The Final Call

Could American assassination, arrogance usher in Armageddon?

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Outside of Republican sycophants who see no wrong in any action taken by President Trump, many condemned the commander in chief’s decision to authorize a Jan. 1 drone strike that assassinated Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Quds Force, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy commander of the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces militias, protocol officer Mohammed Reda and others at the Baghdad Airport in Iraq.

Despite the bellicose declarations of the GOP, Israel’s applause, and criticism from military backing Democrats, America is closer to all-out war with the Islamic Republic of Iran than any time in 40 years. And, the president’s decision to kill a top Iranian official on Iraqi soil without notifying Iraqi leaders may kill a flagging friendship. Iraq’s political leaders can’t afford rebellion in the streets and passed a measure Jan. 5 calling for American forces to leave the country.

“We took action last night to stop a war, we did not take action to start a war.” How? The only certain thing seems to be Iran’s willingness to make good on her promise to respond to the martyrdom of Gen. Soleimani with “harsh retaliation.” And, while conventional wisdom is Iran may launch cyberattacks, strike U.S. allies in the Middle East, such as Saudi Arabia, or use proxies, these matters can quickly build with the slightest provocation able to spark a deadly conflagration. Late Jan. 3, reports emerged of an air strike against a pro-Iranian militia in Iraq.

The deadly drone strike at Baghdad’s airport came days after tit-for-tat clashes between America and Iran. Attacks on the U.S. embassy in Iraq came after U.S. airstrikes Dec. 29 that killed 25 members of Kataeb Hezbollah, an Iran-backed militia in Iraq, with the U.S. claiming it was retaliation for a militia rocket attack on an Iraqi base that killed an American contractor and others.

“We took action last night to stop a war, we did not take action to start a war.” Where is the proof the strike was needed at all? The Trump administration has literally told thousands of lies. According to Huff Post, “Trump as of Dec. 10 had told 15,413 untruths during his presidency, The Washington Post’s Fact Checker column reported on Monday. That’s an average of 14.6 lies for each of his 1,055 days in office.” What comes next for the administration and what is the end game? No one seems to know and some doubt the president knows himself. He has declared he wants to avoid war but created a possible all-out war scenario.

“We took action last night to stop a war, we did not take action to start a war.” What domestic politics are at play? The president is facing an embarrassing impeachment trial in the Senate. While he is unlikely to be removed from office, it does stain the official record for a man with a huge ego. Could that have played a role in the decision to attack? In 2011 and 2012, prior to the election, Mr. Trump predicted on YouTube, Twitter and media appearances that President Barack Obama would go to war with Iran to win the 2012 election. “Our President will start a war with Iran because he has absolutely no ability to negotiate,” Mr. Trump said in a November 2011 video on his YouTube channel, CNN reported. “ ‘He’s weak, and he’s ineffective,’ Trump added. ‘So I believe that he will attack Iran sometime prior to the election, because he thinks that’s the only way he can get elected.’ ” He made similar claims on the Sean Hannity radio show and other right wing programs.

“We took action last night to stop a war, we did not take action to start a war.” Not only were there questions about the Trump end game, but questions arose about whether the American act itself was legal. Iranians condemned the drone strike as an act of terror. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn. tweeted: “Here’s the thing - even if there was an ‘imminent attack’, it’s insane to argue that gives the President legal carte blanche to take any and all military actions. The action needs to be tailored to stop the imminent harm. There is no evidence this was.” “The justification for the assassination is to ‘deter future Iranian attacks’. One reason we don’t generally assassinate foreign political officials is the belief that such action will get more, not less, Americans killed. That should be our real, pressing and grave worry tonight,” he added in another tweet.

Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan, who has visited Iran twice in recent years, has continually urged the Muslim World to find a path of reconciliation and a way to end armed conflict. He has warned allowing outsiders to pit Sunni and Shiite Muslims against one another only results in disasters.

He has also been unflinching in warning American presidents to stop their warmongering in the Middle East, plots for regime change and assaults on Iran. An American war with Iran will be a disaster and it is a conflict the U.S. cannot win, Min. Farrakhan has warned. Such action could eventually result in the biblical global war of Armageddon, he has said.

“They’re trying to provoke Iran,” said Minister Farrakhan during a major address last summer in Chicago. “I would like to say to the president, Mr. President, it would not be a wise move for you because you’re already $23 trillion in debt and you don’t have any money to prosecute a war. So, if you don’t have the money to prosecute a war, the Federal Reserve is printing money every day. So, you will have to come to the Federal Reserve to borrow money that you don’t have to prosecute a war in a time when any little thing could cause the dollar to fall and stocks to fall.”

Min. Farrakhan has also told Blacks they should not join the armed forces and engage in any war for the United States, particularly a war with Iran.

“America’s about to go to war. And when she goes to war, she wants Black and Brown bodies. Now, you’re useful. They don’t give a doggone about how Black Lives Matter until they want to use Black Lives to accomplish their wicked ends,” he said.

We should listen to him.