Of Course You Realize This Means War

I know I just posted on this blog an intent to move away from the political but some events seem to call for commentary.

The United States killed a guy and there may be hell to pay for it.

OK, some context. The “guy” in question was Qassem Soleimani, leader of Iran’s elite Quds force. I have no idea how “Quds” is pronounced.

I heard a reporter on NPR pronounce it "Coods". 

"Coods?!?!"  

"Coods"? 

Really? "Coods"?  

 "Coods." 

<snicker!>


Anyway....

Qassem Soleimani has long been considered a major guy to US interests, described by U.S. officials as a paramilitary and terrorist mastermind responsible for attacks on American troops in Iraq and actively working against U.S. interests all over the world.

So Qassem Soleimani was a very bad man who deserved to die, right? Well, maybe.

But did we need to kill him?

Here’s the thing:  unlike Osama Bin Laden and the countless nameless terrorists in his wake that have met death in a hail of American bullets, Qassem Soleimani is a member of a sovereign nation’s government.  

But since this particular sovereign nation is Iran, that won’t matter to Li’l Donnie and his lackeys. Qassem Soleimani is an Islamic terrorist and Iran is not a country but just a big ol' camp meeting of Islamic terrorists.  Who cares about rules of engagement? Who cares about the consequences if Iran has their feelings hurt that we killed their widdle general?  

I want to make it clear I am not defending Iran’s government, its actions or its intentions. Iran has spent lots of time and resources sticking its nose in places where it doesn’t belong, fomenting terror, creating chaos. Iran has a lot to answer for.

Including naming an elite military force..... "Coods".  

But whatever the sins and transgressions committed by Iran, it is still nonetheless a sovereign national government. And when one sovereign national government attacks another sovereign national government, there is usually one outcome.

Donald Trump, chilling down in Mar-A-Lago said that taking out Qassem Soleimani was intended to stop a war, not start a war. 

And throwing a lit match into a barrel of gasoline is meant to put out a fire, not start one*.  

*OK, that was a stupid blunder on my part. I now have "We Didn't Start the Fire" by Billy Joel playing in my head.

And now so do you.

<Insert evil laugh!>

Trump and his lackeys have lined up to assert that Qassem Soleimani and his Evil League of Evil were about to at any minute now planning to unleash death, more death and even more death with a side order of death as part of their deadly evil plan of evil.

And death. 

There are no more details forthcoming. 

The assassination of Qassem Soleimani may remove a dangerous U.S. foe but killing someone, even if they are a "bad guy" , is just asking to make a bad situation worse. 

It's as if Trump wondered, "Things between the United States and Iran are tense. How can I make them MORE tense?" 

Although filtered through Trump's ego, it might be more like, "Iran loves me, right? How can I make them love me more? I  know! I'll have one of their government officials killed! " 

Some current and former U.S. officials said the killing was an escalatory move far beyond what they had ever expected.

“There’s no chance in hell Iran won’t respond,” said Afshon Ostovar, an expert on Soleimani and author of “Vanguard of the Imam” a book* about Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

*I haven't read this book. I'm waiting for the movie. Michael Bay is directing. Big comeback vehicle for Shia LaBeouf.    

“I can’t believe it,” one U.S. official said. “The immediate concern for me is: What’s the next step from Iran? Is this the beginning of a regional conflagration?”

A former U.S. official who dealt with the Middle East said the strike was especially notable because it targeted the leader of a state apparatus, as opposed to a non-state actor. “We need to be prepared that we’re now at war,” he said.

Hey! That's what I said earlier about this being an attack of one sovereign national government on another sovereign national government. And what is the usual result from such action.  

For MORE on this topic, my pal* in blogitude Mark Evanier has linked to a number of other people way smarter than me with their insights into this debacle.

To get to those posts, CLICK HERE. 

*The staff and management of I'm So Glad My Suffering Amuses You must reiterate that in no way, shape or form is Mark Evanier "Davel-El's pal".  In fact, we're pretty sure no one is Dave-El's "pal", the poor bastard.  

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Coming up later today, the debut of our new weekly feature, Songs For Saturday.