For reference: i do not disagree with anything said by adam - or condone the hit - merely point to the process that evolves the potential of a legitimate target before it is presented as an option to the CINC.Nice.
The bottom line is that the White House (Trump, and his administration) is not a coherent or rational actor, so a standard analysis in terms of institutional Courses of Action and risk calculi is neither descriptive nor predictive of observed behaviors (going back to the beginning).
For all we can speculate Trump did this because he wanted to, in his mind, look tough compared to Jimmy Carter. That is, with no consideration of how this would affect any larger strategy toward Iran because there is no Iran strategy, just a series of "hyperreal" media events.
Furunculus Maneuver: Adopt a highly logical position on a controversial subject where you cannot disagree with the merits of the proposal, only disagree with an opinion based on fundamental values. - Beskar
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