too...hmm...
7
Gandalf’s words in J.R.R. Tolkien’s,“The Lord of the Rings” resonate here:
“Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement.”
The passengers and crew on the Ukrainian airliner deserved life. And Trump cannot give it back to them.
9
It sounds to me like: it doesn't matter. We'll assassinate people when we feel like it.
7
It doesn't matter? Tell that to the families of the 58 dead Canadians.
16
Life Hack: If it comes out of Donald Trump's mouth, then it's a lie.
16
I can just imagine him in the situation room, flailing like a toddler:
“Obama got Bin Laden and what did I get?!?! Someone give me a terrorist, a really BIG one. Bigger than bin laden. I need him now! And I need it to be in a way like the American people have never seen before!!”
God help us.
15
Situation room?! He "decided" on the ride back from the last green to lunch. Just maybe he consulted with his golf cart driver.
"I really don't care. Do U?"
12
After flailing around for days trying to come up with an aligned story on justification for the timing of the fatal attack on Suleimani, the best he can do is “it doesn’t matter.”
Stephanie Grisham “defended the photoshopped images.”
It’s more important to portray the leaders of the opposing political party as sympathetic to or even members of a violent regime than it is to reign in terror and oppression around the world. If the latter were of equal importance, we’d see indiscriminate fatal attacks on Kim Jung-un, MBS, and even Trump’s buddy Putin.
SMH, as the kids say. What have we wrought, indeed. Why are people still making excuses for this incompetent, dangerous person?
27
Trump says things like "it doesn't really matter" and "because of his horrible past."
The only thought left unsaid here is "because timing is everything in life. This will divert the public's attention from my impeachment."
25
If you have a any conservative friends, you'll see this changing narrative doesn't matter one iota..."he's a bad guy and deserved it" they'll say. Not realizing the same basic rationale for Saddam Hussein is still costing us lives and treasure. He said he could go out on a NY street and shoot someone and his followers wouldn't care...they certainly don't about this.
29
@scott
Saddam was lawfully tried, convicted and sentenced to death. Not really the same as this case.
It’s not a changing narrative; he reiterates that the attacks were imminent while also saying there was a broader basis to have killed him: the fact that US designated him a terrorist 13 years ago.
Every single day, I wonder how anyone can support such a reckless and terrible person as the leader of our country. We continue to seek further into a pit of lawlessness and confusion. When will the Republican enablers stand up and say “that’s enough?”
30
The largest collateral damage of the Suleimani assassination was the errant downing of the Ukrainian airliner killing 178 innocent civilians. Why is nobody linking this to Trump’s decision to kill the general? If the drone strike never occurred those people would be alive. This is blood on Trump’s hands.
36
Yes. I wonder when Canada will impose sanctions on us. We’d deserve it.
5
@Tom Winston
It is early yet. But we may never know whether the missile operator misidentified the passenger jet due to U.S. sabotage of communications. The ADS-B system is seen to be vulnerable to hacking. The U.S. has demonstrated the capability as well as the will to implement highly effective electronic warfare, including the Stuxnet virus and planting defective components into adversaries' missiles.
1
@Scott Myhre
Then there is the country's sovereignty was invaded and a member of their government was assassinated including a member of a bordering countries government.
I understand that these folk had to be stopped but to start an international incident that could easily turn into WW3?
I think not.
Then there is the so called collateral damage ( never liked that term it's dehumanizing) of a terrified armed service pressing a button thinking they are defending their homeland. Add in the country has limited capabilities in communication and you have a mess.
Mr Trump was fortunate that this played out (another term I dislike as it's also dehumanizing) in this manner as it distracts from the Impeachment and the violation of another countries sovereignty.
How would the U.S. react to this? Oooops we had 9-11 and other things. We had an overwhelming response and made things worse do to inaccurate and inappropriate information that was distorted.
I am not excusing anything but I believe in using Critical Thinking and where that leads is not a good place.
Just an old white man's opinion...
1
A narcissist with the attention span of a hummingbird is not exactly what our country needs in the leadership position right now.
25
Khomeini provided lame explanations in the beginning after the plane was shot down. Trump provided lame explanations in the beginning when the General was assassinated. So, what's the difference Trump and Khomeini?
9
The list of people Trump thinks “horrible” is pretty extensive and inclusive of not only terrorists, but entertainers, athletes, journalists, politicians, judges, and average citizens. Does this mean they are fair game as well?
24
@FJR - ATL
Seriously! This is a dangerous slippery slope to just give the president the power to assassinate people because they are "horrible."
4
Leave it to Trump to turn Democratic opposition to a unilateral and unannounced assassination into support for terrorists.
By admitting it was not big deal to "take out a bad guy," just because he is a bad guy, Trump is also signaling his toughness and eagerness to use the lethal power of the presidency to change a conversation.
He's actually campaigning on assassination! Those snippets of rally cries turn my stomach. But the way he's using this most dangerous and serious of acts to boost his reelection odds is just plain disgusting.
When Schumer asks the president, "how low can you go?" he knows there is not bottom for a man desperate to evade justice for his presidential conduct.
And we're all paying the price--just look at the comments here from around the world, marveling that our country has been taken over by a man of such indecent character.
33
Trump is actually right this time when he say's "It doesn't really matter"
It does't matter because our country allows the president to singly decide to attack another nation.
John Kennedy decided to attack Cuba (Bay Of Pigs) which was another mistake.
Until our nation decides that one person (only ) does not have the right to start war, we remain in constant danger of war for no legitimate reason.
5
A “horrible past” is now a sufficient reason for the killing of a foreign leader? Trump probably should have thought that tweet through a little more.
19
The truth doesn’t “really matter.”
Democracy doesn’t “really matter.”
The Constitution of the United States of America doesn’t “really matter.”
The Oath of Office doesn’t “really matter.”
For Trump, only one thing really matters. Himself.
42
They may say the same thing about trump in years to come.
8
What a business opportunity!
All of these mindless people who accept Trump's non-stop lying, are perfect candidates to buy any spurious "snake oil" products, "lemon" cars, and selected famous bridges!
8
The reason was clear to anyone who has paid minimal attention to Trump. The Suleimani killing was an instinctive wag of the dog by a president w/ little concern for risk. His base of not-too-smart folks w/ short attention spans & constant need for entertainment had tired of watching him play predictable defense in the impeachment thing day after day after day. A quick "win" with some drama & blood was just what was needed.
11
Has the DONALD heard of Putin’s past? How about the past of his friend little Kim? He did it for political reasons....distraction from impeachment; his Dream of being a war president; make his Republican enablers happy. He didn’t do it in the interests of the AMERICAN People!
18
Does Trump or any of his republican supporters in the House and Senate deserve your vote in 2020?
8
"We" did not kill Suleimani, Donald Trump did. Now it's evident that he did it to gain political support. So the President of the United States is a murderer. "If you're not appalled (and scared to death) you haven't been paying attention.
17
Our President blatantly lied about starting a war to take focus off incriminating unredacted e-mails submitted to the impeachment inquiry in the House. Moscow Mitch and Trump's captive GOP says so what? National security and the War Powers Act are obviously irrelevant to the Trump led GOP.
