A New York Times reporter and TV commentator says the United States' evidence for ordering an airstrike against Gen. Qassem Soleimani was "razor thin" – and the outcome further hinders the anti-ISIS fight in Iraq.
In a long Twitter thread, Rukmini Callimachi, a respected journalist with an expertise on ISIS and al-Qaida, citing two unnamed sources, tweeted:
"According to them, the evidence suggesting there was to be an imminent attack on American targets is 'razor thin.'"
One unnamed official "describes the reading of the intelligence as an illogical leap," she tweeted.
"The official says that following the attack on an Iraqi base which killed an American contractor circa Dec. 27, [President Donald] Trump was presented a menu of options for how to retaliate."
Killing Soleimani was the "far out option," she said the official told her.
"No one's trying to downplay" Soleimani's crimes, she tweeted. "The question is why now? His whereabouts have been known before. His resume of killing-by-proxy is not a secret. Hard to decouple his killing from the impeachment saga."
Callimachi, citing an interview with Iraq expert Michael Knights, said the airstrike now only adds to an already negative impact on the war against ISIS in Iraq.
According to Knights, throughout 2019, Iran-backed groups denied American forces airspace and access to operations to go after ISIS, though there have been a few provinces where the U.S. has remained on the offensive.
"It's all been downhill," he said, Callimachi tweeted.
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