[This post was written before Iraq retaliated against US missile attacks last night.]
The response in Iran to the assassination, or “targeted killing,” of an Iranian general is predictably overstated. The ayatollahs are saying they will avenge the US missile attack, and Iranians are marching in the streets mourning their dear departed murderer and terrorist, Soleimani.
The US and President Trump should not be intimidated by the ayatollahs, the American press or the liberal left, for that matter. Any act of aggression against the US or any citizens must be responded to with an appropriate amount of firepower. Iran should pay dearly if it decides to ramp up this tit for tat exchange with the US.
Iranian people have been incited by their leaders. They are trying to convince their citizens that the US has bad intentions in the Middle East. The people are suffering from punishing sanctions by the US, so it’s not surprising to see them expressing their outrage against America.
The US has been on a collision course with Iran since the US Embassy was overrun during the Carter administration. More conflict is inevitable, the severity of which is dependent upon the reaction of the Iran government in the coming days.
Yet, Iran will be wise to tread carefully, and not push the US into a full-scale military response. Iran would surely suffer devastating casualties and destruction that will bring down its current regime. All the current static from Iran is bluster that cannot be supported with military might.
President Trump should not back down. A sign of weakness will only increase Iranian resolve. The decision to take cultural targets off the table was a no-brainer. But all military targets are fair game if Iran confronts our troops in the region.
It’s about time that Iran is taken down a few notches by the US. It is a nasty and unreasonable theocracy. The leaders hate every group that does not bow to Allah and some that do, including Sunni Arabs. The decision to give such a country a road map to nuclear armaments was one of the worst in history. How can Iran be trusted with a weapon of mass destruction? What was Obama thinking?
Moreover, the military power of Iran is inconsequential when compared to the US, just like the “elite” forces of Saddam Hussein. Iran’s military will be obliterated in hours in an all out struggle.
The time has come, before Iran develops a nuke, to draw a line in the sand. Iran may be in a position to bully weak regimes in the region, but it is no match for the US military.