Iran proved US troops are totally vulnerable if they remain in the Mideast with no defensive capabilities against incoming missiles from Iran and rockets from insurgents. Same air defenses that shield Israel apparently unavailable to protect US troops and bases. The press and Congress apparently is totally unconcerned. This is a clear victory for Iran and sends a message to our enemies that we are an empire without clothes.
Are all of the above the reasons why the GOP is now calling Democrats sympathisers of Iran and tweeting obscene photos of Democratic leaders for asking tough questions about having an unstable President making military decisions based on his impeachment?
All I hear is that St. Ronald and his bunch of criminals destroyed the Iranian Navy, and Trump gets similar approval by GOP for killing Suleimani even if it puts our troops at great risk of being sitting ducks in a country that wants them to leave. Where is the debate on US leaving Iraq?
This is what happens when the President listens to no one in making decisions for strictly political and personal reasons.
8
By that logic, most leaders, especially this one, could be taken out with no judge or jury. The lack of humanity in Trump is appalling. Bone spurs really prevented him living his best self in the killing fields of Viet Nam.
The rot of the Oval Office is almost beyond repair.
20
@Will
I wish I could disagree...
My Professor Jim Garland taught that depression is contagious, and 45 is surely infecting many.
1
You can have all the checks and balances you want between the different branches of government. But nothing will be as effective as having a third minority political party to provide checks and balances between the 2 major political parties. It's time. It does matter.
6
President Trump's revelation that "it doesn't really matter" whether Gen. Soleimani posed an imminent threat to US forces is a rare moment of honesty.
We shouldn't, however, expect him to drop the other shoe and admit that the real reason for the assassination was his need both for a major distraction from his own legal troubles and for a boost to his reelection chances among his base.
It's always very simple, really; looking for complex foreign policy or military strategy reasons for Mr. Trump's actions should be considered a waste of time by this point in his presidency.
11
Trumps tweets amount to a seventh grader passing notes saying whatever they feel like. Not presidential.
7
Semantics and purity tests are what they are when all parties play be the same rules.
Ultimately outcomes matter far more, as we see today, the Europeans are threatening more sanctions as well.
There is now a soft war against Iran. The negative media stories will begin to ramp up, and more things to embarrass and humiliate the regime will occur. The protests will increase, and more people will lose faith in the regime. If it reaches the tipping point, the regime may fall. Look for the son of the Shah, Reza Pahlavi, to come out of the woodwork.
Trump’s comment pretty much sums up his thinking about most things other than money and himself. The law? The Constitution? People in Puerto Rico? People anywhere? They don’t really matter.
To any continuing Trump supporters, including all Republican members of Congress....you don’t really matter.
12
It is difficult to believe that so many people are grieving over the death of this man who was responsible for so many American deaths. It is not difficult to believe that Trump will easily win re-election.
3
@Aaron. I don’t see any Americans “grieving”. I think we’re all agreed that he was a horrible person, responsible for taking American lives. But the way Trump went about it is stupid, reckless, and wrong.
5
@Aaron Adams It’s difficult to believe the red hat crowd thinks anyone is mourning The Iranian. It’s even more difficult to believe the red hat crowd can’t figure out that lie after lie from this maladministration illustrates that the murder was actually unrelated to ANY justification offered by the Trump toads.
If your kids are willing to go to war for this liar, march ‘em down to the recruiting station.
5
@Aaron Adams No one here is grieving but the people in Iraq & Iran where he lead the fight against ISIS have every reason to grieve, it is all about Trumps impeachment, no more no less..
3
I've been wondering for at least a week why, after reading and learning more and more about Suleimani's history, why we felt we needed an imminent threat directly tied to him in order to kill him. He has been an active enemy who has plotted against our troops in the region for decades with the blessing of Iran's religious leadership. And his killing did not bring us to the brink of war.
2
The images of Schumer wearing a turban and Pelosi a head scarf prompted me to look into Twitter's hateful conduct policy.
One section reads: "You may not use hateful images or symbols in your profile image or profile header. You also may not use your username, display name, or profile bio to engage in abusive behavior, such as targeted harassment or expressing hate towards a person, group, or protected category." (Religious groups are one protected category.) They also say: "We prohibit targeting individuals with repeated slurs, tropes or other content that intends to dehumanize, degrade or reinforce negative or harmful stereotypes about a protected category."
As with almost everything about this president, some will argue that while he comes perilously close to crossing Twitter's line, proving he has stepped over it is another matter.
It seems unlikely that Trump will be removed from office, but if that is the case, I would ask voters the following questions. Do we really want a president who has eroded the lines of acceptable behavior? And is coming dangerously close to crossing the line without actually crossing it (or being caught crossing it) really where we want to set the bar?
12
@Elizabeth Fuller Twitter has previously announced that it won't kick Trump off regardless of what he does "because" he's the president. He has "crossed the line" many times but gets a pass.
3
The US government, so taken by the drumbeat of 19 years of war, now uses assassination against those it deems threats and with whom we are not at war.
5
Apparently it doesn’t really matter. He’s not going to face any consequences. Iran can’t really do anything. Congress can’t and won’t mount any reasonable reaction. What, another investigation? Republicans are twisting themselves to justify anything he does. If I hear another word about Mike Lee saying what a terrible briefing Congress got I’ll go mad. If you think Murkowski, Collins, or Romney are going to actually make any difference just go buy the Brooklyn Bridge. Meanwhile impeachment will go down as an ignoble, but largely meaningless footnote. History will judge no one harshly because there won’t be history-it’s all going down in flames or drowning in floods. Yes, I’m feeling a little despair. I’m just going to try to make a life in the time I have left. I can’t keep up this level of stress and I don’t have the energy or ability to engage in political activism. I’m not sure even voting will help (but I will).
17
Trump’s tweets also reveal that Pompeo and Pence, both of whom have presidential aspirations, happily and boldly lied to the American people.
25
Whereas presidents typically watch their words, this was quintessential Trump. “It doesn’t really matter,” says Trump, which tells you everything you need to know about Trump. His callous indifference to the political storm Trump created that may yet morph into a global conflict, matters not at all. And to our Canadian neighbor which lost 176 uninvolved people, no mention whatsoever.
Just another tee-time story to discuss over golf after a pleasant flight on Air Force One to Mar-A-Lago that costs the taxpayers $3.3 million.
This is sickening.
19
If the only justification Donald needs to kill someone--anyone--is that he considers them to have done "horrible things," the US is no longer worthy of respect. As others have pointed out, Donald has no problem fawning over and defending various bloody dictators and thugs when it serves his purposes (even when Donald's purposes are not those of the country he supposedly leads). Suleimani (and nine other human beings who died with him) weren't on Fifth Avenue, but they may as well have been. Donald's double standards are unacceptable. He himself is a "bad person" with a "horrible past" and terrible present. By all appearances, his future intentions are downright evil.
19
I have to believe that lying publicly to justify what is probably an illegal assassination of foreign official is an impeachable offense.
Problem is, Pelosi and Obama allowed W Bush's administration to get away with lying us into wars and with torture, refusing to impeach or even do investigations.
This sets a precedent that normalizes utter dishonesty in the service of the Empire's violence.
It's time for a Nuremberg-style tribunal, a truth commission, to investigate the crimes of Empire and its leaders.
Many of us believe that W, Cheney, Rice, Yoo, Rummy, Trump and many others are criminals.
