The Death of General Solimani

The world was stunned with the death of Iranian General Solimani, and many are not sure how they are to react to his untimely demise.  His death came on the heels of an attack on the U.S. embassy in Baghdad.  Many believed that the Iranian-backed Shiite militias who worked up many to attack the embassy were attempting another Benghazi attack that left four Americans dead, including the American Ambassador Christopher Stephens.  Shortly after the militia forces were driven back, drones killed General Solimani and several other terrorist leaders near the Baghdad airport.  The question I had to ask myself was "What the leader of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard was doing in Iraq in the first place?"  Whatever his intentions were, they could not have been good.  

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard has been identified as a terrorist group by many nations and is directly linked to funding of Assad's repressive regime which for years has committed numerous atrocities, including dropping chemical gasses and barrel bombs on innocent civilians.  The Iran Revolutionary Guard is likewise engaged in funding and training Hezbollah militants, Hamas terrorists, Houthi rebels in Yemen, and insurgents in Iraq.  The Houthis were directly linked to the recent attacks on Saudi Arabia's major oil refineries at Abqaiq and Khurais.  Ex-Navy Seal turned Congressman Dan Crenshaw revealed that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard is directly responsible for the deaths hundreds of Americans in Iraq as they extensively trained Shiite militia to target Americans and coalition forces for years (Link to Video) and they were planning future attacks.  The Iranian Revolutionary Guard is not only linked to Houthi militias and the terrorist group Hezbollah (which have waged a series of brutal wars against Israel for decades and was directly responsible for the infamous Beirut bombings of 1983 that killed 241 U.S and 58 French military personnel), but has also directly funded and trained Hamas, which has launched a series of brutal wars against Israel.  Congressman Crenshaw confirmed that Solimani has been a force of destruction and death in the Middle East for decades.  

Basij Militiamen

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard is also directly involved in the recruitment and training of the Basij militias.  The Basij are essentially the "Iranian Gestapo" who have been responsible for the beatings, arrests, and death of religious minorities, regime dissidents, and women's rights activists throughout the nation.  Religious dissidents Maryam Rostampour and Marziyeh Amirizadeh confirmed that prior to their incarceration in the notorious Evin Prison for nearly a year that the Basij ransacked their apartment and seized all of their possessions as "evidence" of their crime.  Their crime was sharing the teachings of Christ with other Iranians.  

Even when prisoners are released, the Basij kept them under constant surveillance.  The Basij are also responsible for firing into crowds of Iranians who have launched many protests against the repressive regime over the years.  Numerous Iranian dissidents confirm that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard is not only linked to numerous terrorist groups, but they are the ones responsible for the arrest and executions of thousands of Iranians throughout the country.  They are the SS enforces who keep the Iranian people locked in a prison of fear and repression.  

Will the death of Solimani end the Revolutionary Guard?  I think the answer to that is no.  The assassination of SS leader Reinhard Heydrich did not stop the Final Solution, nor did it severely cripple the SS.  Many also rightfully fear retaliation.  When Heydrich was assassinated, it lead the Nazis to carry out massive retaliatory actions that ultimately claimed the lives of 1300 Czech civilians.  Many rightfully fear such retaliation and will wonder at the end of it all if the death of Solimani is worth the price that will eventually come.  Nevertheless, one cannot claim that Solimani was simply an "innocent victim of American aggression."  The Iranian Revolutionary Guard has been responsible for numerous actions of aggression and terrorism for decades.  Solimani's actions have led to a trail of blood that has extended throughout the Middle East, and it's quite clear that regardless of what the U.S. had or had not done, this regime would not have stopped their aggressive actions.  

Former President Obama attempted to buy off the regime, giving over $150 billion in aid which has done nothing to end the repression of the Iranian people.  Instead it simply enabled Iran to extend their nuclear program and increase their support of terrorism across the world.  So if we offer money and the hand of friendship only for the regime to continue chanting "Death to America," I think it's safe to say that regardless of what we do, this regime is going to hate us, keep supporting terrorism, and continue repressing their own people (Link to Video).  

The only way the crimes of the Nazis stopped was when they were removed from power, and that's the only way that Iran's crimes will come to an end.  Though neither the American public, nor the American leadership desire an all-out war against Iran, I think it's time that we remember the words echoed by James Madison during the Barbary Wars: "The United States while they wish for war with no nation, will buy peace with none."  


Sources:

Bahari, Maziar and Aimee Molloy.  Then They Came for Me: A Family’s Story of Love, Captivity, and Survival.  New York: Random House, 2011. 

Rostampour, Maryam & Marziyeh Amirizadeh.  Captive in Iran.  Atlanta: Tyndale House Publishers, 2013.