This article was originally published by Michael Snyder at The Economic Collapse Blog.
We just witnessed one of the most important deaths in the Middle East in decades. Just hours ago, President Trump ordered the drone strike on Baghdad International Airport that killed Iranian Major General Qassim Suleimani and several other key officials.
Suleimani was the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Quds Force, but even more importantly he was a huge national hero in Iran. To describe this killing as “seismic” would not do it justice. U.S. Senator Chris Murphy says that Suleimani was “the second most powerful person in Iran”, and elsewhere he is being described as “the most influential Middle East military official for decades”. This is a major victory for President Trump and the U.S. military, but it also makes it much, much less likely that we are going to be able to avoid a full-blown war with Iran.
Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy commander of the Popular Mobilization Forces, was also killed in the strike. But it is Suleimani’s death that changes everything. In the U.S., our generals are not national celebrities, but in Iran, Suleimani was one of the most recognizable faces in the entire country. In fact, he was so deeply loved that Iranian state television literally interrupted their programming to announce his death…
In Iran, state television interrupted its programing to announce General Suleimani’s death.
The news anchor recited the Islamic prayer for the dead — “From God we came and to God we return” — beside a picture of General Suleimani.
For more than two decades, Suleimani has essentially been running the show for Iran in the Middle East. If you doubt this, just check out the message that he sent to U.S. General David Petraeus in 2008…
In 2008, Soleimani wrote in a letter to David Petraeus, “Dear General Petraeus: You should be aware that I, Qassem Soleimani, control Iran’s policy for Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Gaza, and Afghanistan.”
Of course, since 2008 Suleimani became even more powerful both inside and outside of Iran. He was the one at the top of the food chain giving Iran’s proxies their marching orders, and there is no way that the U.S. embassy would have been attacked earlier this week without his direct approval.
So Trump definitely picked a target that was directly responsible for the damage to our embassy, but what happens next?
Ultimately, that is going to be up to Iran.
The Iranians could put their tails between their legs and cower in fear now that this has happened, but that probably isn’t likely.
It would be difficult to put into words the extreme rage that the Iranians are feeling right now. Their deeply hated enemy, the United States, has just killed a greatly beloved national hero. They are going to want revenge, and they are going to want it to be as painful as possible.
Needless to say, there will probably be attacks against U.S. targets in the region, and Defense Secretary Mark Esper has stated that the U.S. military may even take “pre-emptive action” to prevent that from happening…
“There are some indications out there that they may be planning additional attacks. That’s nothing new,” Esper said. “If that happens, then we will act and, by the way, if we get word of an attack of some kind of indication, we would take pre-emptive action as well to protect American forces, American lives — the game has changed.”
Beyond that, the Iranians may decide that an “eye for an eye” approach is justified in this case.
In other words, now that we have killed one of their key leaders, they may decide to kill one or more of our key leaders.
As I have previously detailed, Hezbollah is the strongest and most well-funded terror organization on the entire planet. They have a very strong presence in North America, and they certainly have the capability to strike just about anywhere on U.S. soil.
If I was a prominent military official, a member of Congress or a top politician, I would be carefully “watching my six” in the coming days.
Some members of Congress are already realizing the implications of what just happened. For example, here is what U.S. Senator Cory Gardner just said…
Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo.. a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, applauded the Trump administration’s decision to target Soleimani. But, he added, “I now urge the administration to be prepared for possible retaliation, including against U.S. troops stationed in the region, and to consult closely with Congress on any next steps should the situation escalate.”
And U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal has told the press that the killing of Qassim Suleimani could lead us directly into a full-blown war with Iran…
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut Democrat and member of the Armed Services Committee, said the attack that killed Soleimani could trigger a major military escalation with Iran.
“There’s no question Soleimani had American blood on his hands,” Blumenthal said Thursday night. “He was an enemy. But this step could lead to the most consequential military confrontation in decades.”
In 1914, the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand was the spark that started World War 1.
Could it be possible that we just witnessed the spark that will start World War 3?
Only time will tell, but at this moment more U.S. troops are being deployed to the Middle East…
The first wave of hundreds of U.S. Army paratroopers from a rapid reaction force has deployed to Kuwait in response to the assault on the U.S. embassy in Baghdad by pro-Iran militiamen, with thousands more soldiers on alert for snap deployment.
