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The US and Western partners are contemptuous of peace, stability, equity, justice, and the rule of law — waging war on humanity by hot and other means.
Where is the outrage in the West over the Trump regime’s assassination of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani and Iraqi deputy PMU leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis?
Under international law, killing them was Trump regime aggression.
US Supreme Court Justice/Chief Nuremberg Prosector Robert Jackson called aggression “the supreme international crime against peace…the greatest menace of our times.”
Time and again, I called the preemptive attack by one nation on another the highest of high crimes. All other wrongdoing pales in comparison.
Is greater Middle East war coming after Trump regime assassinations? Is this what its hardliners want?
Is Trump on board for hot war on Iran? Rhetoric isn’t policy. So for now take his bombast with a grain of salt, tweeting:
“Let this serve as a WARNING that if Iran strikes any Americans, or American assets, we have targeted 52 Iranian sites…some at a very high level & important to Iran & the Iranian culture, and those targets, and Iran itself, WILL BE HIT VERY FAST AND VERY HARD. The USA wants no more threats.”
Surely Iran won’t let Soleimani’s assassination go unanswered. It’ll respond in its own way at times of its own choosing — likely asymmetrically.
Clearly Iran, Iraq, and their allies want greater regional war avoided, notably not Russia and China.
On Saturday, Sergey Lavrov and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi discussed Middle East developments.
According to Russia’s Foreign Ministry, they “particularly focused on the aftermath of the US air strike at a Baghdad airport that resulted in deaths, including the assassination of Qassem Soleimani,” adding:
They called it “unacceptable to use force in violation of the UN Charter and that all countries must respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of other states” — stressing that “unlawful (US) actions aggravated the situation in the region.”
They and their governments “will take joint steps (for) de-escalation.”
On the same day, Lavrov and his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif spoke by phone.
They called Soleimani’s assassination “a grave violation of the fundamental standards of international law and does not contribute to resolving the complicated issues in the Middle East. Instead, it will trigger a new round of escalation in the region.”
The question is how to prevent things from spinning out of control while making the US pay a price for its aggression.
Asymmetrical and diplomatic approaches on the world stage are wisest, Iran taking the high road in sharp contrast to US contempt for peace and the rule of law.
Over time, its hostile actions make more enemies than allies, weakening the country while others are rising.
Its endless wars of aggression and by other means hasten its decline.
Like all other empires in history, it’s self-destructing by its arrogance, high crimes on the world stage, and unwillingness to change.
Some of the latest regional developments are as follows:
Iranian IRGC General Hossein Salami issued a statement, saying “the assassination of martyred General Qassem Soleimani will be followed by a strategic revenge which will definitely put an end to the US presence in the region,” adding:
Iran’s response will come “in a vast geography throughout time and with determining impacts.”
On January 4, the Pentagon’s Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve reported that Iraq’s “international zone took indirect fire that landed outside of coalition facilities and potentially harmed Iraqi civilians.”
On the same day, Saudi Al-Arabiya television said mortar fire struck areas near the Iraqi security staff facility in Nineveh province.
Sources in Tehran said US warplanes terror-bombed Al-Bukamal, Syria in Deir Ezzor province where Iranian military advisors are located.
On Saturday, rockets struck close to the US Baghdad embassy in the heavily fortified Green Zone.
On the same day, other rockets struck near the Pentagon’s Balad airbase north of Baghdad.
Southfront reported that “Shia groups in Iraq may be on the verge of launching a new insurgency against US troops in response to” Pentagon attacks on the country.
Former CIA counterterrorism/intelligence officer Philip Giraldi called Soleimani’s assassination by the Trump regime “the long-awaited beginning of the end of America’s imperial ambitions.”
US war on Iran by other means turned hot. “(I)t will not end well” for the US, said Giraldi.
As of now, the region is more greatly destabilized by what happened in the past week.
Giraldi: “No American diplomat, soldier or even tourists in the region should consider him or herself to be safe, quite the contrary. It will be an ‘open season’ on Americans.”
Calling Soleimani’s assassination a “criminal” act of state terrorism by the US, “tantamount to…war,” Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif said:
“There will be harsh revenge. Where? When? How? I do not know, but there definitely there will be some retaliation.”
Separately, a US surveillance drone was reportedly downed by Iraqi Popular Mobilization Units in Anbar province west of Baghdad.
Explosions were reported around Al-Kindi base in Mosul, Iraq where US forces are based. Iraqi Kata’ib Hezbollah warned its forces to stay clear of US bases.
Reuters reported one or more explosions heard in Baghdad. In Oom, Iran, a blood-red flag, symbolizing a call for avenging Soleimani’s assassination, was raised atop the Jamkaran mosque.
Other red flags were raised elsewhere in Iran. Mass outrage over aggressive US airstrikes continues as Iranians mourn the loss of redoubtable General Soleimani.
Will Trump’s aggression on Iraq and Iran ignite the Middle East powder keg more than already?
Near a boiling point, things could explode if US state terror on both countries escalates.
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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 American Herald Tribune
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