The US under both right wings of its war party excels at brute force, not long-range strategic thinking and planning.

Pentagon terror-bombing assassinations of Iranian IRGC Quds commander General Qassem Soleimani and deputy head of Iraq’s PMU Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, an act of hot war against both countries, accomplished the following:

It martyred both men, united Iranians and Iraqis against Washington’s Middle East presence, advancing things closer to when they’ll no longer be tolerated one day.

Most important, what happened furthered US decline, an incremental process underway for decades, notably post-9/11.

Does Washington want hot war with Iran beyond waging it by other means since its 1979 revolution, greatly escalated by Trump regime economic terrorism?

Already bogged down in Afghanistan, Syria and Yemen, three unwinnable quagmires, will it get itself into the mother of all 4th one by waging war on Iran?

The Islamic Republic is much stronger militarily than other countries the US is at war with, able to strike back hard against its regional interests and allies if attacked.

Chickenhawks Trump, Pompeo, other regime officials and their congressional partners know nothing about warmaking.

Pentagon commanders understand it well, knowing that war with Iran likely means large numbers of US casualties, strikes on its regional bases and vessels, Israel vulnerable to attack — even if ISIS and other jihadists are used as proxy forces on the ground.

US war on Iran will likely embroil the region more greatly than any time anywhere since WW II with no assurance of its outcome.

If Russia intervenes against US aggression at Tehran’s request, as it did in Syria, the risk of global war would be heightened, possible nuclear war if things go this far.

Russian Foreign Ministry official Zamir Kabulov earlier said that if Iran is attacked, it will not be alone.

Asked if Russia would provide material support, he said “specific actions are a question for the Russian president,” adding:

“But it’s not just Russia. Many other countries sympathize and empathize with Iran. Tehran won’t be alone if the US, God forbid, takes wild and irresponsible actions against it.”

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov affirmed Kremlin support for Iranian sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Vladimir Putin earlier said US war on Iran “would be a catastrophe,” adding: It would have “sad consequences” for any country “attempt(ing) it.”

Russia’s Foreign Ministry called Pentagon terror-bombing incidents in Iraq “unacceptable and counterproductive,” actions further “destabiliz(ing)” the region.

On Saturday according to Iran’s Press TV, Pentagon warplanes terror-bombed “a convoy belonging to Iraq’s anti-terror (Popular Mobilization Units) fighters north of” Baghdad.

The strike came 24 hours after Soleimani, Muhandis, and others with them were assassinated by the Trump regime, Iraqi television calling the latest incident a US strike — killing six, wounding others.

On Friday, Iran’s Supreme National Security Council vowed to retaliate against Soleimani’s assassination “in due time (in) the right place,” a statement further saying:

During an “extraordinary” Security Council session, “various aspects of (Soleimani’s assassination were) examined…appropriate decisions” made, adding:

The US is “responsible for all the consequences of this criminal adventurism…a strategic mistake.”

“America will not easily get away with the consequences of this miscalculation.”

US “blind and coward(ly) (actions) strengthen the Islamic Republic’s determination to keep up with its resistance policies.”

A separate Iranian Intelligence Ministry statement said the US criminal act will not go unanswered.

Iranian academic Mohammad Marandi called US assassinations of Soleimani and Muhandis “an act of war” against Iran and Iraq, adding:

The US “has been acting with impunity in Iraq from day one of its occupation.”

Its hardliners aim “to see (ISIS) regain (control of) the border between Iraq and Syria.”

“The Americans ignore the sovereignty of Iraq. They ignore (PM) Mahdi. They ignore the will of the Iraqi people.”

“They murder the heroes of the war against (ISIS), and they wonder why they are so widely despised across the region.”

Establishment media support US aggression, reporting official narrative propaganda, most Americans manipulated by repeated disinformation.

Gallup polls on US public sentiment toward Iran from 1989 to 2019 showed over 80% of respondents consistently view the country unfavorably — because of the power of media reported anti-Iran propaganda.

Time and again, Trump proves he’s a geopolitical know-nothing, on Friday saying:

Assassinating Soleimani was “to stop a war, not to start one (sic),” falsely accusing him of conducting a “reign of terror (sic),” killing “millions (sic)” — precisely what US aggression in the Middle East and elsewhere is all about.

Throughout its 40-year history, the Islamic Republic proved it’s a peacemaker, not a warmaker like the US, NATO, Israel and their imperial partners.

Separately according to US media, the Pentagon is deploying another 3,500 troops to the Middle East, likely to Iraq or nearby — adding to 60,000 or more already in the region.

Their presence has nothing to do with protecting US or regional security, everything to do with pursuing its destructive imperial interests —featuring endless wars of aggression and other hostile actions against nonthreatening sovereign states.

Assassinating Soleimani and Muhandis by the Trump regime, national heroes in their countries, redoubtable anti-terror fighters, opened the gates of hell against US personnel in the region.

Henceforth they’re more reviled, unwanted, and unsafe than earlier.

According to Reuters, Iraqi Shiite political officials called for US forces in the country to be expelled.

Iraqi PM Mahdi said the following:

“The targeted assassination of an Iraqi commander is a violation of the agreement. It can trigger a war in Iraq and the region,” adding:

“It is a clear violation of the conditions of the US presence in Iraq. I call on the parliament to take the necessary steps” — meaning legislation demanding US forces leave the country.

Last year, Soleimani challenged US hostile actions against Iran, saying:

The Islamic Republic has “power and capabilities in the region. (The US knows) how powerful we are in asymmetrical warfare. Come, we are waiting for you,” adding:

“You know that a war would mean the loss of all your capabilities. You may start the war, but we will be the ones to determine its end.”

Hostile Trump regime actions against Iran and Iraq virtually assure more to come, both countries to respond appropriately as they see fit.

Tinderbox Middle East conditions the Trump regime escalated could explode into an uncontrollable firestorm ahead.

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Award-winning author Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at [email protected]. He is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG)

His new book as editor and contributor is titled “Flashpoint in Ukraine: US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III.”

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.

Featured image is from Eureka Street