A bad guy, a terrorist with American blood on his hands, was ordered killed by an American President, and the world applauded.  This is a fictional scenario, since realistically, American president Donald Trump is jeered instead of cheered.  The Democrats and mainstream media would rather see him fail than have America succeed and happily create an atmosphere of fear.

James R. Hannibal flew the A-10 Thunderbolt II, the B-2 Spirit (stealth bomber), and the MQ-1 Predator UAV.  During that time, he worked numerous classified assignments and spent time as a mission planning cell chief, intelligence liaison, stealth materials liaison, and weapons and tactics officer.  He commented to American Thinker, "Americans need to understand that Qassem Soleimani was evil, a known terrorist, and proudly wore the blood of Americans on his hands.  Our intelligence surrounding this individual leaves no doubt about these facts.  This is intelligence that the politicians loudly mourning his death have access to, so they should know better.  That makes their betrayal all the worse. They would sell out the memory of fallen Americans for their own political gain.  I have seen American blood spilt by Soleimani's proxy action with my own eyes.  I have wept over that blood on the worst day of my military career.  Any politicians pretending this man was anything but a bloodthirsty terrorist deserving of death have betrayed this nation and the people they claim to serve."

Instead of showing a united front, the opponents of President Trump are emboldening Iran.  Congressman Michael Waltz (R-Fla.) served over twenty years in the U.S. Army, including the Green Berets, and was a defense policy director for Secretaries Rumsfeld and Gates and was Vice President Dick Cheney's counterterrorism adviser.  He told American Thinker, "This is politics at its worst.  What I want to ask those who criticize the president: 'How many more American body bags does the Left think we should have before we take decisive action?  We already lost 600-plus.  How many more — 700, 1,000 — before we act?  I find it appalling that this president is being criticized for killing this terrorist, Soleimani, instead of applauding him for taking decisive bold action to stop the killing of more Americans in the future.  At the end of the day, Soleimani was a declared terrorist, operating on a foreign soil, against American assets, and plotting to kill additional Americans."

Those not supporting President Trump have "Trump Derangement Syndrome." Retired SEAL Don Mann believes that "[t]hose that are criticizing our president are causing great harm to the country and embolden Iran and our enemies.  The decision to kill Soleimani was not a rash decision.  It was based on a defensive and an offensive analysis.  We absolutely must defend our interests abroad and in the U.S.  Many people on the Left will criticize the president for everything he does and says.  The Left has villainized every move he makes.  I don't understand why their hatred for our president makes them blinded to the fact that our country is stronger than it has been in decades, possibly in our entire history."

Retired Navy commander Michael Jacobs detests how "the Left is driven by emotion and blind allegiance to party and not country; they hate the president more than they love their country.  It is important to have a rich dialogue that asks questions about the strike, but unabashed vitriol is not reasoned debate.  The Left will not allow President Trump to enjoy any success, especially in an election year.  They will thwart, distort, twist, spin anything that suggests success.  Finally, Iran's blatant and bold misadventures for 40-plus years are now being countered by pragmatism."

There is also the argument that neither the Bush nor the Obama administrations went after Soleimani.  Why?  Former CIA director Mike Morell said, "Yes, it's good that [Soleimani's] gone, but it's come at an extraordinarily high price.  And that's why the Bush administration and the Obama administration chose not to do something like this."  He must be speaking of how President Obama drew a red line and did nothing or how, after the killing of American ambassador Chris Stevens in Libya, he did not retaliate.

Kirk Lippold was commander of the USS Cole when, in 2000, seventeen sailors were killed after the destroyer was attacked and bombed by al-Qaeda terrorists.  (As a side note, it was not President Clinton, Bush, or Obama who took down the terrorist Jamel Ahmed Mohammed Ali Al-Badawi, the al-Qaeda operative who orchestrated the attack.  It was President Trump.)  Lippold experienced firsthand how government officials "discussed what they should do right up until both the Clinton and Bush administrations did nothing and the nation was left with the aftermath of 9/11.  The politicians who are complaining about the strike are typical, pointing fingers and blame.  They are acting right out of the enemy's playbook by blaming our own government and its leaders, rather than holding the number-one state sponsor of terrorism in the world accountable for killing Americans.  I am thankful that the strike against Soleimani fundamentally changes that dynamic by reinforcing the Trump administration's policy that we will hold terrorists and governments accountable if they harm or kill Americans.  I am glad to see the U.S. once again taking proactive and preventive measure to protect American citizens and national security interests.  If anything, the U.S. is once again being understood that there are red lines that, if crossed, will result in a reaction."

