{"id":202050,"date":"2020-01-06T20:20:01","date_gmt":"2020-01-06T20:20:01","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2020-01-06T20:20:01","modified_gmt":"2020-01-06T20:20:01","slug":"this-is-bigger-than-bin-laden-petraeus-says-its-impossible-to-overstate-impact-of-soleimani-death","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/city\/hawaii\/this-is-bigger-than-bin-laden-petraeus-says-its-impossible-to-overstate-impact-of-soleimani-death.html","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;This is bigger than bin Laden&#8217;: Petraeus says it&#8217;s &#8216;impossible to overstate&#8217; impact of Soleimani death"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"gnt_em gnt_em__fp gnt_em_vp__tp gnt_em__el\" aria-label=\"Video - Iran mourns, supreme leader weeps for Soleimani\"><button class=\"gnt_em_vp_a gnt_em_vp__tp_a\" data-g-r=\"vp_ap vp_tg\" data-c-vpattrs=\"{muted:true,bContent:false,vidNum:1,docking:true}\" data-c-vpdata=\"{adsEnabled:true,awsPath:news\/national,byline:,canonicalURL:,contentSourceCode:APDM,createDate:2020-01-06T17:25:16.175Z,credit:AP,duration:92000,headline:Iran mourns, supreme leader weeps for Soleimani,hlsURL:https:\/\/hlsmedia.gannett-cdn.com\/authoring\/video-renditions\/4cafe2fb-2da5-4217-b967-124f7585c91c\/1080p_30fps,720p_30fps,480p_30fps,master.m3u8,id:2825077001,image:{url:https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/authoring\/video-thumbnails\/4cafe2fb-2da5-4217-b967-124f7585c91c_poster.jpg,opto:true},initialPublishDate:2020-01-06T17:26:02.205Z,keywords:USAT Video,mp4URL:https:\/\/downloadmedia.gannett-cdn.com\/authoring\/video-renditions\/4cafe2fb-2da5-4217-b967-124f7585c91c\/1080p_30fps.mp4,origin:AP Domestic,pageURL:{long:https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/videos\/news\/nation\/2020\/01\/06\/iran-mourns-supreme-leader-weeps-soleimani\/2825077001\/},promoBrief:Iran's supreme leader wept while praying over the casket of a top general killed in a U.S. airstrike in Baghdad. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei offered the prayers on Monday in Tehran for Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani. (Jan. 6),publishDate:2020-01-06T17:26:02.205Z,series:,ssts:{leafName:nation,path:news\/nation,section:news,storysubject:,subsection:nation,subtopic:,taxonomyEntityDisplayName:Nation,topic:},tags:[{id:68532648-1f35-4dac-a1dd-26cd518c074d,name:USAT Video}],title:Iran mourns, supreme leader weeps for Soleimani,url:\/videos\/news\/nation\/2020\/01\/06\/iran-mourns-supreme-leader-weeps-soleimani\/2825077001\/}\" aria-label=\"Play video\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" class=\"gnt_em_vp_img\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wordpressdynamos.com\/timesofnewscdn\/USA\/7dc2e_4cafe2fb-2da5-4217-b967-124f7585c91c_poster.jpg\" data-g-r=\"vp_po\" \/><\/button><\/aside>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">WASHINGTON\u00a0\u2013 Retired Gen. David Petraeus said Sunday that the death of\u00a0his former battlefield enemy, Iranian Gen.\u00a0Qasem Soleimani, in a drone\u00a0airstrike outside the Baghdad airport\u00a0was a more dramatic event than the deaths of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden or Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Petraeus said during an interview on CBS News&#8217; &#8220;Face the Nation&#8221; that\u00a0he considered\u00a0Soleimani a &#8220;very capable&#8221; adversary during his time commanding troops in Iraq and that\u00a0&#8220;it&#8217;s impossible to overstate the significance of the attack&#8221; that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/world\/2020\/01\/03\/what-we-know-strike-iranian-military-leader-qasem-soleimani\/2801355001\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-t-l=\"|inline|intext|n\/a\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\">killed Iran&#8217;s top military figure<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Soleimani led Iran&#8217;s elite Quds Force, an irregular group within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps that supported militias loyal to Iran around the Middle East. Under\u00a0Soleimani, the Revolutionary Guard trained Iraqi militants to fight U.S. troops after the 2003 invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein and taught them to make the roadside bombs that killed and maimed many American service members.\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside aria-label=\"advertisement\" class=\"gnt_m gnt_x gnt_x__lbl gnt_x__al\"><\/aside>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\"><strong class=\"gnt_ar_b_al\">What you need to know:<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/politics\/2020\/01\/06\/iran-tension-soleimani-explainer\/2822590001\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-t-l=\"|inline|intext|n\/a\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\">The death of Gen. Soleimani and the escalating situation with Iran<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\"><strong class=\"gnt_ar_b_al\">&#8216;I want to have peace&#8217;:<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/politics\/2020\/01\/03\/qasem-soleimani-death-how-trump-arrived-order-kill-iran-general\/2786880001\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-t-l=\"|inline|intext|n\/a\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\">How Trump went from a vow to avoid conflict to an order to kill Iran general<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">The<a href=\"https:\/\/www.state.gov\/designation-of-the-islamic-revolutionary-guard-corps\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-t-l=\"|inline|intext|n\/a\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\"> U.S. estimates <\/a>that Iran was responsible for the deaths of about 600 American service members, which is about 17% of the total losses suffered in that conflict.