In 2007, U.S. commandos watched as a convoy carrying a powerful Iranian military leader made its way to northern Iraq.
![US long watched Soleimani, but feared risks of a strike](https://media.zenfs.com/en/ap.org/fda512fa46791648a4da2b5786c41660)
It was a prime opportunity to take out Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who had been accused of aiding Shiite forces that killed thousands of
American troops in Iraq.
“To avoid a firefight, and the contentious politics that would follow, I decided that we should monitor the caravan, not strike immediately,” retired Gen. Stanley McChrystal wrote last year in Foreign Policy.