SALVATION WITH SOLEIMANI

Three major things happened in December of the previous years i.e. one, the trailer of Netflix series on Anti-Christ "Messiah" shocked the world and angered many fans; two, President Trump was impeached for allegedly utilizing his presidential authorities to damage the reputation of his rival Joe Biden with sword made in Ukraine; three, a US civilian contractor was killed in Iraq and his death might have triggered the third real-life PUBG marry-go-round the world has ever seen (I mean World War).

On December 27 of the year 2019 CE, a singular American Air Base, recognized by K-1 and located in Kirkuk province of Iraq, was attacked by some 30 rockets. Six people were injured as a result of the hostile activity, four of which were American military servicemen. A civilian contractor died. American government blamed Kata'ib Hizbullah (different from the famous Lebanese one), a subgroup of a much larger Iran-backed Iraq-based Shiite militia Hashd al-Sh'ubi (Popular Mobilization Forces), for the attacks, an accusation the alleged military organization has denied.

Hashd al-Sh'ubi, anglicized and abbreviated as PMF, emerged during the Iraqi Civil War and was instrumental in the Syrian Civil war during which this paramilitary organization fought on Assad's side against the rebels. These troops include some 40 subgroups one of which is Kata'ib Hizbullah. PMF is headed by Falih Faysal Fahad al-Fayyad, an Iraqi politician who personally declared his troopers were essential in the war against ISIL. Though he has been declared an enemy of the state by US, he had been a guest of the President Obama at the White House and US Defense Secretary Mark Esper has also honored him with a meeting just a few months ago in secret. Fayyad's second-in-command was Abu Mahdi al-Mohandis who also serves as the leader of Kata'ib.

Kata'ib has been designated as a terrorist organization by United States, United Arab Emirates, and - you're not going to believe it! - Japan. Being founded in the beginning of the twenty-first century CE by al-Mohandis - an Iraqi-born and Iraqi-died politician who also held Iranian nationality but was sentenced to death by a Kuwaiti court in absentia in 2015 CE for 1983 Bombings (on French and American embassies) - Kata'ib has served on front grounds against ISIL by driving them out of Iraq and crushing their strongholds in Syria. Trained and funded by Iran's Quds Force, this militia has strong ties both in Iran and Lebanon. But they were thrown under the bus for K-1 Air Base attacks after which US retaliated and attacked Kata'ib headquarters.

On December 29, US targeted Kata'ib headquarters in Iraq and Syria. These attacks resulted in the death of 25 men and wounded more than 50 people. While Bahrain and Israel supported the airstrikes, Iraq, Iran and Hezbollah condemned the US intervention and highlighted the innocence claimed by Kata'ib. Abu Mahdi al-Mohandis threatened US with violence against American military servicemen on Iraqi soil. On the other hand, Iraq's former and caretaker Prime Minister declared a national mourning period. It was also reported that the PM was informed by US of their plans to target militia headquarters but the PM has objected against these decisions in strong words.

On December 31, the US embassy at Baghdad was attacked by a violent mob which included Kata'ib militants and PMF supporters after a funeral ceremony had been attended by them in respect to the fallen Shiite soldiers. The protest lasted until the New Year Day and then was dispersed after a call was issued by PMF leaders to withdraw from the Green Zone. Nobody was killed and aside from some protesters, there were no reports of any injuries either. US and Israel blamed Iran for provoking the attack with Iranian Supreme Leader (and kinda dictator!) Ayatollah Khamenei's warning that any sort of American retaliation against Iran for the protests will be swiftly dealt with.

US did retaliated and, on January 3, certain Shiite military leaders died in a target killing at Baghdad. A convoy that was traveling near Baghdad International Airport was attacked by a drone and ten top-profile casualties were recorded including Qasem Soleimani and al-Mohandis. Qasim Soleimani was an Iranian military officer who served as a major-general in Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and the commander of Quds Force. His death was the issue that has escalated the hostility between US and Iran and has probably signaled the commencement of another major battle in Middle East.

It must be noted that Presidents Bush and Obama both have entertained and then rejected the plan to assassinate Soleimani for he was such an important figure in Middle East that his murder was supposed to bring destructive war in the region. However, Trump, before the White House was blackened by the arrival of his "green shoes", had argued in favor of Soleimani's killing. It is speculated that Trump actually gave go-ahead to Soleimani's assassination plan because (I) he didn't to look weak in public and (II) he wished to appear before American citizens as a national hero for doing what previous Presidents lacked the balls to do. In 2015, an Israeli plan to assassinate Soleimani was exposed by US to Iran druing Obama administration. It can be stated as well that Trump was motivated by his Israeli allies to finally put an end to the Iranian snake and uproot its teeth. The very same day when Soleimani met his tragic end, US urged its citizens to leave Iraq immediately and even UK asked the Englishmen to limit their visits to Iraq and Iran. January 4 was also a bad day for PMF when US targeted more members of the militia in Iraq.

Aftermath of Soleimani is something that most of the Internet users became aware of. World War 3 became the first meme to circulate social media in 2020 CE. United Nations special rapporteur condemned the American attack on Soleimani by calling it unlawful and extrajudicial because it violated international human rights.

In Iran, a three-day mourning session has been declared by Khamenei as a gesture of respect for the murdered general. President Rouhani has swore to avenge Soleimani's assassination and the world is looking forward to see Iran's next move against US. As the flag waving above the Mosque of Jamkaran was colored red as a signal of battle, the global Shiite Muslim community has promised not to let Qasem Soleimani die in vain.

On the other hand, Trump tweeted a picture of American flag just minutes before US officially claimed responsibility for the assassination with Bolton and Pompeo congratulating Americans on the death of a terrorist. VP Mike Pence showed the symptoms of political craziness by accusing Soleimani of being somehow involved n 9/11. His accusations were met with contempt and ridicule by most viewers who accused him of brainwashing against and shit-storming about the Iranian general. Reasonably enough, Democrats opposed the attack not because they didn't consider Soleimani as a threat to American writ in Middle East but because Trump's decision to kill a high-profile Iranian general was synonymous with a declaration of war against a country that had on multiple occasions promised to burn US and Israel to the ground. Also, why didn't Trump ask for congressional approval before he allowed Pentagon to conduct such important and game-changing a strategy! It must not come with surprise that, in December, five Pentagon officers have resigned in a single week. Maybe they somehow failed to comprehend the Trumpian logic behind killing the Iranian shogun and then patiently look out for Shiite retaliation.

Those countries which condemned Soleimani's assassination included Iran (obviously, duh!), Iraq, Syria, Venezuela (US failed to push them inside another US-funded war-hole) and Russia.

Those countries which applauded Soleimani's assassination included US, Israel, Italy (the Opposition), Saudi-backed Yemen and a hesitant Brazil.

Now, as Iranian hackers are hacking American websites and Trump is issuing more warnings via Twitter to damage 52 different locations in Iran, a threat which is being labelled as a war crime by some people. Iraqi Parliament has called for a withdrawal of American troops from their country and the world has all eyes on Ayatollah Khamenei. As we enter the second week of this year, Australia and Amazon are burning, Toy Benn's 1998 speech has resurfaced and the humanity is shivering at the prospect of another deadly battle in the Middle East which would probably open the doors to a global bloodshed.