14
"The Trump campaign is hoping that the killing boosts his popularity. "
What more can be said? There is a crisis in America. We have a dictator problem.
31
How about Trump’s horrible past and present? Now he can claim blood on his hands as well.
13
It matters. Actions matter. I'm glad Suleimani is gone, but how we did it was stupid. An assassination pinned in ISIS? That's what a smart and cunning leader would have authorized.
In any case, some good news: I met a man yesterday who was clearly complaining about Trump and his hatred of people of color, of immigrants. I told him to get every young person he knew out to vote in November. "Young people?" He asked "How about me? I have never voted before, but I'm registered now."
Look out, 45. You are going to need a lot more Russian help this time.
8
Would it have mattered if the Iranians had killed the troops they were aiming for when they fired on our bases? Does it matter that he set off a chain of events that led to the accidental destruction of a civilian plane?
18
“It doesn’t really matter “ -
I hope Congress takes all of Donald Trumps lies more seriously than he does .
This statement by a “President “ is the reason the Impeachment
process exists .
14
In 2011 and 2012 Trump claimed that President Obama was going to start a war with Iran in order to help his chances of being re-elected, because, he said, Obama was a "weak and ineffective" "poor negotiator." Seems like Trump is using this as his own playbook.
11
Totally unfit to be POTUS; self-serving first and foremost... anything beyond trump's self-interest is collateral damage.
After every possible dodge and distraction to smear an impeachment trial such as last week's impulsive horror-show, and with McConnell saying he's made his mind up already, trump then comes out with something along the lines of there should not even be an impeachment trial but instead the dismissal of the whole checks and balances democratic process. Now this callous "It doesn't really matter" wisecrack.
Romney would like to hear from John Bolton in said trial... Any other GOP senators interested in hearing what was blocked during the McConnell driven "run the clock out" strategy House hearings?
6
Desperate to distract the press and the public from the impeachment trial, Trump realized that killing a Muslim general was an easy choice to keep his evangelical base riled up and the fires of bigotry stoked up for the elections. Once again Trump has put America in danger to achieve his political ends. The possibility of war casualties, even American, is no deterrent to keep Trump and his base from clinging to power at any costs.
15
Iranians, at great risk to themselves, are demonstrating against their government downing a civilian aircraft. Where are OUR demonstrators against the one who triggered the whole episode without thinking of the possible consequences?
Has Trump turned us into a nation of sheep?
17
Yes....a third of us.
@Roland Menestres At times, rather than refer many of our fellow citizens as sheep, I think “children of the corn” much more appropriate.
The ugliest part in all this is not the demise of Soleimani, but yet another proof of the principle guiding US foreign policy:
that all those ideals and values, like due process, rule of law, observance of international agreements, et al become null and void, once a conflict plays out outside the US borders.
There anything goes.
As an aside, I watched a rerun of one of the segments of the popular Jason Bourne flick, a CIA-spy fiction thriller, where the main character moves around the entire globe (great scenery shots! from Paris to Berlin to Moscow), killing maiming friends and foes indiscriminately in all 5 corners of the globe.
That's how the CIA's dirty work becomes popular entertainment.
In America.
Think about it.
1
When did any American , elected official or Or citizen judge, jury and executioner ?
Neither law nor morality justifies this action or statement.
Shame falls to all of us for allowing this.
2
This administration and in particular Trump are defined by their constant lying. You would certainly think that they would have come up with one consistent lie to explain the killing of General Suleimani by now instead of trotting out a new story at every turn.
Every day I wake up and think that Trump could not be any more disorganized in his thinking, any less honest in his ramblings or any less vile in his actions. And yet every day he reaches new lows. Talk about exceeding expectations.
9
Deny and Deflect. There is no mystery here. He employs the same sophomoric strategy on every single issue, beginning with the Birther Movement, continuing with the Immigration strategies, right on through the 24 defenses against current Impeachment Proceedings and again now, with the assassination of Soleimani (and everything in between). The man does not know what he does not know which allows him to lie pathologically as a matter of "policy". It is no different from his entire life that could be found on Page 6 of the NY Post, prior to his rise to "fame". He does it in plain view of all with complete disregard for judgement as he completely understands the weakness of our society and current government leaders to deal w/him. Trump is not on trial here. He will end up on the trash heap of history as a vulgar buffoon, sooner or later. We, the American Electorate are being tested and the world knows it. We are being tested to determine "whether this nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure." Is the pursuit "for a more perfect union" over? It is really quite simple. Do your job as an American! Let's Make America Right Again!.
11
Most of the comments here miss a critical fact that points to how dangerous it is having a unstable liar in the White House: this was a direct act of provocation that could have easily escalated out of control into major regional conflict, if not war, and was carried out without the approval (even notification) of Congress, which has the SOLE authority to approve war. Not only that, but the administration then lied about the “evidence” justifying their actions. Trump and his echo chamber must be removed from office by any legal means necessary.
19
He lied again folks. Trump decided to assassinate General Suleimani a long time ago. He was just waiting until it could most benefit his re-election changes and be most effective in distracting from his impeachment. These are the things he and the Gang of Putin care about. Their only desire is to increase their own wealth and power. They care not one whit about The United States or The American People, despite their insistence that they destroying our democracy for our benefit.
7
Amazing. There goes the argument that the imminent threat preempted checking with Congress first. I agree Suleimani was a bad guy, but look at the " but fors." Yes Iran was incompetent by not stopping air traffic. Nevertheless, but for our attack, 174 wonderful human beings would still be alive. And we are very lucky that Iraqi base was unoccupied or more Americans would be dead. Acts have repercussions. Wars have repercussions. While we are at it. But for the Bush family, thousands (millions?) of lives would not be lost from Desert Storm to the present. What were they thinking? Frankly, I think the Bush presidents deserve to be in the worst ever list. How does George sleep at night?
5
Of course, it really does matter. It appears that the Trump administration just carried out an assassination of a government official, reported to be the second or third ranking member in the Iranian government. This is clearly a “wag-the-dog” action that occurred because all the adults have been dismissed. This is another example of impulsive action followed by a search for “reasons” to spin to the public. Our king of chaos has broken another national norm and further distanced us from the world of functional nations.
8
Americans no longer understand, respect, or value rule of law.
14
Trump's attitude shows that he is in the wrong job.
Every single thing he does in that job matters in some way.
11-3-2020 can't get here fast enough.
6
Fortunately, Mr. Trump can parlay his diplomatic acumen, international goodwill and deep relations with allies into a broad coalition that will retroactively support his strike against the General, based upon America's moral standing and backed up by rock solid intelligence...
...or, maybe not.
5
‘But a recent USA Today/Ipsos Poll found that a majority of respondents, 52 percent to 34 percent, viewed Mr. Trump’s action as “reckless.”’
Donald Trump is both reckless and feckless — a terrible combination.
I highly recommend watching the two-part PBS Frontline program that started yesterday.
4
I have read that a total of 10 people were murdered in trump's drone strike. Do trump and his holier-than-thou administration believe that the Ten Commandments does not apply to them?
7
Censure the President.
Start compelling additional witnesses in the impeachment proceedings to testify. Get his tax returns.
Shed light.
