The United States moved closer to igniting yet another war in the middle east.
According to various reports, a U.S. drone strike killed near the Baghdad airport reportedly killed Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Major General Qasem Soleimani which is sure to escalate tensions in the region.
The strike itself was ordered by U.S. President Donald Trump who ran on promising to get U.S. troops out of the Middle East. This move, on the other hand, will not only likely draw more American forces back to the region but could draw other countries into the powder keg as well.
The strike killed five people, including the pro-Iranian chief of an umbrella group for Iraqi militias, Iraqi television reported and militia officials confirmed. The militia chief, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, was a strongly pro-Iranian figure.
Tonight’s move comes less than 24-hours after acting defense secretary Mark Esper reaffirmed the United State’s neoconservative stance that the U.S. was willing to undertake pre-emptive strikes against Iranian-backed militants in Iraq. This too after the protests outside the America Embassy in Baghdad for their roll in the death of Iraqi backed militias inside their own country.
“If we get word of attacks, we will take preemptive action as well to protect American forces, protect American lives,” said Esper. The game has changed.”
The National‘s deputy foreign editor Jack Moore juxtaposed the strike to that of Iran taking aim at Gina Haspel.
“It’s like Iran killing the head of the CIA or the Mossad on foreign soil,” said Moore. “This isn’t just about Iraq.”
Moreover, this is the United State’s imperial war machine undertaking an airstrike inside a country that has made it pretty clear in the past that they are no longer wanted in their country.
