McKenzie (file photo)
Michael Hughes: Elements within the U.S. political and military establishment long shared with the Islamic State a common foe: Iran. More specifically, Qassem Soleimani, the ex-Quds Force chief assassinated by the U.S. on January 3, 2020 whose memorial service IS-K attacked earlier this week. One need not be a conspiracy theorist to submit that power players in Washington had mixed feelings over the deadly terrorist attack in Iran’s Kerman that left almost 100 dead. Just listen to the person who coordinated the drone strike that killed Soleimani: ex-CENTCOM commander Kenneth McKenzie.
In a tone-deaf op-ed published the day after the bomb blasts, the retired U.S. general argued that the Trump administration had to take out the Quds Force leader as a means of “deterrence.” He claimed Iranian leaders operate under Lenin’s dictum: “You probe with bayonets: if you find mush, you push. If you find steel, you withdraw.” And the Iranians, according to McKenzie, “understand steel.” He also bemoaned the fact that Iranian proxies were supposedly deterring the U.S. in recent years when, according to him, it should be the other way around. And in order to pivot, harsh means are necessary.