13
“It doesn’t really matter because of his horrible past.” I guess that what might be said if the tables were turned?
4
Trump is "Anti-Claus"; with no external supervision or restraint, he's compiling a list of who's naughty and nice and the naughty ones are evaporated by a drone piloted by some schlub in Arizona. The nice ones get a big, shiny lump of coal, courtesy of his friends the fossil fuel industry.
3
My bet is that “it doesn’t really matter” pretty much sums up the real feelings of most Americans. /s
5
You have to give Trump credit; he chooses his targets well. The general was killed in response to Iran organizing the attack on our embassy in Iraq. Readers here will remember that attack, it was the day and half, Benghazi was all this paper and in the comments. The general was in Iraq and we had eyes on him. The general had lots of blood on his hands, American and other. He was on the terrorist list. What our intelligence and military people knew was that Iran has no capacity to wage direct warfare with the United States. The whole story about WWIII, Brinkmanship and “ Seven days in January” was all a nonsense. It has played out now and the Iranian people have taken to the streets. Very well played
2
Given the lack of a plausible reason for trump to order the killing of Suleimani, it is reasonable to wonder if trump is now so agitated about his upcoming impeachment trial that any diversion, no matter how dangerous, is possible. And, inasmuch as he has surrounded himself with compliant toadies, it is up to Congress to rein him in. I hope they are up to the job.
6
I could not agree more with Trump! Because of the actions that Gen. Qassim Suleimani took in the past, he was a dead man walking. The current events at the Iraqi Embassy plus all the soldiers murdered at his instruction was enough. The current path to a nuclear Iran and blackmailing the world with the threat of Iran having nukes is enough to warrant regime change. You can try to parse every tweet by Trump to back your narrative, but that too, doesn't matter.
1
I'm going to borrow another Trump comment from the Iran situation. After the election in November, my first comment about Trump will be " And we stopped him cold ".
4
And yet the Senate Republicans continue to defend Trump. By doing so, they increase the chances for a war that will get Americans killed for no good reason. Like I’ve said a million times, people should be far more fearful of Senate Republicans than ISIS. It’s Senate Republicans who are the real terrorists.
6
The republicans may be terrified of trump. But the United States Southern District Courts of New York are not. Woe to the wicked.
10
We have a leader with a horrible past. What should we do?
9
Without the avoidable and insane escalation of tensions by the US and Iranian regimes, the Ukrainian plane would have made it to Kiev safely with 176 innocent souls on board.
America bears some responsibility for this tragedy.
6
This is where Trump loses a second term. In the coming months he will make it abundantly clear, in some entertaining, but scary, Colonel Jessup moments, that he needs no explanations for his actions--he is Il Presidente---Supreme Leader--and can do what he wants, when he wants ----so just deal with it.
5
@Amanda Jones isn't it already "abundantly clear"?
1
Responding on Twitter, Mr. Schumer asked, “President Trump: How low can you go?”
The American people have to understand there is end to the low Trump will go and folks you ain't seen nothing yet; we are in a black hole; you can't answer what he does with reason as he has no understanding of reason. If the President of the United States can tweet to the nation photo shopped photos pictures, and have his press secretary justify it-there is no low, and there will never be a low, ever!
7
@berkshirebob101 - watching wild-eyed Stephanie Grisham defend Trump's photoshop on cable news last night was pretty incredible.
When I look at the President's Twitter with photoshopped images of Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer, I feel disgusted and angered. Once again, Mr. Trump has demonstrated with his own actions, that he is reckless and morally unfit to serve as the POTUS. His original justifications for assassinating Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani were dishonest. Allowing Mr. Trump to remain in the Oval Office threatens not only the democracy of this nation. His dishonesty, narcissism, malicious actions and impetuous Twitter activity threatens the foundations for peace coexistence of nations and people all over the planet. He must be removed from office as soon as possible.
9
“because of his horrible past”
I have been calling the killing a crime-boss style hit here in the comments section. It seems I was right.
That doesn't make Suleimani a good guy or being on the side of the terrorists. It's calling it as it is, no PC, something that Republicans claim to love. A hit, plain and simple.
So, why all the lies and made up stories? Trump doesn't get it, it's all the lies all the time that make people question him.
5
Only possible because of the many who enable this reckless narcissism in which anything can and is bent for personal advantage
4
At least Cheney stuck with the same lie. Trump can't even do that.
4
Isn’t this the equivalence of shooting someone on Fifth Avenue?
6
Remember when Cons repeatedly referred to President Obama as "lawless?" What really revealed them for what they are, however, was when they mocked him for shedding tears over 20 children who were slaughtered at Newtown. I think it's important to remember exactly who and what the Cons are.
7
"Responding on Twitter, Mr. Schumer asked, 'President Trump: How low can you go?'"
There seems to be no bottom....
5
"A narrative collapses"? No, "The Lies Couldn't Be Sustained."
11
Oh come on!!! Give Trump a break.
There was and IS an IMMINENT THREAT in broad daylight visible in bold headlines on the front page of ALL the newspapers of the world.
There is a threat that the impeached president will lose control of the kangaroo court that Moscow Mitch is attempting to line up for acquittal. What if the Senators vote to bring witnesses? Who can guarantee that people under oath and under threat of perjury will not sing? What if Bolton finds in his heart a trace of patriotism and testifies the truth of what he knows?
This is a gigantic and existential threat far bigger to Trump than having 4 of HIS Embassies blown up killing 4 HIS ambassadors (for which Trump has no love lost anyway). This was Trump's failed attempt to ignite war with Iraq in a futile attempt to push the headlines' big fat bold font of the Impeachment Trial off the front page.
The has been the most unpopular president in the US (approval never crossed 50% before or after getting elected). America can become Great Again by firing this incompetent president.
8
“struggling to draft an after the fact narrative”
Isn that a perfect description of this administration?
Trump acts or speaks. And the White House scrambles to try and put a good face on it. I can’t think of any day or any event or any tweet that hasn’t resulted in a need to find an explanation that rewrites what Trump has wrought.
It is a measure of these times. It is the beat by which Trump has lived his whole life. A lifetime of failures rewritten as “deals” of some brilliant strategist. When actually they were the result of lunacy, of an impulsive, opinionated ijut. A guy fronted first by his father. And now by actual politicians and functionaries, acting more like nannies than anything else.
But this is our “government.” A GOP refusing to look in the mirror and see what they’re doing. As bit by bit, day by day Trump takes all these sycophants further and further into a MIRE from which they can neither extract themselves. Or him.
A doomed administration limps along for another day. Facing a cliff Trump has long been saved from. But now he is IMPEACHED.
FOREVER!
And his latest folly unravels. Slowly. Like some sort of water torture.
As HIS TRIAL looms.
I have no sympathy for this wretch. Or his acolytes. Genuflecting to a false god.
8
If America really were a great and just nation, the assassination of General Soleimani would be one of the articles of impeachment. It does matter.
12
Nothing really matters to this President other than himself. The poor families who lost people because Trump decided to assassinate an Iranian General. He will never justify this action because whatever explanation he gives are known to be lies.
4
I'm surprised Trump's supporters have embraced a philosophy that is more than three syllables
1
He did it to distract from impeachment
11
@Frank
But now it’s only adding to it.
