Michael Mullen:

I think the — the target list, if you will, in those — in those times didn't include Soleimani. And that's different from the terrorist organizations of al-Qaida in Iraq and ISIS over time.

That said, he was somebody that we kept a very close eye on and knew where he was and still felt, the sooner he was gone, the better. I think the fact that he's a government representative, an official, spent a lot of time obviously in Iran.

So it's a different approach in terms of assassinating somebody. In this case, he's a military commander on the ground in Iraq with what appears to be exquisite intelligence on our part. And he's planning to kill more Americans. He's a legitimate target now.

And for that — those reasons, actually, I'm very supportive of taking him out. I recognize there's significant risk here. I think the Trump administration, since it left the nuclear deal, has been ratcheting it up. I worry that there's no off-ramp for Iran, and there's no off-ramp for the U.S. for a diplomatic solution.

So the risks are high. I just think, from the standpoint of eliminating somebody who really was the strategic link for — for Iran's national security was, at this particular point, worth that risk.