Terror Leaders Now Fleeing, in Hiding Because of Trump's Soleimani Strike: Report
Terrorists who sow fear are now living in fear themselves after the precision drone strike that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, according to a new report.
Journalist Sara Carter, writing on her website, said that terrorist leaders within Iraq are leaving the region or going into hiding for fear that they could be next. In her report, Carter quoted multiple sources she did not name, most cited as “a U.S. official.”
In her report, she quotes former CIA Station Chief Daniel Hoffman as saying that President Donald Trump’s “decapitation strike targeting general Qassem Soleimani was a seminal moment, a change in strategy for the United States.”
Carter said that soon after last Thursday’s strike that killed Soleimani, terrorists — many of whom operate with the backing of Iran — were “fleeing” or hiding.
In Trump’s speech to the nation, the president made it clear that the U.S. will not be passive in the face of terror attacks.
“By removing Soleimani, we have sent a powerful message to terrorists: If you value your own life, you will not threaten the lives of our people,” the president said, according to a White House media pool report.
#EXCLUSIVE Great news on all fronts.
Terrorists In Iraq Fearing U.S. Capabilities Are Fleeing and Hiding After Soleimani Killing https://t.co/ROI2DXhxYm via @SaraCarterDC— Sara A. Carter (@SaraCarterDC) January 8, 2020
Carter said that terrorists got the message.
“U.S. officials intercepted communications and intelligence suggesting that terrorists in the region were signaling immediate concerns over Iran’s inability to protect Soleimani from the U.S.,” she wrote.
James Carafano, a foreign policy expert at the Heritage Foundation, said terror groups hoping Iran will protect or avenge them have learned a painful lesson.
“If this is all Iran will do to avenge Soleimani no one can expect Tehran to expend a lot of capital to protect them from the Americans,” he said, according to Carter.
Hoffman said Trump made it clear “that we will deal with everyone’s proxy militia foot soldiers but we will also deal with Iranian leaders who are responsible for making the decisions that put our people and installations in harms way.”
In an Op-Ed on Fox News, national security analyst Rebecca Grant also said Trump’s attack put terrorists on notice that there is a new policy at work.
“The deliberate killing of Soleimani opens a new chapter and shows Trump’s willingness to use military force to put Iran’s terrorist monster machine back in its box,” she wrote. “The aim was to deter future Iranian attacks.”
Grant said some terrorists will risk the wrath of America.
“Expect more strikes on Iranian terror networks in Iraq, if necessary. U.S. forces have the ability to target and strike other Iranian terrorist kingpins in Iraq, Syria and other locations. With or without cooperation from others, U.S. forces can track them down and kill them,” she wrote.
She noted that Trump’s strategy goes beyond payback.
“President Trump authorized the killing of Soleimani not for revenge, but to start shutting down the monster of Iran’s terror network,” she wrote.
“This assassination, shocking as it is, was calculated to make America safer right now, and over the long term.”
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