The War Machine doesn’t care that the Afghanistan war has been an abysmal failure for two decades, the death and destruction to be dealt will proceed. The latest instance of this is the recent drone strike on Shindand, a small town in Afghanistan. The strike killed at least 60 civilians according to one report. We shouldn’t wonder why they hate us, nor should we be surprised when the next wave of reprisals come.
Campaigners for ‘Yes on 805‘ are out in force in Oklahoma, gathering signatures to get their ballot initiative up for a vote, as I discovered firsthand during a trip to the local Sprouts. As I walked out of the store, a polite young man with a clipboard asked if I would like to sign his petition to get 805 on the ballot. He quickly and clearly explained that State Question 805 would eliminate the “sentence enhancements” that prosecutors can tack on to the sentences of non-violent offenders, which can add up to years, even decades, more behind bars. These sentence enhancements are partly the cause of Oklahoma’s status as “prison capital of the world”, meaning that this state locks up more citizens per capita than anywhere else on the planet. This practice inhumanely and unnecessarily tears apart families and destroys lives. 805 would be a necessary and humane change, and reining in out-of-control prosecutors would be a step in the right direction.
I spoke with the gentleman for several minutes and wondered aloud, “why are non-violent offenders put behind bars at all?” Surely there is another method of punishment that is short of locking them up. Taking away driving privileges, a prohibition on certain financial transactions, surely there is another option that allows them to remain at home with their families and continue to work in some capacity. The signature gatherer agreed with me, attributing the barbaric practice in part on over-zealous prosecutors eager to gain more “victories” in court. That, combined with public apathy has allowed the current state of affairs to continue unrestrained for so long. But the criminal justice reform movement currently underway in Oklahoma will put an end to it once and for all, and it’s just another sign that the world is truly getting better.
The question that has been on everyone’s mind since the assassination of top Iranian general Soleimani is this: how will Iran exact their revenge? A top advisor to Iranian president Rouhani has stated that Iran’s quarrel is with Trump, not the American people:
“We have ZERO problems with the American people. We even achieved deals with previous US administrations. Our sole problem is Trump. In the event of war, it is he who will bear full responsibility.”
That should terrify Trump, because it hints at retaliation on a personal level. When, in 1988, the USS Vicennes accidentally shot down an Iranian airliner, killing all 290 on board, Iranian agents targeted the captain of the naval ship, planting a pipe bomb beneath his car in San Diego. It was being driven by his wife at the time that it was detonated, and she narrowly escaped death.
Maybe Iran will attack Trump’s properties throughout the world. But it’s more likely that it will be something much more devastating to Trump personally. Iran has no way of waging a successful war again the United States, but it could carry out silent assassination campaigns within US borders.
Did it cross Trump’s mind that ordering the murder of Soleimani could endanger his wife, children, or himself? It’s tragic to think that Trump, someone utterly hypnotized by his own ego, believes himself to be completely immune to the consequences of his actions.
Ponder how many Americans abroad in the Middle East will now become targets due to this killing.
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.
Iran has thus far suffered gracefully under repeated taunts, threats, sanctions, and various sabotages from the United States. But the murder, surely an act of terror as well, of a widely respected, and very popular, military leader will probably be the last straw. Iran will retaliate, giving the green light for an enormously lopsided counterattack from the US. Hundreds, if not thousands, of Iranians will die. Why did it come to this? It appears that Iran’s only real “crime” is wounding the ego of Trump and the entire military establishment. Now Trump is boasting of the murder openly. How many Americans abroad will now die because of what he’s done?
Our government has been looking to fight a war against Iran for over a decade, and it now appears that they will finally get their war. It won’t be clean, or short. It will be the Iraq and Afghanistan for a new generation. But the price will be far larger than any war in recent memory.