This story starts about a week ago, with New York Times columnist Bret Stephens noting a piece in Haaretz claiming that Team Obama tipped off Iran about an Israeli attempt to assassinate Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force. Israel was reportedly “on the verge” of assassinating Soleimani, but the U.S. warned Tehran, putting an end to the operation.
https://twitter.com/BretStephensNYT/status/948653540439928837
https://twitter.com/RQA/status/951244463980064770
Stephens tagged former Obama deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes in his tweet, but Obama’s National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor picked up on it a week later.
Yeah WTF Ben? Immediately confirm or deny this totally unsubstantiated claim and then tell us why you don't support assassinations.
— Tommy Vietor (@TVietor08) January 10, 2018
It’s on.
https://twitter.com/BretStephensNYT/status/951216401301299202
Yeah @BretStephensNYT taking out Osama bin Laden is the same as assassinating an Iranian political leader. https://t.co/PKRWFjgZPW
— Tommy Vietor (@TVietor08) January 10, 2018
An Iranian what now?
https://twitter.com/jkirchick/status/951237268815060992
https://twitter.com/BretStephensNYT/status/951237360934621185
https://twitter.com/horsefacemc/status/951254179892273153
https://twitter.com/NoahPollak/status/951228667576827904
Obama spox: Qassem Soleimani, who is the chief terrorist of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force, is a "political leader."https://t.co/sVj2o4f9P1
— Jordan Schachtel (@JordanSchachtel) January 10, 2018
I would like to see you tell the families of all of the American soldiers killed because of Soleimani that he's just a "political leader" and untouchable. Or what about the families of the thousands of Syrians you left to be massacred by Assad and Soleimani…. https://t.co/nSb1FeAW0v
— (((AG))) (@AG_Conservative) January 10, 2018
Behold the normalization of Qasem Soleimani. https://t.co/HskzBZJzNd
— Bari Weiss (@bariweiss) January 11, 2018
I'm also very iterested in the idea that a uniformed General in the military of a hostile power is considered a "political leader" https://t.co/a1zlz62KMl
— Drew McCoy (@_Drew_McCoy_) January 10, 2018
Soleimani heads Iran's Quds Force which is responsible for the deaths and injuries of countless Americans in Iraq and Afghanistan.https://t.co/MQqMlWm7F2
And they brag about it.https://t.co/hg2hLhhzmD https://t.co/a1zlz62KMl
— Drew McCoy (@_Drew_McCoy_) January 10, 2018
https://twitter.com/VPAFernandez/status/951238905961033728
Doesn’t it?
https://twitter.com/cehoskinson/status/951234096776339456
Yeah, Suleimani is a legit combatant, not a 'political leader.' https://t.co/2CnXHJ1vfa
— Joel Wasserman (@joelw_762) January 11, 2018
Sorry, @TVietor08, it's EXACTLY the same thing. Because, like UBL, Suleimani is a terrorist mastermind with American blood on his hands. https://t.co/ftFs9bNKc8
— Ilan Berman (@ilanberman) January 10, 2018
https://twitter.com/Mike_H_1775/status/951249568800432128
One more thing.
Notice he says nothing about the drone strikes. https://t.co/iqbKHciBDE
— Jeryl Bier (@JerylBier) January 11, 2018
* * *
Update:
Critical malfunction in the echo chamber.
Rhodes: Of course we’d like QS dead
Vietor: We’d never want QS dead. pic.twitter.com/5HIZ1WCK5h— David Shor (@DYShor) January 10, 2018
https://twitter.com/omriceren/status/951249988058828800
It seems, though, that Vietor confirmed the “totally unsubstantiated claim” about the Obama administration tipping of Tehran.
We were well aware of the dangers posed by QS and the IRGC. Obama sanctioned them repeatedly, among other deterrents. But an assassination of QS by Israel would be destabilizing to put it mildly.
— Tommy Vietor (@TVietor08) January 10, 2018
Holy shit. They really did it. https://t.co/bGGf7DHtHK
— Jonathan Greenberg (@JGreenbergSez) January 11, 2018
This is like an OJ book. “I’m not saying we betrayed the confidence of our best regional ally to save an arch-terrorist, but – if we had done it – here’s why.”
— Jonathan Greenberg (@JGreenbergSez) January 11, 2018
It sure sounds like it. "Dude, that was like, the way we thought we should handle it."#ThrowsiPadOutWindow
— While Supplies Last (@corrcomm) January 11, 2018
Related:
Obama flacks UNITE! Tommy Vietor joins failing attempt to defuse bombshell