Great minds run in the same channels, it seems. On Monday, wowed by the “stunning” crowds in Iran who turned out for the funeral procession of dead terrorist Qasem Soleimani, MSNBC’s Katy Tur remarked that President Trump had at last succeeded in uniting a country — just not our country.
MSNBC's Katy Tur: "It seems President Trump did what the Iranian government has been unable to do: unite the country" https://t.co/3JqqfbFLvJ
— Peter J. Hasson (@peterjhasson) January 6, 2020
Foreign Policy came to the same conclusion, tweeting that killing Soleimani had “united Iranians like never before” … except for all of the dissidents he’d killed, of course.
Americans painted him as a hard-liner. But for Iranians, Suleimani was an apolitical patriot.https://t.co/6YKrAlsRGG
— Foreign Policy (@ForeignPolicy) January 7, 2020
Rohollah Faghihi argues that Soleimani “was seen as a hero who stayed out of domestic politics,” even by reformers:
But while Suleimani was a bogeyman for the United States, within Iran he was seen as both a heroic figure and politically far more neutral than he has sometimes been painted. He walked a careful line between moderates and hard-liners, avoiding domestic political fights and allowing others to project onto him their own visions of Iran’s future.
…
Thanks to this neutrality and his concentration on, as the public saw it, protecting Iranian borders and interests, Iranians saw him as a patriot guarding the nation, not a political figure. That’s why millions of people have poured onto the streets of Tehran to commemorate him, including many who oppose the Islamic Republic in other circumstances.
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He was actually a pretty cool guy if you got to know him, what with his bodybuilder’s physique and dapper beard.
"Who stayed out of domestic politics." Yeah his job was foreign proxy operations.
— neontaster (@neontaster) January 7, 2020
bringing the message of peace
— shari white ???? (@07shari22) January 7, 2020
One IED at a time
— Jason Sanders (@jayxsanders) January 7, 2020
And created Hezbollah which…<checks notes>…runs Lebanon.
— Tofer Harrison (@ToferH) January 7, 2020
The Rebel Alliance painted him as a hard liner. But for subjects of The Empire, Grand Moff Tarkin was an apolitical patriot.
— Alex (@twitt3riscool) January 7, 2020
Americans painted him a hard-liner. But for Germans, Himmler was a leader and a patriot.
— Epic_Style_Yeet (@EpicStyleYeet) January 7, 2020
Americans painted him as a hard-liner. But for Russians, Lavrentiy Beria was an apolitical patriot. https://t.co/fdD9IRaqOI
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) January 7, 2020
Let me try:
Americans painted him as a hardliner. But for Germans, Adolf Eichmann was an apolitical patriot.
Oh
— Weasel Population: (@WeaselPop0) January 7, 2020
Was this written by the ayatollah himself?
— Dr. Sleuss® (@DrSleuss) January 7, 2020
This is a bad take.
— Esteban el profeta ?? (@EstebanLProfeta) January 7, 2020
Which Iranians would those be?
— Sensible Mech Control Laws (@Corduroyalism) January 7, 2020
He literally just murdered 1500 Iranians for protesting against the government.
— LordWoodstoneAlt (@AltWoodstone) January 7, 2020
Have you tried asking to the families of the 1500 Iranians that he just killed for their opinion?
— Diego Uribe Xacur (@UribeXacur) January 7, 2020
You mean the ones that dare speak in public.
— Tom Morgan ⭐⭐⭐ (@Tom_AF4HL) January 7, 2020
Pretty sure his death count painted him as a hard-liner, but hey, you do you.
— s0ur lem0ns (@KrexPershing) January 7, 2020
Is this a burner account for @nytimes ?
— Piero Cast (@TheManFromDisco) January 7, 2020
FP, was he also a sensitive lover?
— KE Higgins (@higgins_ke) January 7, 2020
Sorry your friend died.
— Neb Rebreg (@begerber) January 7, 2020
Political, apolitical, hardliner, reformer. Who cares? Quds Force Commander who was expert in unconventional warfare directed at American personnel is all that matters.
— BukowskiVenom (@LFCKRWIII) January 7, 2020
Thank you for telling Iranians what they think.
— ?? Sealab Terrapin Andii ?? (@Andiiterrapin) January 7, 2020
I can’t wait to explain this to every Persian I know here in Tehranto. I have a feeling it will be news to them. Thank you for taking the time to explain to them what they didn’t know they were already thinking. ?
— Terry Bursey (@tkbursey) January 7, 2020
My friends from Iran and their families in Iran are celebrating the death of Suleimani. I’m sure he had fans but to claim that Iran as a whole are mourning his death is propaganda. It’s a lie.
— ChipBayless (@BaylessChip) January 7, 2020
Not true…
Most Iranians are happy that he’s gone because they know it’s the beginning of the end of their current regime.Before Carter pushed in new leadership the country was progressive and mostly westernized.
Reminds me of what happen to Cuba
— Kanon (@Kanon89634740) January 7, 2020
This is an embarrassingly incorrect take, wow. How could those foolish Americans paint this mass murderer a hard-liner? Pretty sure all Iranians don't agree about anything and have diverse opinions on the subject. Millions of Iranians are glad he's dead I'm sure.
— Fready Freshcastle (@TheLeft2Right) January 7, 2020
— ???? ??????? (@jack_veritas) January 7, 2020
Just blatantly putting up regime talking points as if that's the real news. Sad to see.
— Jim H (@jimjahanshah) January 7, 2020
— Colby Glawson (@ColbyGlawson) January 7, 2020
— Baltimore is Lamarvelous (@digisharon) January 7, 2020
Jaw-dropping propaganda.
— Cornell77 (@BlindJoeDef) January 7, 2020
Name him what you want at the end he is blood thirsty terrorist.
— Rakan (@Rakan_sj) January 7, 2020
Imagine thinking this. Good lord.
— scody smalls (@s_codysmalls) January 7, 2020
Just here for the ratio.
— Czar of Defenestration (@CShitposting) January 7, 2020
He was terrorist scum. The end. #YayForDeadTerrorists
— Crystal ????? (@swoonychic) January 7, 2020
Related:
Forget ‘austere religious scholar’: Check out the New Yorker’s dreamy obituary of ‘flamboyant’ Qasem Soleimani https://t.co/0RE1GR1ySo
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) January 4, 2020
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