Waltz reminds Americans, "President Obama was so desperate to have an Iranian deal that he appeased Iran under a number of fronts.  Regarding President Bush, he was bogged down in two wars, Iraq and Afghanistan, and wanted to avoid dealing with Iran.  I agree with President Trump that this action will actually prevent war, not start one."

Consider what former CIA director Michael Hayden once told American Thinker: "It is the policy of the Iranians, approved by the highest levels of the Iranian government, to facilitate the killing of American and coalition soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.  America needs to be more aggressive across the board and stop trying to change the minds of a government that is either irrational or dysfunctional in its decision making.  The Iranians think they can get away with this kind of behavior."

He also said how the drone killings by then-president Obama keep the terrorists off balance, where they have no time to plan terrorist attacks as they hide in caves.  Waltz agrees: "The more these guys are worried where they will sleep at night, who they will talk with, how they communicate, and are constantly on the run, the less time they have to plot, plan, and attack."

Furthermore, Waltz says, "it is this administration's duty to act on a threat against American assets, diplomats, and soldiers.  In fact, it should have been done years ago by the two previous administrations.  I was asked what I would say to the families of those soldiers who now have to deploy.  That is the wrong question.  The question should have been, 'What would I say to the Gold Star families who have had their loved ones killed?'  There are also many U.S. men and women who have been maimed and wounded because of the sophisticated IEDs that Soleimani manufactured and provided to militias.  I think justice has been served."

Those who claim that President Trump escalated the action that will lead to war with Iran need to look at the recent events: the attack on the American embassy in Iraq by Iran's surrogates, killing an American contractor, and shooting down a U.S. drone.  The president did not escalate, but responded to Iran's actions.  Waltz agrees that the president's action will quash a war because "Iran will be fearful as to what the U.S. will do next.  The Iran regime needs to calculate: is it worth taking action?  The last thing they want is a war with the U.S. that would cause their regime to fall."

The fear-mongers are pointing to the consequences from President's Trump action like the Iraqi government voting to expel all international forces.  The congressman points out how "this is a symbolic vote because they just resigned because of the anti-Iran protests.  There is going to be a new government in Iraq, and a lot of things must happen before US forces withdraw."  This includes cutting off the aid to Iraq, and, as the president stated, "We have a very extraordinarily expensive air base that's there.  It cost billions of dollars to build. ... We're not leaving unless they pay us back for it."

Another consequence is Iran abandoning the nuclear deal.  But whom will that hurt, considering that sanctions can be ratcheted up?  Waltz thinks this administration needs to "keep up the maximum pressure campaign because the Iranians will come back to the table.  They will be in a position of weakness and will face economic ruin."

Finally, there is the threat by President Trump to target 52 Iranian sites, "some at a very high level & important to Iran & the Iranian culture."  Waltz thinks this is a deterrent on the part of the president to let the Iranians know there will be very real consequences for any action, and these will be swift and decisive.  Beyond that, the president has possibly calculated that the Iranians will put many resources toward protecting some sites while leaving others ripe for bombing should they take action.

Congressman Waltz likens the Iranians to a schoolyard bully who will continue to push until he is stopped.  "When a bully is punched in the mouth, they will back down.  The way to achieve peace is by showing strength to a tyrant.  We have seen throughout history that appeasement is not an answer."

Everyone interviewed believes that the Democrats, mass media, and all Americans should thank President Trump for his bold and decisive action that was long overdue.  General Petraeus, also a former CIA director, said it best: "This is bigger than bin Laden, it's bigger than Baghdadi.  Soleimani is the equivalent, in U.S. terms, of the CIA director, CENTCOM commander, JSOC commander, and presidential envoy for the region."

The author writes for American Thinker.  She has done book reviews and author interviews and has written a number of national security, political, and foreign policy articles.

Image: Gagee Skidmore via Flickr.