So what has changed since friday nite? Nothing.
The stated goal of the Iranian theocracy is still to spread terrorism throughout the world with the goal of global dominance thru any means necessary.
We changed a name, nothing more.
Not true at all. As General Petraeus said, killing Soleimani was more important than killing OBL or Al-Baghdadi. Anyway, we accomplished three things to change the dynamic in the region.
1) Soleimani apparently was a very charismatic, smart guy who was very hands on. Just because someone new takes over his title doesn't mean they have anything close to his ability or reputation. It's like saying the Russians would have accomplished nothing by killing Reagan because he would have been replaced by GHW Bush, so "no big deal".
2) The blow to the prestige of the Iranian government is enormous. Previously, Soleimani had an air of invincibility, able to fly around the ME at will with impunity, with even the mighty U.S. too afraid to do anything about him. That helped give an aura of inevitability to the idea of Iranian dominance of the region, and greatly enhanced his prestige in creating and leading various militias, etc.. By openly killing him, and then threatening to smash Iran if they killed more Americans in response, Trump reversed the perception of strength. That is extremely important in the ME culture, and will dishearten Iran's supporters, and hearten its opponents. So that's huge.
3) Because we openly killed Soleimani, and didn't blink about, whoever replaces him is no longer going to be able to act as openly. That will further reduce his ability to influence events outside Iran, because he's going to have to act as if he is afraid of the U.S..
Which he should be.