On Wednesday at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, paratroopers from the 2nd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division boarded C-17 Globemaster aircraft transports bound for Kuwait.
These are the days of “the perfect storm”, and many are anticipating that 2020 will be the most tumultuous year in modern history.
By killing Suleimani, Trump has essentially “crossed the Rubicon”, and there will be no going back.
So now it is up to Iran to make the next move.
They can roll over and give up now that Suleimani is dead, or they can choose to escalate matters even further and push the entire region to the brink of war.
About the Author: I am a voice crying out for change in a society that generally seems content to stay asleep. My name is Michael Snyder and I am the publisher of The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and the articles that I publish on those sites are republished on dozens of other prominent websites all over the globe. I have written four books that are available on Amazon.com including The Beginning Of The End, Get Prepared Now, and Living A Life That Really Matters. (#CommissionsEarned) By purchasing those books you help to support my work. I always freely and happily allow others to republish my articles on their own websites, but due to government regulations, I need those that republish my articles to include this “About the Author” section with each article. In order to comply with those government regulations, I need to tell you that the controversial opinions in this article are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of the websites where my work is republished. This article may contain opinions on political matters, but it is not intended to promote the candidacy of any particular political candidate. The material contained in this article is for general information purposes only, and readers should consult licensed professionals before making any legal, business, financial or health decisions. Those responding to this article by making comments are solely responsible for their viewpoints, and those viewpoints do not necessarily represent the viewpoints of Michael Snyder or the operators of the websites where my work is republished. I encourage you to follow me on social media on Facebook and Twitter, and anyway that you can share these articles with others is a great help.
This article contains affiliate links.
Just in case no one is paying attention Iran has been a bad actor FOR A VERY LONG TIME. Iran did not suddenly decide they might want to make threats against America because Trump took action to protect American lives. Iran is run by Islamic crazy zealots who believe they must always do holy war. Thank God we have a leader who finally says nope you will not attack an American embassy or threaten our people’s lives without consequences. I am glad Trump did it. One more evil bad guy out of the world. I do not think that the death to America threats from Iran will stop ever no matter what we do.
May he rest in pieces…
No matter what, ya gotta maintain your sense of humor! I laughed…
DEATH TO DONALD TRUMP DEATH TO THE POLICE PIGS
Just another troll who is excited to blame Trump for everything…
Says “anonymous”. Coward.
It’s another one of those pacifist activists.
Michael Snyder is a waterboy for the neocons.
I worry it will be a trump family member. You can protect folks to an extent, but not totally.
Who’s getting tired of reading Snyder’s BS besides me.
The Iranian general probably deserved to die, but killing a high ranking official is technically an act of war. As far as I’m concerned, Iran is a crummy country, but everyone better hope it doesn’t drag the US into yet another war. Iran isn’t like Iraq or Afghanistan. They are much geographically larger, have 3 times the population of Iraq and Afghan., and have lots of oil and other resources. And, Iran is an organized country. Yet, look at what we have accomplished in Iraq and Afghan., a total f*cked-up cluster f*ck beyond any fixing. We accomplished almost nothing at a great cost in blood, treasure, and international goodwill.
There is no doubt the Pres. is being influenced by the Zionist neo-cons. I can say the overwhelming, vast majority of Americans DO NOT want more, if not ceaseless war. The Zionists and neo-cons on behalf of Israel, with Netanyahu and his henchmen keep goading Iran. They want the US to do Israel’s dirty work, to have Amer.s do the fighting and dying for Israel. If Israel wants a war with Iran, let them, I don’t care. Iran, though not nice guys, are absolutely no existential threat to the US. These wars have got to stop. I keep saying TPTB consider Amer. citizens as nothing more than managed disposable resources. American lives and blood are not disposable, they have to stop indifferently throwing Amer. lives away for something that is of no benefit to Americans.
I’ve had friends that have been to Israel, they told me Israelis say they like and respect Americans on TV, but really many think we exist to serve them, and couldn’t care less about us.
If the US was attacked on its own soil I’d be the first to defend us, but not when our military is being used as a mercenary force on the behalf of another country where we have absolutely nothing to gain, only to lose.