\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside aria-label=\"advertisement\" class=\"gnt_m gnt_x gnt_x__lbl gnt_x__al\"><\/aside>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Petraeus said he was surprised to learn\u00a0Soleimani had been killed.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">&#8220;We&#8217;d never gone after him before, although I hasten to add that he never dared set foot inside Iraq to my recollection, when I was commanding the surge, nor in the time that I was the commander of U.S. Central Command,&#8221;\u00a0Petraeus said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">But he said\u00a0Soleimani became bolder as Iran began to support Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad in that country&#8217;s civil war and to bolster militias in Iraq to fight against ISIS.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"gnt_em gnt_em_anc\" id=\"gnt_atomsnc\" data-g-r=\"lazy\" data-gl-method=\"loadAnc\" aria-label=\"Newsletter signup form\"><\/aside>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">&#8220;That was a period when he was helping Iraq go after the same enemy that we eventually helped Iraq defeat,&#8221; Petraeus said of\u00a0Soleimani&#8217;s role in taking on ISIS. &#8220;And make no mistake about it, those militias and the Iraqi security forces could not have defeated the Islamic State in Iraq without our enabling forces, our drones, our precision munitions and our intelligence and advice.&#8221;\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Petraeus said he did not recall any discussions about taking out\u00a0Soleimani when he was leading the U.S. forces in Iraq because &#8220;we just didn&#8217;t have the opportunity.&#8221; He said he could not discuss whether conversations along those lines took place during his time as director of the CIA.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">The retired general said the biggest question following\u00a0Soleimani&#8217;s death is how Iran will respond.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">&#8220;Will they dare to respond directly with Iranian missiles against our forces, our embassies, our bases, our shipping or what have you? Or do they continue to operate through proxies, which I&#8217;m pretty confident they will do,&#8221; he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Petraeus said killing\u00a0Soleimani was the equivalent of an enemy taking out a top U.S. general,\u00a0the head of the CIA, the head of U.S. special forces and a Middle East presidential envoy all in one strike.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">&#8220;This is bigger than bin Laden. It&#8217;s bigger than Baghdadi,&#8221; he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Whatever the Iranian response,\u00a0Petraeus said it was critical that the U.S. finds a diplomatic way out of the escalating conflict. He called on the Trump administration to reach out to Iran &#8220;about how to get back to the nuclear deal that was had its strengths, as well as some shortcomings, to be sure.&#8221;\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Trump pulled the U.S. out of the deal, which was brokered by the Obama administration, that staved off Iran&#8217;s development of nuclear weapons in exchange for sanctions relief. On Sunday, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/world\/2020\/01\/05\/iran-nuclear-deal-qasem-soleimani-killing\/2819114001\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-t-l=\"|inline|intext|n\/a\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\">Iran effectively ended its commitment <\/a>under\u00a0the agreement.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Petraeus suggested the issue of Iran&#8217;s support for Shiite militias in Iraq could be addressed in a new nuclear agreement.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">&#8220;We truly do want to deescalate. Everyone is going to lose if this continues to ratchet upward,&#8221; he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img class=\"gnt_em_gl_i\" data-g-r=\"lazy\" data-gl-src=\"https:\/\/www.wordpressdynamos.com\/timesofnewscdn\/USA\/3fa1b_7697af38-91d3-4bf4-9e01-d4061d30a3cd-01_AP_US_Iran.JPG\" data-gl-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2020\/01\/04\/USAT\/7697af38-91d3-4bf4-9e01-d4061d30a3cd-01_AP_US_Iran.JPG?crop=3826,2153,x0,y195width=1320height=744format=pjpgauto=webp 2x\" alt=\"\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>WASHINGTON\u00a0\u2013 Retired Gen. David Petraeus said Sunday that the death of\u00a0his former battlefield enemy, Iranian Gen.\u00a0Qasem Soleimani, in a drone\u00a0airstrike outside the Baghdad airport\u00a0was a more dramatic event than the deaths of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden or Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.\u00a0 Petraeus said during an interview on CBS News&#8217; &#8220;Face the Nation&#8221; [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[33],"class_list":["post-202050","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-hawaii","tag-washington-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202050","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=202050"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202050\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=202050"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=202050"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=202050"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}