2
So how will this all play out as we, and all the other major military powers, develop hypersonic weapons. As we compress the strike timelines even more, will humans be too slow to make the go / no-go decision?
And our space force? How rapidly will it be able to put a kinetic weapon anywhere on the planet, say from a space plane or an orbital base? Can we really acquire, and interpret the intel, to make good decisions as fast as we’ll be able to send the ordinance?
It’s not the doomsday clock that’s ticking anymore, it’s the extinction clock ... on Homo Sapiens.
Perhaps it’s not too late to pull back from the brink! Poverty, malnutrition, human trafficking, pollution, contamination of our minds / bodies by the same tech that’s supposed to heal them, climate change, militarism, along with all the other improvements our “advanced society” continues to advance.
Perhaps it is too late, we’ll never know if we don’t learn the lessons of history and try to change.
4
People who make war kill people, whether for other countries or for the U.S. And other countries and the U.S. are not strangers to violations of principles of "lawful" warfare. Think: civilian deaths, chemical weapons, assassinations, torture, and more. So much for the justification "it doesn't really matter" by the man who claims to be president. Hopefully, there will be enough clear thinking in the House and the Senate to impose some limitations on the exercise of war power. For the moment, we probably can thank the Russians and the Chinese for keeping the Iranian reaction, and the U.S. counter-reaction, under a measure of control, and for any back-channel reassurances provided to U.S. officials. Those countries are the big winners in all of this, for Russia on a military level in its strategic presence in the middle east and for China on an economic level, dependent as it is on middle eastern oil. A greater, uncontrolled conflagration is not in their interests. For the U.S., the safest course is to assert more realistic control over our national security, and not to rely on others save us from our misguided actions. At this point, Congress needs to step up. Neither the president nor Pompeo, his principal collaborator, have what it takes.
4
The President is, and has been notable for his theorem which boasts of being the biggest, best, smartest etc ad nauseam, with never a hint of objectivity or culpability.
It seems that his theorem carries forward in this instance too as his assumption of "it doesn't really matter" reinforces the basis of the current underlying theorem proof.......or perhaps that his theorem has been at fault all along.
Suleimani was an evil person responsible for thousands of deaths. No question there. Yet Kim Jong-Un is an evil person, responsible for thousands of deaths—and he and President Trump "fell in love" (Trump's own words). This wild, impulsive inconsistency is a perfect example of why Trump is absolutely unfit for office.
1104
@Lewis Sinclair
Kim Jong-Un murdered his own relatives in order to assume power. Why isn't this the first line of any article about him, like a disclaimer? It's the first thing you need to know about him, and the last. And there should be nothing in between.
Suleimani killing Americans is evil but Kim Jong-Un is worthy of love and respect?
What?
71
@Tracy
You need to send your message to Trump. Apparently Trump does not know the difference between evil and love.
30
@Lewis Sinclair Unlike Kim Jong-Un, Suleimani failed to recognize the brilliance of Trump. Therefore, the two reactions are opposite each other.
25
One reason that it doesn't really matter is that Suleimani should have been eliminated years ago. There is plenty about Trump to criticize, but the decision to strike Suleimani is not one of those reasons.
17
@Middleman MD Then why lie about the motive? Why go through so many reasons? Why not just say that "hes bad and we didn't need a reason" in the first place?
How does this help with their overall credibility ?
130
@Middleman MD So you think it's just fine to "eliminate" the leader of any country we are in conflict (but not war) with? And you just don't care about the consequences? Nice.
72
@Middleman MD
It doesn't matter that Trump drew the US close to war? It doesn't matter that Trump violated international law? It doesn't matter that Trump failed to consult the Gang of Eight? It doesn't matter that Trump lies constantly to the American people?
What matters, Middleman?
80
Article 25 needs to be abuzz in every corner and office of the Capital Building.
7
Typical Trump. He makes up a variety of lies, throws them like spaghetti at the wall to see which ones will stick, none of them do so he shrugs it off and says "it doesn't really matter." Tell that to the families of the 176 people aboard the downed Ukrainian airliner who would have been alive if Iranian missile crews has not been placed on a wartime footing. Tell it to the families of the Iranians killed in a funeral stampede. Tell it to the families of the two U.S. soldiers killed in Afghanistan. Tell it to the families of Iraqis killed by Iranian missiles. And tell it to the Pentagon officials running around like headless chickens trying to justify their lying commander-in-chief. As Trump would say, "we'll see what happens" next November.
13
It doesn’t matter why we fire missiles at people? Wow.
11
Trump’s Twitter feed doesn’t really matter.
5
@Rose To many it does matter. And they read those tweets that incite them as some read the Bible...
2
Why can't the left accept that the killing was justified for any number of reasons including the Americans he helped kill?
2
@James
1) Trump has given regimes around the world a green light to assassinate officials they don’t like. There are dozens of diplomats, generals and other officials from dozens of countries who now have a larger target on their back thanks to the American assassination.
2) It has done nothing to reduce tensions moving forward. It has instead directly contributed to the death of 176 civilians.
3) it has accelerated Iranian efforts to acquire nuclear weapons.
4) it has strengthened support for the Iranian regime.
5) why would the Iranians have any reason to trust the US during any future negotiation?
Yes, he was a bad man with blood on his hands. But one would think that given recent history the US would understand that knocking out foreign regimes and their leaders leads only to worsening of regional and global security. Where do you think ISIS came from?
4
@Rob
It's merely an assumption on your part that this action constitutes a green light to kill anybody. This guy was the head of a terrorist organization and had been helping Iranian proxy forces around the world commit terrorist acts
In Iran the leaders lie, and Tehran erupts in protest. In the US, the leaders lie and ... "It doesn't really matter"
13
When will it matter? When will what this president says matter? When will his lies matter? When will his actions matter?
11
Three years of lunacy and lies. Being on the verge of war will not make America great. Anti-science will not make America great. Revengeful will not make America great. WMD destruction did nothing for America’s greatness. The Republicans...
6
No way does DJT know how to Photoshop. So he is paying people to defame others? Or is a member of his family pitching in again to bolster the brand?
4
Where is Mr, Trump planning his next strike? Fifth Avenue?
8
This buffoon was at the LSU/Clemson game last night.
Meanwhile, in Puerto Rico...
It would be one thing if it was just him, but his entire White House staff and apparently just about every Republican in Congress are enabling at a level not seen since, well, probably forever.
The level of support for a man who, if asked, would no doubt reply to the question "Do you believe in the rule of law?" with "What?" is well beyond mind-boggling.
11
What else can Trump do than cite Maj. Gen. Suleimani’s “horrible past” when he found that none of his cooked-up explanations for killing him was working? His latest explanation that he killed the general because of an imminent threat to four American embassies was debunked by no less a person than his own defense secretary, Mark Esper. If the "horrible past" of a person is reason enough for punishing him later, Trump would never have become president. And the country wouldn't be in this infamy.
In the wake of his tweet depicting Senator Schumer wearing a turban and Speaker Pelosi a head scarf, in front of an Iranian flag, the right question Schumer should be asking the president is not “How low can you go?” but “How treasonous can you go?” His cheap shot has given comfort to the enemy and, so, is treasonous.
5
176 people dead and it doesnt really matter?
Collateral damage like this and the Vincennes incident happen when both sides get their forces to that level of combat readiness.
