The world is most definitely a better place without Iranian military chief Qassem Soleimani. He was a butcher, a murderer and a despised international terrorist. All over the globe, people are celebrating his death, but without a doubt this also brings us much closer to a cataclysmic war with Iran. In fact, as you will see below, the phrase “World War 3” is now trending on Google and Twitter. Soleimani was the second most important person in Iran, and he was a greatly cherished national hero. His death has absolutely enraged the Iranians, and they are already vowing revenge.
Of course many top Democrats are already strongly criticizing President Trump for ordering the strike that killed Soleimani, but what was Trump supposed to do? According to NBC News, Soleimani was actively plotting more attacks against American targets…
Planned attacks against American military, diplomatic and financial targets in Lebanon and Syria comprised the imminent threat cited by U.S. officials as the reason President Donald Trump ordered the killing of top Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani, multiple U.S. officials said Friday.
“When we start seeing extensive and very solid intelligence that [Soleimani] is plotting imminent attacks against the United States, the president as commander in chief has a duty to take decisive action,” said a senior State Department official speaking on condition of anonymity. “If we had not taken this action, and hundreds of Americans were dead, you would be asking me why didn’t you take out Soleimani when you have the chance.”
Was Trump supposed to just sit there and allow the Iranians to kill hundreds or even thousands of Americans?
And the truth is that Soleimani has been behind attacks on U.S. forces all the way back to 2003. The following comes from a USA Today editorial…
The criticism that this move was escalatory ignores the fact that Iran has been escalating conflict in the Middle East for years. Iran supports insurgent and militia groups in Yemen, Afghanistan, Gaza, Lebanon and Syria, among others. Iran, using Soleimani’s Quds Force as its spearhead, was responsible for more than 600 American deaths in Iraq from 2003 to 2011, 17% of all U.S. dead in that conflict. President George W. Bush’s administration never adequately made Tehran pay, and the Obama administration was more interested in paying Tehran.
If he would have been left alive, a lot more Americans would have died.
But because President Trump took decisive action, his “reign of terror is over”…
In brief remarks at his Mar-a-Lago resort in south Florida, Trump said Soleimani, who commanded Iran’s Quds Force, had been caught “in the act” planning “imminent and sinister attacks on American diplomats and military personnel.”
“We caught him in the act and terminated him,” Trump said in a brief address. “His reign of terror is over.”
So that is the good news.
The bad news is that the Iranians are vowing “severe revenge”, and that means that a major war in the Middle East is almost a certainty.
Here is what Iran’s supreme leader, the Ayatollah Khamenei, had to say in the wake of Soleimani’s death…
Dear Iranian Nation!
Years of sincere, brave efforts fighting against the devils& villainous in the world & yrs of wishing for martyrdom on the path of God finally took the dear Commander of Islam, Soleimani, to this lofty status. His blood was shed by the most barbaric of men.
We congratulate Imam Mahdi (‘a.j.) & Soleimani’s pure soul& condole the Iranian nation on this great martyrdom. He was an eminent example of a person trained in Islam. He spent all his life in struggling for God. Martyrdom was the reward for his tireless efforts over the years.
His efforts & path won’t be stopped by his martyrdom, by God’s Power, rather a #SevereRevenge awaits the criminals who have stained their hands with his & the other martyrs’ blood last night. Martyr Soleimani is an Intl figure of Resistance & all such people will seek revenge.
All friends – & enemies – know that Jihad of Resistance will continue with more motivation & definite victory awaits the fighters on this blessed path. The loss of our dear General is bitter. The continuing fight & ultimate victory will be more bitter for the murderers & criminals.
The Iranian nation will honor the memory of the noble Major-General Soleimani & the martyrs with him – particularly the great Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis – & I declare 3 days of mourning across the nation. I condole & congratulate his family.
And a key adviser to Ayatollah Khamenei is also warning that “revenge” is coming…
Ahman Khatami, an adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said in a chilling threat to the US troops in Middle East that it is “time to clear the region from these insidious beasts”.
He added: “I am telling Americans, especially Trump, we will take a revenge that will change their daylight into a nighttime darkness.”
So what will that look like?
We don’t know yet, but one former CIA official is telling us that there will be “dead civilian Americans”…
CBS News senior national security contributor, and former acting and deputy CIA director Michael Morell told “CBS This Morning” the drone strike on Soleimani will lead to “dead civilian Americans.”
“Soleimani was an evil genius, he had a lot of American blood on his hands,” Morell said. “The world is a better place without him. The problem is that comes at a very high cost. Number one, there will be dead Americans, dead civilian Americans, as a result of this. Possibly over the next few days in any place where Iran has its proxies, Iraq is the most likely place, but also Lebanon, Bahrain, other places in the Middle East.”
Of course President Trump will respond to any Iranian attack by hitting back even harder, and the escalations will just continue until missiles start flying back and forth.
Needless to say, the Israelis are monitoring these developments very closely, because they definitely understand that they would be attacked if a major war breaks out. In fact, Iran may decide that one of the best ways to take revenge is to have their proxies start firing missiles into Israeli territory…
But Israel Army Radio said the military had gone on heightened alert, amid fears that Iran could strike through its regional allies such as Tehran-backed Lebanese movement Hezbollah to the north, or through Palestinian militant group Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Gaza.
“They will wait for the right moment to exact revenge, perhaps by firing into Israeli territory through Shiite militias in Syria and perhaps even from Gaza,” Ron Ben-Yishai, a commentator for Israeli news outlet Ynet, wrote on its website.
The coming days are going to be chaotic and unpredictable.
But what is now clear to everyone is that we are now closer to World War 3 breaking out in the Middle East than we have ever been before.
In the hours after Soleimani was killed, the phrase “World War 3” began trending on both Google and Twitter…
Many of those tweeting about the airstrike used memes to bring light to the situation, joking about fears it could spark ‘World War 3’ – a phrase now trending on Twitter.
Searches for ‘World War 3’ also spiked on Google within hours of the airstrike in Iraq overnight.
Google Trends recorded ‘Iran’ as the second most searched term in the United States, with more than 500,000 searches for the topic.
President Trump is not going to back down.
So the only way that we aren’t going to have a war is if the Iranians back down, and I don’t see that happening.
These are the times that so many of us have been warning about, and all of our lives are about to change in a major way.
War is coming, and the entire globe is going to feel the pain of this conflict.
About the Author: I am a voice crying out for change in a society that generally seems content to stay asleep. My name is Michael Snyder and I am the publisher of The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and the articles that I publish on those sites are republished on dozens of other prominent websites all over the globe. I have written four books that are available on Amazon.com including The Beginning Of The End, Get Prepared Now, and Living A Life That Really Matters. (#CommissionsEarned) By purchasing those books you help to support my work. I always freely and happily allow others to republish my articles on their own websites, but due to government regulations I need those that republish my articles to include this “About the Author” section with each article. In order to comply with those government regulations, I need to tell you that the controversial opinions in this article are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of the websites where my work is republished. This article may contain opinions on political matters, but it is not intended to promote the candidacy of any particular political candidate. The material contained in this article is for general information purposes only, and readers should consult licensed professionals before making any legal, business, financial or health decisions. Those responding to this article by making comments are solely responsible for their viewpoints, and those viewpoints do not necessarily represent the viewpoints of Michael Snyder or the operators of the websites where my work is republished. I encourage you to follow me on social media on Facebook and Twitter, and any way that you can share these articles with others is a great help.