Presidents have lawful authority to direct the killing of enemy combatants, explained Harvard lawyer Alan Dershowitz.

“[Soleimani] was a combatant,” explained Dershowitz. “There’s no doubt that he fit the description of ‘combatant.’ He [was] a uniformed member of an enemy military who was actively planning to kill Americans; American soldiers and probably, as well, American civilians.”

“It was the right thing to do,” he added. “It was legally justified, and I think we should applaud the president for his decision. We send a very powerful message to the Iranian government that we will not stand by as the American embassy is attacked — which is an act of war — and we will not stand by as plans are being made to attack and kill American soldiers.

“In fact, that (what Obama did) was worse, in some ways, because what Obama did was a revenge act. There was no real threat that Osama bin Laden would carry out any future terrorist acts. Moreover, he was not a member of an official armed forces in uniform, so it’s a fortiori from what [Barack Obama] did and Ben Rhodes did that President Trump has complete legal authority in a much more compelling way to have taken the military action that was taken today.”

This is a man who controlled a transnational foreign legion that was controlling governments in numerous different countries.”

Smyth said Soleimani had a cult of personality, as well as a unique leadership role in the Iran-controlled Shia militia network.

“He had a hell of a lot of power and a hell of a lot of control,” he said. “You have to be a strong leader in order to get these people to work with you, know how and when to play them off one another, and also know which Iranians do I need within the IRGC-QF, which Lebanese do I need, which Iraqis do I need … that’s not something you can just pick up at a local five and dime. It takes decades of experience.”

Several other experts also agreed that Soleimani’s death was even more significant than al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden’s, or Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s.

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