Trump and the GOP has got to be voted away in November or else we will be the biggest threat on the globe
6
Parents, take note: The President's behavior on Twitter is an excellent demonstration of why your middle school child is not ready to have her own cell phone.
37
And he’s right: it doesn’t matter. This fellow was an enemy in a war. Time to grow up.
6
@Michael Livingston’s
You are right about that. That's not the point.
The point is, Trump is not an Emperor or a King. He cannot just randomly choose to eliminate someone because he feels like it, or that he's a "bad man."
At the minimum, Congress should have been notified. If they had, and then Congress decides to blabber about it before the strike happens, then that's on Congress, and they should face the consequences.
The Dems aren't defending Suleimani, unlike what Trump and his cult would have us believe. They are trying to control this demagogue from destroying the Republic.
4
“On Monday, President Trump put an end to that hash of explanations. ‘It doesn’t really matter,’ he tweeted, ‘because of his horrible past.’ “
Translation: “ I need a distraction from the impeachment so let’s find a bad guy from the Middle East and kill him. No one will care and it will make me look tough in the eyes of my base.”
28
@ Oliver
Does anyone remember the SNL skit about Bill Clinton calling Sadam Hussein and telling him he needed to bomb him to boost his, Clinton’s, ratings? Sometimes the funniest jokes are based on truth.
1
This president continues to lack the moral attributes that distinguished us as human. I get that his toadies (Republicans in DC) and his base don’t care what he does as long as he continues to fill the courts with conservative pro life, pro gun, anti civil rights judges, but his actions in the assassination of Sulaymaniyah has set off a unintended consequences, like the gunning down of the domestic airplane by an anxious Iran, rise of ISIS in the chaos, withdrawal of troops from Iraq, these things do matter to many people who live in fear in these regions; fear of rogue militias, terrorist ground, unscrupulous governments, and sadly the US. Sorry Mr. President your actions do matter, I would ask you to start acting like someone that understands that, but your narcissism keeps you from seeing the forest through the trees.
16
America is the worlds most violent terrorist group in the world.Nobody is even close to killing as many people as us.Finally Toto has pulled back the curtain to show the truth .We think we can kill whomever we want whenever we want .At least now our government doesn't have to make up lies about why.
7
How much more can this country endure with insanity at our helm?
“It doesn’t matter” that Iran has been stirred up? Doesn’t matter that 176 innocent people lost their lives needlessly because the US created chaos in their country? Doesn’t matter?
1166
@MIMA
"How much more can this country endure with insanity at our helm?"
are you getting ready for another 4 years like this?
18
@MIMA It "doesn't matter" to his re-election, to his bank account; it doesn't make a difference in the adoration of his mindless cult. They're all living in "trump's world," and the majority of the country and the world is looking on in morbid fascination. "It doesn't matter" to the things that matter to trump.
45
@MIMA Hello: I agree the President acted imprudently, but by all means, there is simply NO WAY the destruction of the Ukraine Airlines plane can be blamed on anybody but the incompetent Iranian military, sorry.
3
"It doesn't really matter..."
Tell that to the family of the Canadians killed on Flight 752.
328
Why just the Canadians? They were all innocent.
13
So now US Presidents can assassinate foreign leaders, with no trial, via drone, and to distract from their political (impeachment) struggles at home. Got it.
176
“It doesn’t really matter” and “I really don’t care, do you”—now forever wed in my mind as the essence of the trumpian philosophy.
277
Wonderful. Both POTUS and FLOTUS just told us where we can go! Feels like they don't need us but we need them.
10
@Drusilla Hawke Reminds me of a quote I once heard, “Let them eat cake.”
5
"It doesn't really matter,"
"because of his horrible past."
-trump voter, 13 JAN 2020.
15
@Scott Franklin POTUS has lots of responsibilities and needs to be in communication with the Senate over such actions so there's a thoughtful measured approach to the overall picture of trying not to start a war. Collateral damage around the world does actually matter. ALL Human lives matter.
1
Sounds like another article for impeachment or certainly add on to the abuse of power list.
50
@Carolyn C
That would be perfect, and entirely consistent with the Democrats’ suicidal political instincts.
1
Classic demagogue. The GOP will look back on these times when the party sold it's soul to the devil. 2020 promises to be most unkind these people. For good reasons. They earned it.
41
@Timothy Abbott
If only that were true! There seems to be large cohort of supporters who would follow Trump down any path, no matter how dark. We can no longer say, "It can't happen here." We can only wait anxiously to learn if it will.
4
@Peter Aretin It's already happened. We can only wait anxiously to see if can be undone...
The president is claiming that the international threats of modern life are so great that congressional oversight of foreign policy is too dangerous to be allowed to continue. That the need for the executive branch to be nimble outweighs its obligations to be ethical, so indeed being ethical is not only superfluous, but it is no less than treasonous to worry about it. It is ultimately an extreme statement of the ends justifying the means.
That is the debate: How can the executive branch remain effective while still being ethically accountable? The administration correctly points out that it can’t consult congress while planning time-sensitive foreign policy steps, yet it clearly goes too far in (at least tacitly) claiming that because of the need of the executive to act freely there can never be any requirement to be accountable to congress. The latter claim is clearly not consistent with the Constitution.
In the days of the founders this was a much less sensitive issue if only because of instantaneous real-time communication and the ability to very quickly implement terrorist and military actions and responses today. The “ticking time bomb” scenario that requires the executive to be able to act immediately just wasn’t relevant. So this is a compromise between the ability to act effectively but also to insure the government acts ethically which needs to be explicitly worked out in the current global situation. Trump cannot unilaterally claim the issue.
22
@Ernest Barany
Yet another example of how a 233-year-old Constitution, however brilliant, has to be amended for the 21st century. Unfortunately, the document itself effectively prevents us from doing just that.
What more does a reasonable, moral person need to conclude that trump has NO respect for law and order when it applies to him. There is no action trump will not take if it has the possibility of even appearing to make him stronger. There apparently was no exaggeration in his statement of shooting someone on Fifth Avenue and getting away with it.
Once upon a time the United States stood for respect for law, international agreements and morality. Now expediency is the standard of our low standard president.
69
@John P It could be the terrorists were always right. This is how the US has always been, but covered. it up with poetry like "city on a hill."
2
Here is a little reality check on this designation (seemingly by all American politicians) of Soleimani as a “terrorist”. American invaded Iraq in 2003 after the US government sold the people on the idea that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. At least 200,000 civilians were killed. Who is the terrorist in that situation? The US has bases, ships and soldiers on virtually every border of Iran and has starved Iran with sanctions for years (an act of war) and has threatened Iran with annihilation for years while controlling Iran’s nuclear research. Is it really a terrorist act for Soleimani to lead affiliated militia groups in attacks on American soldiers in those neighboring countries under those circumstances? It seems more “terroristic” to use unmanned drones to kill people all over the Middle East or to support the Saudis when they starve and kill Yemenis or to provide Israelis with F-16s so that they can strafe Gaza at will.
101
So then it was basically an extra judicial action, an assassination. Trump admitted it. Good to know that Trump, when he is out of office, may never be able to visit his properties in Europe or many other countries where he may be subject to prosecution for murder and war crimes. Maybe those Deep State military advisers had that in mind when they put that option on the table. Two birds with one stone, win-win...
