Less than a week into the New Year and #WorldWarThree is trending on Twitter. Thank you very much Donald Trump.
Trump having lost an impeachment vote in the US Congress, has resorted to the Bill Clinton playbook of 1998. Back then Clinton launched an air strike of Kosovo to distract from his own impeachment hearing.
The US has had a longstanding beef with the Iranian regime. I’m not going to try and defend what is a brutal and repressive theocratic regime in Iran. And no doubt US intelligence had evidence of Qasem Soleimani plans to undermine the US and its allies in the Middle East. But let’s be clear, Qasem was a senior official in the Iranian Government on an official state visit to Iran. The United States military chose this window of opportunity to launch an air attack and murder Soleimani.
In 2015 US President Obama negotiated the Iranian Nuclear deal. At the time this was seen as a significant turning point in the Middle East. Whilst not ending longstanding tensions between Iran and the US, it at least brought the world one step back from nuclear disaster in the region. Further it opened the door for further dialogue. Trump on coming to power in 2017 tore up this Nuclear Deal as promised during his cynical but successful election campaign of 2016 which I’ve blogged about before.
The actions of the US have of course been condemned by Iran. Chants of Death to America were made by Iranian law makers in parliament. They have compared this act to the 1953 coup. In 1953 the US and its allies overthrew a democratically elected government and installed a regime that would be sympathetic western interests. Specifically western oil company interests.
Iran has also said there will be a response to Qasem Soleimani. They have offered up a $80US bounty for the murder of President Trump and have also said they could attack the White House amongst other targets.
Few other governments have come out in support of the US attack. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was one of the few world leaders to openly support the action despite Israel being a likely target of Iran.
In the UK, the Conservative Government who were supported by President Trump in the UK General Election were not given a heads up by the US prior to the attack. Dominic Raab Secretary of State for Foreign and Common Wealth Affairs has come out supporting the actions of the US Government but has also called for diplomacy going forwards. The Prime Minister has had little to say on the matter to date.
Qasem Soleimani, while no ally of the west and considered one of the hard liners in the Iranian regime, was also a key player in fighting and eventually defeating Isis in Iraq. The Iraqi government has called for all US troops to be expelledresponded to the assassination of Qasem on their soil. Across the Middle East there has been similar condemnation of the US assassination.
So one week into 2020, a Hawkish US President focussed primarily on re-election and playing to his conservative base has authorised the Murder of a senior Iranian Government figure. The world now stands on the brink of another bloody conflict and heightened security threats everywhere.
But the world doesn’t need to be like this. The Iranian regime is brutal and repressive, and the recent protests within Iran demanding change are to be commended. So too are those protesters in 70 cities throughout the USA have come out in opposition to their governments assassination of Qasem. It is time for regime change in North America and the Middle East, and to build where diplomacy, peace and prosperity can replace war, violence and injustice.
Melissa Lee – as may be discerned from the screenshot above – has not been demoted for doing something seriously wrong as Minister of ... 
An extrajudicial killing the other sides emissaries (in a third party country!!) when they are going about their business is a good way of sending a message that the normal rules no longer apply.
#WorldWarThree is a crock of shit peddled by Americans trying to make this look less asymmetrical. Iran doesn't have the remotest capability of waging conventional warfare against the USA, any more than Iraq did. Its responses won't involve warfare in any conventional sense.
#WorldWarThree is a crock of shit peddled by Americans trying to make this look less asymmetrical.
The Austro-Hungarian invasion of Serbia in 1914 was also an asymmetrical conflict.
The USA election build up will be like one of those world heavyweight boxing events.
The defending champion is in his corner. The body, a bit chubbier than Andy Ruiz Jnr, trunks blooming out pulled up to the nipples, hair gelled and spiked to suggest more height, red, white and blue everywhere, boots made in China carrying the American company logo, mid-calf to support the bone spurred ankles. One glove off to enable the frantic last minute tweets.
"Ladies and gentlemen, in the red, white and blue corner, the victor over the Taliban, the destroyer of ISIS, the Conqueror of Iran, the Vanquisher of North Korea, the Humiliator of Joe Biden, the Unbeaten, the Champion, the Greatest of all-time … D O N A L D …. J … T R U M P !!
Okay, I admit it, I hacked into his dreams.
Regular commenter Wayne Mapp says it's like throwing a match but will somehow not lead to a fire: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/406882/like-throwing-a-match-on-tinder-paper-wayne-mapp-on-us-iran-tensions
Yeah, its all good. Nothing much to see here. After all our 'old Ministers of defense' can't see the US escalating this shitshow any further then they already escalated it. Yeah, right TUI. Maybe someone should tell Mr. Mapp that the orange one is NOT a polititian and that he will do what ever he needs to do in order to stay alive. The US govenrment is currently run by a Mobster and his armageddon/capitalistic theocracy focused republican party.
https://www.businessinsider.com.au/us-paratroopers-told-to-leave-cellphones-behind-for-unusual-deployment-2020-1?utmSource=twitter&utmContent=referral&utmTerm=topbar&referrer=twitter&r=US&IR=T
Can’t see the big issue here, all he has done is reintroduce a US deterrent factor with a disproportionate response vs the Obama the great appeaser approach that simply gave Russia China and Iran a free hand Not sure what u expect US to do with Iran shooting down US 150m dollar drone, fire bombing a US Embassy, killing US nationals, attacking allied shipping …
" It is time for regime change in North America and the Middle East, and to build where diplomacy, peace and prosperity can replace war, violence and injustice "
Yes , yes Israel and Palestine would be a good starting point.
1954 coup against the democratic elected Leader of Iran – USA on behalf of british petrolium
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1953_Iranian_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran_Air_Flight_655
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as for killing US National, i would assume that had they not started wars of false pretenses and outright lies, US naitonals would have stayed alive. But your concern is noted 🙂 And also your comment is quite naive and uninspired in regurgitating US propaganda.
Also please point to the country that Iran has recently attacked or invaded.
As for China and Russia and India and the Eurpeans and others wanting to do business with Iran, i guess how dare they, right. Its the US to come and loot and burn, right?
[I counted 83 links in your original comment, which is way OTT and triggers Auto-Moderation. I have deleted all the text from the links and left just the two main links plus your own words. Next time, please provide a brief excerpt and explanation why people should click on your links and read them – Incognito]
See my Moderation note @ 12:32 PM.
We now have the Vice President of the US saying he was working with Al-Qaeda.
https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-01-03/pence-suleimani-terrorism
They can't even lie well.
Fundamentalist want to see the world burn.
If you are a fellow Christian – I think it's way beyond time you challenged your fundamentalist friends on points of theology. Especially the war mongering, violent, anti poor claptrap which happen to be a common theme in to many fundamentalist churches these days.