If President Donald Trump thinks that just killing Iranian general Qasem Suleimani is enough to stop his plans, a Middle East expert has some bad news for him.
Suleimani was killed by an American airstrike at the Baghdad airport on Thursday night after Trump gave the order from Mar-a-Lago without consenting Congress or informing the White House.
Trump and his cronies have been claiming ever since that Suleimani’s death makes the world safer. But that’s not the case at all, according to Middle East expert Vali Nasr, a professor of international studies and Iranian-American.
During an appearance on MSNBC, host David Gura inquired about what might come next in the wake of Suleimani’s death.
“How much of this is about Qasem Suleimani?” Gura began. “How much is this about what he did and who he was as a person? Do things continue on course, or in pace with the successor in place?”
And Trump won’t like what Nasr had to say, and the American people should certainly take his words seriously.
Nasr pointed out that not only will Suleimani’s plans remain in play, but he could also end up being replaced by someone much worse.
“Yes, it will,” Nasr responded. “That actually sort of undermines Secretary Pompeo and President Trump’s argument that eliminating Suleimani would do away with some imminent threat that was happening. Suleimani was an iconic figure, a known figure in Iran and the West, but the force and revolutionary guard is a military organization. There are layers of commanders under him. If he had planned anything, those plans are already in and assassinating him does not change that.”
“There would always be another commander to succeed him even if he died of natural causes,” Nasr continued. “The next person may be far nastier and more difficult to deal with. Iran’s regional ambition is not going away and the United States did not eliminate any imminent threat, but actually created imminent threats for itself by this act.”
Here’s the video via YouTube:
In short, Trump did not make the world safer by taking out Suleimani. Instead, he made things worse and more unpredictable. Whoever replaces Suleimani could be a hardliner who will work to kill Americans at any cost. Killing Suleimani could even have the effect of making the Quds force he led work harder to execute any plans he had. If anything, Iran may be more dangerous now that Suleimani is dead. And any blood spilled from here on out is on Trump’s hands.
Featured Image: YouTube screenshot
