Pentagon confirms death of Iranian commander in Baghdad airstrike
Fox News foreign affairs analyst Whalid Phares, House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, and Rep. Andy Biggs react.
President Trump saved American lives and the lives of U.S. allies when he ordered the military strike that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad, according to Fox News foreign affairs analyst Walid Phares.
"What happened tonight is stunning," Phares told Raymond Arroyo on "The Ingraham Angle."
"This is a really preemptive national security strike by the United States against a network headed by Soleimani, who is in charge of Iran operations in four countries at least if not beyond," he said.
Phares claimed Soleimani and his shadowy Quds Force were preparing "a series of attacks" against the United States diplomatic and military assets.
TRUMP ORDERS ATTACK THAT KILLS IRANIAN GEN. QASSIM SOLEIMANI
He said the dead terrorist was also in the process of coordinating activities with pro-Tehran militias throughout the region, including in Lebanon and Iraq.
"So, what we have done tonight ... after the orders of the president and the commanders was to save American lives and interests and allies in the region from what was [being] prepared by these organizations," Phares said.
Arroyo characterized Soleimani as a "spymaster" and a designated terrorist, adding the Obama administration had blocked any "intervening or assassination attempts" on his life.
During the interview, House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., added: "President Trump took incredibly decisive action to take out this head of this major organization. IRGC [The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] has been a bad organization."
"Soleimani is responsible for the deaths of over 600 of our men and women in uniform. This guy has been one of the major terrorists, worst, most brutal terrorists in the world, this is on the same level of, you know, you can go down the line by al-Baghdadi of course the most recent, even when you look at where this ranks, this is right up there as one of the major attacks," Scalise added.
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In the early hours of Friday morning Arabian Time, Trump ordered the game-changing military attack that killed Soleimani, among other military officials at the Iraqi capital's international airport. The Pentagon later confirmed the action.
In April 2019, the State Department announced Iran was responsible for killing 608 U.S. troops during the Iraq War. Soleimani was the head of the Iranian and Iranian-backed forces carrying out those operations killing American troops. According to the State Department, 17 percent of all deaths of U.S. personnel in Iraq from 2003 to 2011 were orchestrated by Soleimani.
Fox News' Frank Miles contributed to this report.