It’s been a pleasant surprise to see how many public figures swiftly denounced Trump’s impetuous, cowardly assassination of Iran’s most beloved military leader, Qassem Soleimani. Tucker Carlson denounced it, as did Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, Tulsi Gabbard, and many others. Rand Paul believes war will now happen, and that Soleimani’s murder has also killed any future opportunity for diplomacy or peace. Did this ever enter Trump’s mind before ordering the attack?
Trump has defended Soleimani’s murder as necessary to prevent war. If that were the case, why does war now seem like a much more likely possibility? Why are Americans abroad in the Middle East only now being warned to leave? The US soccer team has cancelled a training trip in Qatar, and over 3,000 more US troops are being sent to Iraq.
No, this was meant to start a war with a nation that has attempted to avoid this war at every opportunity. Iran has endured repeated humiliations with grace up to this point, but it is clear that they have been pushed into a corner. War will likely be the only path from here on.
But war with Iran will be far different from any US war waged during the previous two decades. It’s likely that the war will be fought within US borders. It will then cease to be an abstraction, a distant annoyance that most citizens have allowed through sheer apathy. Once the nightly news begins airing footage of attacks on the east coast, or Midwest, war will become a reality for every American. Then they will wonder why they allowed their government to needlessly incite the most avoidable war in history. But by then it will be too late.
If Iran didn’t want a nuke before, you can bet that they do now. And they won’t waste their time building it, either. A couple of suitcase-sized packages will be delivered to their military easily and swiftly. And if one is launched, and tens of thousands die, it will be because our government balked at peace, and ignored consequences. It will have been the fault of the power-drunk within our own government, heedless of anything other than their own ego.
If you’d like to know why they hate us, and want us to die, it’s because of actions like this assassination. It’s not due to our freedom, or our way of life, but because our government is a bully, and threatens, attacks, and struts across the globe with its chest stuck out, just like every garden-variety schoolyard bully. The crimes that our government commits in our name are dark, and evil. And they will have consequences, unfortunately. We exposed citizens will take the brunt of the retaliation. We will serve as human shields, protecting the Political Class from the consequences of their actions abroad.
Let it be said now that it is disgraceful, tragic, but also entirely avoidable.
Let’s mourn the future casualties of the inevitable retaliation, and let us also mourn the many innocent of Iran that will surely pay the ultimate price as well. This does not have to happen.