The Significance of Targeting Soleimani.

• Author: Falk, Ophir

On January 3, 2020, American drone-launched missiles killed Major General Qassem Soleimani shortly after his landing at Baghdad International Airport in what may turn out to be the most significant targeted killing of the 21st century to date.[i] While it is too early to determine the long-term implications and effectiveness of this operation, there is no question that the US action showed it will hold Iran accountable for terrorist actions.

Previous US administrations reportedly shunned targeting Soleimani, and even prevented allies from doing so, anticipating that the fallout would outweigh the expected benefits.[ii] This and new concerns were voiced immediately after the targeting. Critics warned that by boasting about and declaring responsibility for the killing, the United States has set a dangerous precedent that will be exploited by others with similar capabilities but different perspectives on legitimate targets (i.e. that the President of the United States will become a target); that Major General Soleimani was a senior political official in the hierarchy of a sovereign nation-state; and that the mounting availability of technology along with an alleged deterioration in the accepted standards of legal compliance regarding targeted killing benefits weaker states and nonstate proxies, such as Iran and Hezbollah.[iii]

In fact, there is precedence of US presidents taking credit for targeted killings considered of high value. George W. Bush did so after Abu Musab al-Zarqawi met "American Justice"[iv] in June 2006 and Barack Obama did so immediately after Osama Bin Laden was killed by US Navy Seals in May 2011[v]. Alongside being a senior official of a nation-state, Soleimani was also the head of a designated terrorist organization[vi] who was responsible for thousands of civilian deaths and was plotting imminent attacks against American servicemen, citizens and civilians across the Middle East and beyond. [vii]

The threat of terrorists targeting American leaders is not novel either. Robert Kennedy was assassinated by a man many see as a Palestinian terrorist[viii] and President George H.W. Bush was purportedly the target of a thwarted attack planned by Saddam Hussein.[ix] Undoubtedly, other American leaders were and are targets of terrorist plots. Killing Soleimani did not change that but it should put American security services on higher alert for such a scenario.

What was new about the targeting of Soleimani was that it was the first...