Jacob Siegel, Daily Beast: The Myth of Iran’s Military Mastermind
Qasem Suleimani is seen as a superhuman strategist and battlefield commander. But lately, he’s been losing more than winning.
He’s been called the “single most powerful operative in the Middle East today” and nicknamed “Supermani,” but is Qasem Suleimani, the suddenly omnipresent commander of Iran's expeditionary Quds Force, suddenly coming down to earth?
After Suleimani reportedly visited Damascus last weekend to discuss military strategy, the Iranian press agency IRNA quoted him saying, “in the coming days the world will be surprised by what we are preparing, in cooperation with Syrian military leaders.” On Wednesday, a Syrian security source told AFP, “around 7,000 Iranian and Iraqi fighters have arrived in Syria over the past few weeks.” Speaking on the condition of anonymity, the source said the incoming fighters were mostly Iraqi, “and their first priority is the defense of the capital… [t]he goal is to reach 10,000 men to support the Syrian army and pro-government militias, firstly in Damascus, and then to retake Jisr al-Shughur [a city in Idlib province recently fallen to an Islamist-driven rebel faction] because it is key to the Mediterranean coast and the Hama region.”
WNU Editor: Israel wants him dead. Iranian opposition groups want him dead. Islamic State wants him dead. Syrian rebel groups want him dead. I also suspect that in the Persian Gulf states and in Saudi Arabia itself .... they would not mind reading reports of his death. For a man who may be more "myth" than reality .... it is amazing that many want him dead.
The above BBC video report is from last year.