63
@Patrick
The Europeans just threatened Iran will more sanctions ... did you notice?
@Si Seulement Voltaire
Sure. Because of Iran's recent breach of JCPOA.
Nothing to do with the murder of General Suleimani and absolutely NOT an approval of it.
7
trump has to be removed from the office of the presidency. as to how that happens, "it really doesn't matter".
160
At what point do Trump supporters lose faith in the serial liar in Chief? It's been reported that Trump planned the assasination of Maj. Gen. Suleimani for the last seven months with conditions being if any American was killed. The truth is that the Trump administration planned the entire scenario of the assassination by deceiving the Iraqi leadership into believing that a meeting between Suleimani and Saudi Arabian leaders would possibly lead to a peace agreement. That is why Suleimani was in Iraq on the day he was assassinated to meet with Iraq officials with no idea that he was being set-up. Trump's goal was to prevent another Benghazi catastrophe which was imminent due to the angry protesters outside the gates. It is very reminiscent of the lies the American people were told leading up to the invasion of Iraq under Bush/Cheney's leadership. Trump should be impeached due to not only obstruction of justice and abuse of power but also for his continual fabrication of events (e.g. falsifying weather data during hurricane, Ukraine, etc) which leads to the degradation of democracy. Only dictators, autocrats and thugs lie to their own people in order to maintain power. Democracies thrive in the light of the truth.
44
“It doesn’t really matter” is the truest statement because Trump, through his repeated outrages, has subdued the US population and Republican leadership into total numbness. As bullies do, he keeps pushing the envelope as to what he can get away with and becomes more bold, as there is no one who has effectively stood up to him.
38
@Eric F
He hasn't had to subdue anyone - he has tapped into the indifference to thinking through complex issues, xenophobia, and desire to punish those who are perceived as different/wrong. Trump's supporters are thrilled that this tiny little man is voicing what they have thought for so long, and harming those they believe are deserving of harm. Please stop pitying the supporters and the trumpublican party - they are willing participants in this disaster.
2
The way Trump communicates is truly shocking. I hope impeachment picks up steam.
42
Suleimani was a general. He and his ilk were always planning attacks. The world is better off without him. Question the timing if you will, this one is a win-win.
5
Don’t agree. There will be so many ramifications from this assassination and there will be another just like him coming up the ranks so what’s the point od not trying to negotiate? In our country bellicose creeps like Cheney and Rumsfeld have been replaced by Esper, Miller, Pompeo, and Barr. So disheartening!
2
The President is correct and it should have been done a long time ago. We will have no more problems with Iran than we have in the past or will in the future, all the talk of war is nonsense.
2
We’ve seen this theater before...remember the “national emergency” that was used as justification for stealing appropriated funds to build the wall?
36
Remember when Trump said Mexico would pay for the pointless wall? His constituents have short memories.
3
We finally have the perfect gaslight style impeachment defense: It doesn't really matter. Impeachment may have been the beginning of the end for Trump, but this is beginning of the end of Trumpism. Teflon Trump just jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire. Did you know that the melting point for Teflon is 15,001 lies?
The winning 2020 slogan: "It matters!"
54
My suspicions that the killing of General Suleimani was politically motivated grow stronger every day. A distraction from his impeachment, a boost to his fragile ego, and a tough-guy statement for his followers to swoon over.
Pompus Pompeo was on national TV two days later saying it was because they (whoever "they" are) killed a US "contractor." Not a service member, or a government figure, but a contractor. Now, that contractor must have had some serious connections way, Way, WAY up the chain for this administration to kill an Iranian General because of his death.
39
@Moehoward
You could at least give attribution when your first paragraph is directly copied and pasted from another post. (about eleven posts down).
@Moehoward He was an Iraqi, and a citizen of US. In other words one of the many Muslims Trump seeks to ban from this country.
No tears were shed by Trump over this, just a convenient excuse to take out Solemani which Pence, Bolton & Pompeo have been itching to do for years.
5
The major facts are being ignored and Trump's tweets are construed in a way to further that. These are the facts: This Iranian Regime had for many decades been the major purveyor of terror in the Middle East and beyond. For the last two decades Sulleimani has been it's major player. Iran killed 240 American marines in their Barracks in Beirut as they slept. Iran seized our embassy in Tehran and held 52 Americans hostages for 444 days and nights while America did nothing except mount a pathetic and failed helicopter raid to free them. Iran orchestrated the bombing of a Jewish Center in Buenos Aires that killed 55. Iran was working on a nuclear weapon although it signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. More recently Iran attempted to seize our Embassy in Baghdad, rocketed our forces 12 times, killed an American and brazenly denied to the world that it shot down a civilian airliner when it knew it had. Now the chief architect has been taken out and there is no war. We were never in danger of Iran engaging in a war that would have decimated them in 24 hours. Stop the nitpicking. Look at the big picture. Stop looking at everything from a political standpoint. That is my advice.
2
@alan brown
"We were never in danger of Iran engaging in a war that would have decimated them in 24 hours. "
Really? There are many loose cannons out there that will probably pray on any convenient American, once it quiets down.
2
@alan brown: Your advice doesn’t really matter.
2
@Susan I just said we were not at risk for a war but I agree Iran is unlikely to change it's malign behavior. Only a foolish American would travel to Iran.
Look....
It's less than 10 months to election day, and Trump's Ukrainian wheeling and dealing with funds appropriated for our defense and the defense of Ukraine fell flat on its face.
Trump's attempt to divert attention from this mess by killing the Iranian general presents a problem now, since The immediacy of need to do so is murky at best, and Trump's stirring of this hornet's nest resulted in a shot-down airliner filled with innocent Europeans.....
So...what else can Trump do to divert attention?
Of course....Today's news....take money from appropriated funds for our defense from the Pentagon in order to build a wall....
Clarification....to build a useless, non-functioning, structure that will span perhaps one tenth of the vast, open border between U.S. and Mexico, towards a goal that has absolutely zero chance of keeping any Mexicans from crossing the border.
It's less than 10 months to election day...can someone please put us in a time warp and speed that clock along?
24
Tweet from President Trump that put the kibosh on social media discussions re his unauthorized drone strike assassination of Iranian General Qassim Suleimani in Baghdad: "It doesn't really matter because of his horrible past". Donald Trump is our own "imminent threat", the clear and present danger to our Democracy.
25
" Press secretary, Stephanie Grisham, defended the photoshopped image. In an interview with Fox News, Ms. Grisham said the president was “making clear” that Democrats were “parroting Iranian talking points, almost taking the side of terrorists.”
So why are taxpayers on the hook for this woman's salary? She hasn't held a press briefing in 300 days denying the press the right to hold this administration's lies to be challenged in the proper forum. And she vilifies democrats, on Fox news. Isn't this a violation of the Hatch Act?
53
I don't think it was an easy decision for Trump nor would it be for any president, but killing enemies of the United States will always be ok with me.
2
@Lee Irvine
Will it still be ok when thousands of Americans die because of it? There were reasons it was not done before. Too many loose cannons out there ready to take out any convenient American. This is not over.
1
@Lee Irvine
Then other nations are going to use the same logic, only that they decide their enemy is some US official. If we can use that reasoning, so can others, and that is going to come back and bite us.
