Former CIA director says Iran general ‘deserved to die’

The air strike in Iraq is likely on the minds of most Friday. It’s certainly a hot-button topic on social media. And we wanted to know what the former head of the CIA thought, so we asked him directly.

We spoke to Porter Goss, former director of the CIA, who now lives on Sanibel Island. He told us we must eventually confront clear evil with real force. He also says Americans should see this as a national security issue not a partisan one.

“Qassem Soleimani deserved to die,” Goss said. “He’s killed a lot of innocent people.”

News of the airstrike that killed a top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani came to Goss as a sign.

“We’re getting a very stark reminder that we are a nation still at war,” Goss said.

Goss sees this as one of the most significant moves by the United States in history.

“… It was a huge day,” Goss said. “It was right up there with getting Saddam Hussein out of the way, getting some of the other big terrorists out of the way and off the playing field.”

In a statement, the U.S. Department of Defense said, “Soleimani was actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region.”

“The risk of doing nothing was enormous,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told CNN. “The intelligence community made that assessment. President Trump acted decisively.”

The U.S. Department of State issued an urgent warning overnight, telling all Americans in Iraq to leave the country immediately, begging the question of how safe Americans are at home.

“We are seeing an escalation of events in what I would call unconventional warfare,” Goss said. “This new kind of terrorist psychological warfare that we’re engaged in as a nation.”

Goss doesn’t believe Americans are in more danger today because the U.S is always a target for terrorists.

“Are we in more danger today than we were yesterday? The answer is probably not,” Goss said.