The Shadow Commander

[Valin]

The New Yorker:

Qassem Suleimani is the Iranian operative who has been reshaping the Middle East. Now hes directing Assads war in Syria.

Dexter Filkins

September 30, 2013

 

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Kneeling in the second row on the mosques carpeted floor was Major General Qassem Suleimani, the Quds Forces leader: a small man of fifty-six, with silver hair, a close-cropped beard, and a look of intense self-containment. It was Suleimani who had sent Shateri, an old and trusted friend, to his death. As Revolutionary Guard commanders, he and Shateri belonged to a small fraternity formed during the Sacred Defense, the name given to the Iran-Iraq War, which lasted from 1980 to 1988 and left as many as a million people dead. It was a catastrophic fight, but for Iran it was the beginning of a three-decade project to build a Shiite sphere of influence, stretching across Iraq and Syria to the Mediterranean. Along with its allies in Syria and Lebanon, Iran forms an Axis of Resistance, arrayed against the regions dominant Sunni powers and the West. In Syria, the project hung in the balance, and Suleimani was mounting a desperate fight, even if the price of victory was a sectarian conflict that engulfed the region for years.

 

 

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Despite all of Suleimanis rough work, his image among Irans faithful is that of an irreproachable war heroa decorated veteran of the Iran-Iraq War, in which he became a division commander while still in his twenties. In public, he is almost theatrically modest. During a recent appearance, he described himself as the smallest soldier, and, according to the Iranian press, rebuffed members of the audience who tried to kiss his hand. His power comes mostly from his close relationship with Khamenei, who provides the guiding vision for Iranian society. The Supreme Leader, who usually reserves his highest praise for fallen soldiers, has referred to Suleimani as a living martyr of the revolution. Suleimani is a hard-line supporter of Irans authoritarian system. In July, 1999, at the height of student protests, he signed, with other Revolutionary Guard commanders, a letter warning the reformist President Mohammad Khatami that if he didnt put down the revolt the military wouldperhaps deposing Khatami in the process. Our patience has run out, the generals wrote. The police crushed the demonstrators, as they did again, a decade later.

 

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The coöperation between the two countries lasted through the initial phase of the war. At one point, the lead negotiator handed Crocker a map detailing the disposition of Taliban forces. Heres our advice: hit them here first, and then hit them over here. And heres the logic. Stunned, Crocker asked, Can I take notes? The negotiator replied, You can keep the map. The flow of information went both ways. On one occasion, Crocker said, he gave his counterparts the location of an Al Qaeda facilitator living in the eastern city of Mashhad. The Iranians detained him and brought him to Afghanistans new leaders, who, Crocker believes, turned him over to the U.S. The negotiator told Crocker, Haji Qassem is very pleased with our coöperation.

 

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H/T Hugh Hewitt