Gen. Q. Suleimani died in Baghdad along with a top militia leader enroute from the airport to a meeting where he was to meet with Iraqi leaders of opposition forces. The daylight strike came via an armed drone dispatched by American military units nearby. In interviews with media journalists, former American ambassador H. Crocker said that the general had American blood on his hands, had ordered the deaths of thousands of Syrians in the civil war in that country, and had been instrumental in the Iranian effort to spread its influence throughout the Middle East by projecting the use of military force wherever and whenever it pleased the supreme leader in Iran.
Iranian leaders vowed revenge as they would. The American president seemed reluctant to engage with Iran despite numerous provocations during the 3 years of his presidency. He demonstrated restraint when Iran sent missiles into Saudi oil production fields crippling the operations necessary for oil storage and extraction; he did not retaliate when Iran sent missiles into two oil tankers traversing the Persian Gulf; and he waited until 2 days ago after Iran sent missiles into a base that killed 2 American contractors. So Iran got what it wanted: an armed response to a stream of murderous acts. No one knows what type of response will come from the country run by a theocracy of religious fanatics who care little for the welfare of their own people. Condemned widely by other Arab countries in the region, Iran continues to agitate among them. In addition to supporting revolutionary groups, the Ayatollahs punish all opponents within its own borders.
Another response is in action by America in the form of 3,000 armed soldiers who will be sent immediately to Kuwait in case needed by forces already in the region. European governments are aware of the escalation as are China and Japan, two important customers of ME oil.
2020 is starting out as a pivotal year in this ongoing cesspool of human misery.
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