We are 23 trillion dollars in debt and it’s growing by more than 3 billion dollars EVERY day. It’s a pity, the average Iranian citizens are not anti-US, and are not fond of their own gov’t. But if they are attacked, they will unite behind their gov’t and we will lose them as potential friends.
This Pres. is the last thread of any legitimacy I thought that gov’t might have. He ran on a platform of getting us out of wars. If we get in another war I will not vote for him, and I will be irrevocably convinced gov’t does not serve the people, it wants to rule over us, indeed, it is the enemy of the citizens.
Bill, That is the best comment and opinion I’ve heard anybody say regarding the mess in the Middle East. We have no business being over there,sacrificing our young soldiers and countless innocent civilians over Israhell. Let them fight their own battles,for that matter let them support themselves as well. Trump is a puppet for Israhell. If he really wanted to “Make America Great Again” he would put this country first and quit enriching everyone else at our expense. We’ve been bombing half those countries over there for 25 years, and people can’t understand why they hate us!?!? To me, nothing is more cowardly than killing somebody with a drone. Qassim may have been a murderous tyrant. But damn straight, he was a warrior who deserved to die on a battlefield not by an air strike and certainly he had bigger balls than any of our cowardly sell out scumbag politicians who never fought for anything in they’re lives, other than to try to take more of our freedoms and rights away.
Snyder and his doom porn. Get a grip son. You haven’t seen anything yet. Six more terrorist taken out yesterday and the Ayatollah is wondering if he’s next. What we need to see is a midnight sunrise over Tehran. I believe that would go a long way to establishing peace in the middle east. Iran has been the biggest supporter of terrorism since the Shah of Iran was taken down.
Wisdom in One Breath
“If you (Trump) were logical, which you are not, you would see that your crimes in Iraq and other countries have made nations hate you.” – Ayatollah Khamenei of Iran on 1/1/2020 responding to Trump blaming Iran for Iraqis attacking the U.S. embassy in Baghdad.
Nobody is going to startWW3 because there is no winner!
Sgt.
One private contractor gets killed and Trump orders a drone attack.
Nine innocent women and children murdered on their way to a wedding in Sonora Mexico ? “CRICKETS”
I too,am a voice crying out for change in a society that generally seems content to stay asleep.
Good Grief, when does a terrorist of this magnitude, deserve such a glowing obituary, as the bullshit, I just read here. Are you saying leave the “butchers” alone, don’t poke the killers? There are times, right now, when the need to fight back must be taken, and to win that fight, is a absolute, necessary result. Don’t be blind to the terror that Iran, and their proxies carryout throughout the world. This “death merchant” got just what he and some of his lieutenants deserved, GOOD RIDDENS TO THEM
The situation that kicked off WWI was far more volatile with concrete political alliances and no players with nuclear weapons. Russia and China both have significant economic presence and with it like influence in Iran. They have a vested interest in keeping this under wraps. The question is how long will both Russia and China accept the global steamrolling of governments by the US? I would suspect a line to be drawn in the sand so to speak. MIC will love it as a selling point for an arms race. That being said at some point through intent or miscalculation one can expect overt military action with proxy forces potentially graduating to a clash of major powers. One could use the phrase, “schools out” to describe it.
BRICS’ protectorate, it’s your move.
h ttps://knowyourmeme.com/memes/ackchyually
It’s a protectorate.
In spite of MAD, Red Scare. and dunk-and-cover hysteria, the basic concepts were all public knowledge, for several generations. Place hope in Jesus and Galen Winsor.
Ok, Doomer.
A.) Who will fight side by side with Iran to make this WWIII?
B.) I remember what they said about Iraq’s “battle hardened” military and we all saw what happened there.
C.) I’m taking bets (over/under) on how long it will take for the US to gain total air superiority. 6 hours.
Why can’t you have a king, for life, if he’s just an all-around good guy.
There are many possible forms of govt.
Under this one, there is a formal process, to declare war, before committing acts of war.
Just another troll who is excited to blame Trump for everything… the embassy is US territory and that general knew about the attacks on it. would you rather see another 911 here on this territory?
Trump’s finest moment. Evil must be confronted not appeased, for all you cowards whining about it bend over and wait for it. If your forefathers were like you we wouldn’t even have a country
Mike is at it again howling at the moon.
No middle east war
Maybe a few more drone or missile strikes.
Snyder is ignorant.
Also, I get errors when I post.