WHY IS HIS DEATH SO IMPORTANT TO RELATIONS BETWEEN IRAN, THE
UNITED STATES AND THE BORDER
REGION?
REGION? >> SO QASEM SOLEIMANI IS THE
GENERAL IN CHARGE OF IRAN’S AL
QUDS FORCE AND HE IS PERHAPS THE
MOST IMPORTANT PLAYER INSIDE THE
COUNTRY AS WELL AS OUTSIDE.
WHY?
WHY? BECAUSE HE CONTROLS ESSENTIALLY
ALL OF THE COUNTRY’S SECURITY
FORCES, SERVICES INTERNALLY AS
WELL AS EXTERNALLY.
HIS SIGNIFICANCE IS FELT ACROSS
THE REGION BECAUSE HE WAS THE
MAIN STRATEGIST, THE MAIN
ARCHITECT WITH THE NEIGHBORING
COUNTRIES AND THE PROXIES THAT
IRAN SUPPORTED FROM COUNTRIES
LIKE LEBANON WITH HEZBOLLAH,
YEMEN AND ELSEWHERE.
IT GIVES YOU A SENSE OF HOW
IMPORTANT HE WAS THAT HE
TRAVELED TO MOST OF THE
COUNTRIES IF NOT ALL OF THEM AND
MET WITH THEM OPENLY TALKING
ABOUT THEIR STRATEGIES, POLICIES
AND TELLING THEM ABOUT WHAT IRAN
EXPECTED FROM THEM IN ADDITION
TO GIVING THEM THE MILITARY AND
FINANCIAL SUPPORT THEY NEEDED.
SOME SAY THAT HE SINGLE-HANDEDLY
TURNED THE TIDE IN THE CIVIL WAR
IN SYRIA WHEN THE GOVERNMENT OF
PRESIDENT ASSAD WAS COMING UNDER
PRESSURE, IT WAS SOLEIMANI WITH
HIS RESOURCES AND FORCES THAT
TRAVELED TO THE COUNTRY AND
HELPED THE SYRIAN GOVERNMENT
THAT WAS EMBATTLED FIGHT OFF THE
REBELS THAT WERE TRYING TO
OVERTHROW THAT GOVERNMENT.
SO MANY SOME WAYS HE’S CREDITED
WITH SAVING THE SYRIAN
GOVERNMENT IN DAMASCUS AND
FIGHTING OFF AL QAEDA AND SO YOU
GET A SENSE OF HOW MUCH OF A
WARRIOR HE WAS FROM THE IRANIAN
PERSPECTIVE.
PERSPECTIVE. FROM THE AMERICAN PERSPECTIVE HE
WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR RUNNING ALL
OF THE PARAMILITARY MILITIAS IN
IRAQ RESPONSIBLE FOR KILLING
HUNDREDS OF SERVICE MEN AND
WOMEN DURING THE IRAQ INVASION.
BUT FROM AN IRANIAN PERSPECTIVE
THERE IS’S NO OTHER SINGLE
FIGURE THAT SAT AT THE NEXUS OF
BOTH POLICY AND STRATEGY THE
SAME WAY THAT QASEM SOLEIMANI
DID.
DID. EVEN THE RITUAL LEADER OF IRAN,
AYATOLLAH KHAMENEI IS AN
IDEOLOGICAL FIGURE.
IDEOLOGICAL FIGURE. THE MOST IMPORTANT FIGURE, BUT
IN TERMS OF A PERSON WHO SAT AT
THE NEXUS OF SECURITY, STRATEGY,