3
@Lee Irvine
In his world anybody who disagrees with him is an enemy of the US. In my world Trump is the enemy of the US.
4
"It doesn't really matter."
I'm stunned. I have to conclude that the lives of the 147 innocent people lost on Flight 752 didn't matter to him either.
His reckless started all of this. His failure to communicate with Congress started all of this. His arrogance and narcissistic self-interest started all of this. His disregard for diplomacy started all of this.
All he cares about is being re-elected. Sadly, so many of those who support him don't realize that they are being manipulated and used by him. They - we - deserve better than this poor excuse for a human being.
31
My mother, who successfully completed the NY Times crossword puzzle everyday of her adult life reiterated often "people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones."
2
In this example, the word "narrative" is a euphemism for "elaborate fictional construct".
So far, the only objectively true element is that "It doesn't really matter" at least not to Donald and his enablers.
52
It's telling that they had been considering this for months, and yet still couldn't come up with a coherent explanation for it. "It doesn't really matter" was as far as their thinking ever went. Someone may have been considering this for months but no one actually anticipated the consequences. "It doesn't really matter" is the Trump doctrine. It's the new declaration of bankruptcy. It's the story of his life.
132
It's what was basically scrawled across Melania's jacket.
9
@Rick
Remember the First Lady's jacket-slogan?
"I really don't care. Do U?"
6
How Congress regains control of military spending and peacetime(?) deployment is not as important as that it does. The alternative is endless war commanded by someone who couldn’t process and doesn’t have all the information needed to protect and defend our interests. Bring the troops home and start fresh.
8
—She added that Mr. Trump was “making the point that the Democrats seem to hate him so much they’re willing to be on the side of countries and leadership of countries who want to kill Americans.”—
Coming from the party who would rather be Russian than a democrat. Have these people no shame?
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@Steve P You do realize that narrative is dead and buried, no?
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@Steve P
No, they have no shame. Moral nihilists have no shame, morals, or ethics.
Their favorite adjective is "hate" and they never miss a chance to toss it around. In fact, hey need to do this. When you run a house of cards that is as flimsy as the lies you need to incessantly tell, and they know it is, accusing everyone of "hating you so badly" is necessary because they recognize the existential threat of their house of cards crumbling at any moment and they need to be on the offensive tenaciously.
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@Moehoward
Another adjective thrown around is "jealous", as in those who disavow rampant capitalism are jealous. They don't seem to understand there's no rationalization for oppressive behavior.
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Creating an after-the-fact narrative to justify whatever illegal, immoral, or impolitic thing that Trump has said, tweeted, or done has been standard operating procedure since Trump first glided down the escalator at Trump Tower to announce before paid minions his candidacy for President.
The “imminent threat” justification has from the beginning appeared questionable. The Times has reported that the assassination was on a list of possible actions to take in retaliation for the protests that occurred at the American embassy in Bagdad. Why would an imminent threat be on such a list? And how imminent is the threat when Administration officials don’t appear to know when or where it is occurring? And if the threat is imminent, how is killing a general supposed to prevent those who are actually to carry out the attack from doing so?
The attempt by the administration to come up with an after the fact non-corrupt justification for why Trump asked the President of Ukraine “to do us a favor” is at the core of the articles of impeachment. Now, apparently, the President is judge, jury and executioner of officials of sovereign nations who he has decided are bad people.
Under this President, the most dangerous and reckless nation on this planet is not “them” but “us.”
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My suspicions that the killing of General Suleimani was politically motivated grow stronger every day. A distraction from his impeachment, a boost to his fragile ego, and a tough-guy statement for his followers to swoon over. Sad.
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@Tom ...at a cost of 176 grieving families and destroyed lives. Sad indeed!
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@Tom: I agree it is politically motivated. President Obama took out Bin Laden and now #45 can claim he took out a terrorist. Can't let President Obama out do him. But #45 only shows how racist he really is.
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He's right in that to his base and the Republicans in Congress, it doesn't really matter. In fact, as long as he gets away with his behavior, it really doesn't matter. Nixon was impeached because of criminal behavior, so Republicans got their revenge in impeaching Clinton for a private, personal indiscretion. The revenge for impeaching trumpy will be when Republicans will get at the next Democratic president. It'll be on a technicality. They harassed Secretary Clinton by conjuring fantastic tales from Bengazi and of her email server. They tried to go after President Obama for just about everything. So in the end, as far as the corporate-shills go, the truth doesn't really matter.
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The next step is defining each of the possible degrees of horribleness. I'm guessing there's a difference between Suleimani-horrible and bin Salman-horrible. I want to understand the distinctions; I need expectations in order to navigate my days.
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Readers can rage all they want about the blood on Trump’s hands but we have no way to reign him in. He controls the military, the justice department, and the majority party of the senate, which seem quite content to hold whatever little scraps of power Trumps throws their way to protect his presidency. Every one, including his supporters, knows he lies and has corrupt intentions, making it hard to see a way out of this executive mess. Further, he has created precedents that will expand the concept and reality of the unitary executive. Our constitutional democracy has evolved to resemble an “elected” monarchy or autocracy or some unimaginable word that no longer fulfills the needs or aspirations of “we the people.” Given that evolution is something of a one-way process, there will be no turning back from the dangers and damages created by the current CEO of the United States. The ballot box no longer seems to be the answer. Perhaps we simply need to accept Trumpian, and by extension proxy president McConnell’s, methods as the order of the body politic.
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Oh, I think the ballot box is the only answer. As a life-long, left-of-center Republican my plan is to vote a straight Democratic ticket come November. Yes, I fear the democratic socialism of the progressive left as represented by Sanders and Warren, but we must communicate to those in Washington that we demand individuals who will adhere to their oaths, who will pledge their loyalty in the constitution not to an individual or an ideal. The ballot box is the only mechanism we have.
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@Paul Yes, the ballot box might be the only method we have, but voting seems to be ineffective, to point of being quaint. Millions of people voted in the last election and Trump, McConnell, Graham, and the rest of the senate were the byproducts. All of these individuals took oaths but none seem to care about their sworn duties. Instead, our elected "representatives" care about deception, triangulating to keep voters in their pockets, retention of power, and some sort of misguided rhetoric that makes them seem important in their own eyes. I'm a lifelong right-of-center democrat and lifelong optimist, but for the first time don't see a way out of our mess, even by exercising our right and privilege to vote. I don't see much changing after November 2020, regardless of the outcome of elections. Life rolls on.
If any of my loved ones (and more than two dozen use twitter), issued a tweet like this, I would see it as a signal of needing help.
"It doesn't really matter," -- in the context of life and death decisions --- is a statement made by someone who may be suicidal.
There may not be full "ideation", but it's a continuum.
I hope that someone who cares about Trump, and has known him longer than this regime, convinces him that: it does matter.
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So Trump is thrilled that Iranians didn’t trample on the US flag. He cites that as “progress”.
Does he really believe all Iranians were opposed to US before he became president or that they love (or fear?) US now because of his actions on Soleimani?!
He now openly supports Iranian people, but what if he did bomb their cultural sites to stones? It’s a scary thought that he did not not know such protestors exist in Iran.
How did the US end up with this president who revels in his own ignorance?!
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