On the night of January 3, Major General Qassem Soleimani, head of the Quds Force of the IRGC, and Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandi, the second in command of Iraq’s PMU were murdered by the US. Apparently, as the Major General and Al-Muhandis were traveling on a road near Baghdad’s international airport, the enemy was waiting for them to enter their cars, after which they were attacked by US helicopters.
The background of this tragic and evil act comes from Washington’s terrorist attack on December 29, when the Hashd Al-Shaabi (PMU) were attacked on several separate locations, which left 25 members of the PMU dead and another 51 injured, and the subsequent reaction to this act of terror in Iraq, when protesters torched the US embassy in Baghdad.
Following the strikes, the Pentagon issued a statement saying that it had targeted three locations of the Iraqi fighters in Iraq and two in Syria in response to alleged attacks targeting American forces. The air raids were welcomed by no other than Israel’s foreign minister, Yisrael Katz, who described the event as a “turning point in the regional response to Iran and its proxies”.
The level of arrogance among Washington’s representatives and its stooges in the Western mainstream media is a tragedy to behold. They are actually trying to make this look like a “defensive strike” when in reality- the US occupation in Iraq is illegal. This makes the US aggressions in Iraq illegal, US involvement in Iraq illegal, and the US oil-theft in Iraq illegal. No matter if the so called attack on the K1 base was real or not, nothing will ever make Washington’s strikes in Iraq “defensive” when it is occupying that country.
Washington further disgusted the world when several of its insane representatives took to Twitter with bizarre statements defending the act of terror against the Hashd Al-Shaabi. Some may have also noticed how the western media parrots Washington’s narrative. When two Iranian consulates in Karbala and Najaf were set ablaze by US backed lynch mobs, they portrayed it as “Iraqis venting their frustration against the Iranian occupiers”. But when thousands of Iraqis set ablaze the outer walls of the US embassy then all of a sudden it became an attack on a “Sovereign embassy”.
I dont know if it’s ignorance, arrogance or both that makes them call the Hashd Al-Shaabi “Iranian backed militias”, when in reality Hashd Al-Shaabi actually are part of the Iraqi Armed Forces. As if that wasn’t enough, when thousands of Iraqis went to protest this horrific act of terror, Washington’s representatives yet again blamed Iran for it! Calling this an Iran-orchestrated attack on their embassy. This means that they don’t even consider Iraqis to be free thinking humans but just trained animals that do whatever someone else orders them to do. As if the mothers, sisters, wives, fathers and brothers of the victims don’t have feelings and rightfully want justice for their murdered loved ones!
And they wonder why Iraqis hate them? What did they expect when they humiliate the Iraqis and negate them to being nothing more than “Iranian proxies?” Quite frankly, they are lucky that the Iraqis didn’t break into the embassy and tear them into pieces.
That same day, Trump who has a habit of laying blame for everything on Iran, tweeted a threat that he would make good on a few days later. If there was ever evidence clear enough that the US is in league with ISIS, this would be it. The US assassinated the most effective General in fighting Washington’s proxy dogs in Iraq and Syria.
So what happens now? We can only speculate but what is clear is that the Islamic Republic has vowed revenge. This was confirmed by the Supreme Leader, the President, the speaker of parliament, the Foreign Minister and several high ranking IRGC officials. In a statement made on Friday, Ayatollah Khamenei said that those who assassinated Soleimani must await revenge. The chances for a large regional war breaking out has now reached terrifying levels as Washington has forces the Islamic Republic to directly respond.
Meanwhile Washington, seething with arrogance and hubris are proclaiming this act of terror as some kind of victory. This could not be further from the truth. First of all, it was a cowardly act of terror and not one that was the result of “amazing intelligence work” of the US military.  Soleimani wasn’t hiding, nor was his trips and movements a secret for anyone. Secondly, Soleimani was not indispensable, as no this will not affect the tireless efforts of the Resistance Axis. Thirdly, this “victory” of Washington’s will have severe consequences for them in the near future as it surely will unite Iran and Iraq against the US.
The true revenge for Iran would not be to strike high ranking US personnel or assassinate one of their fellow lapdogs. It would be to kick the American occupiers out of Iraq, and Trump has done well to set the stage for such an event. If Washington is kicked out of Iraq, then they will not be able to continue their occupation of eastern Syria either. But we must understand that the Islamic Republic will not respond immediately since they are not arrogant, rash and ignorant, on the contrary the Islamic Republic will analyse the situation properly before making any moves.
I expect Iran to respond to Washington through Iraq, and the Iraqis will not hesitate to try to throw the American occupiers out of their country. Since Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis was the second in command of the PMU, thereby directly under the supervision of the Prime Minister, Baghdad cannot remain silent to this atrocious crime. Interim Prime Minister Adil Abdul Mahdi has called for an emergency meeting to discuss an appropriate response and has already stated that US terrorist operation was a violation of the terms under which US troops were allowed to stay in Iraq.
Even former rivals and enemies inside Iraq will now unite as this act of terror has disgusted the entire country, one example of this is that Moqtada Al-Sadr has given the orders for his Jaysh Al-Mahdi (Mahdi Army) to prepare for war against the US. The same orders were given by the leader of Asaib Ahl-Al Haqq leader Qais Al-Khazali who has called for a general mobilization of his forces to “expel the US forces from Iraq. He ended this call by stating that “It won’t be easy and simple but you have to trust that we shall defeat them”. Either Washington packs up and leaves or they will have to face another war in Iraq, one that they cannot and will not win. Unfortunately for the people of the region, it seems that Trump, who is an complete imbecile, keeps listening to the advice of murderous people and think tank ”analysts” like Michael Pregent who called for these murders a few days ago.   https://twitter.com/MPPregent/status/1212021422266208256?s=19
I pray to live long enough to see the day when the Terrorist Empire has been thrown out of West Asia. One way or another, I am certain this will happen. Time is on our side – we can wait forever. May Soleimani’s and Al-Muhandis’ souls rest in peace. Their martyrdom will not have been in vain.