In the heat of the impeachment process, President Donald Trump has made the call to kill top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani. 

“We caught a total monster and we took him out and that should’ve happened a long time ago.” Trump states.

Regarding the decision to kill the general, the government looked at the past actions of Soleimani and was also cautious of his future plans. In the past, the general had exhibited extremist views towards the United States and was widely seen as a terrorist. The United States believed he had committed several wrongdoings against the country, such as providing bombs to Iraq rebels during the Iraq war to be used against America.

“The decision was made by the president to use a drone to kill one of the top military commanders in Iran. He had been given a list of options by his advisers with the killing being the most extreme option but this is the one he chose.” United States History teacher Mr. Mark Roberts states.

Iran retaliated against the United States after Soleimani’s death by firing missiles towards American bases in Iran.

According to the Pentagon, Soleimani as well as his troops were seen as “responsible for the deaths of hundreds of American and coalition service members and the wounding of thousands more.” 

The government defended their decision to kill the general, with the Defense Department stating Soleimani was “actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region.”
His killing comes at a convenient time for the president currently facing impeachment from the House of Representatives. It may be possible that the impeachment and the decision to kill Soleimani were connected.

 Trump “told associates he was under pressure to deal with Gen. Soleimani from GOP senators he views as important supporters in his coming impeachment trial in the Senate.” The Wall Street Journal states.

Another source, the New York Times reported similar information “he told some associates that he wanted to preserve the support of Republican hawks in the Senate in the coming impeachment trial, naming Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas as an example, even though they had not spoken about Iran since before Christmas.”

Despite this, some don’t believe that it will make a difference in the impeachment process or that it is related. 

“I don’t believe they’re connected directly because the impeachment of Donald Trump in the House was mostly due to the Ukranian scandal while Iran was something that just happened to happen.” Senior, Daniel Rodriguez states. “I think Trump did it out of the good of the national community than for his own benefit.”