Trump Removes Iran’s Top Military Leader – What Happens Next?
I’ve written previous articles (here and here) about President Trump’s approach to military interventions in the Middle East. After several key Iranian military leaders were killed last night, some are wondering if we’re looking at a protracted war with Iran. I do not think that’s a likely scenario. Let me explain why.
Donald Trump was elected on a foreign policy of “peace through strength”—a motto he borrowed from Ronald Reagan. Reagan realized that the key to ending the Cold War was displaying sufficient military strength and the will to use it in a way that would cause the Soviet Union to fold. Reagan’s strategy worked. He avoided a nuclear exchange by a demonstration of strength.
Barack Obama counseled Trump prior to his inauguration, saying the most difficult challenge he would face was avoiding war with North Korea. Trump asked Obama if he had talked with Chairman Kim. Obama said he had not because Kim was a dictator. Trump was astounded that Obama never even tried to speak with Kim. He called Obama’s policy “stupid.”
Trump opened communications with Kim, likely through a backchannel and also on Twitter. Trump’s tweets were perceived by many as foolish.
I spoke with President Moon of South Korea last night. Asked him how Rocket Man is doing. Long gas lines forming in North Korea. Too bad!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 17, 2017
Why would Kim Jong-un insult me by calling me “old,” when I would NEVER call him “short and fat?” Oh well, I try so hard to be his friend – and maybe someday that will happen!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 12, 2017
In this tweet, POTUS taunted Kim about his ‘nuclear button”
North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un just stated that the “Nuclear Button is on his desk at all times.” Will someone from his depleted and food starved regime please inform him that I too have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger & more powerful one than his, and my Button works!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 3, 2018
Pundits insisted Trump’s insults and taunting would only lead to further hostility, and possibly, war. But Trump had applied heavy economic sanctions to North Korea which were making life difficult for Kim.
Sanctions and “other” pressures are beginning to have a big impact on North Korea. Soldiers are dangerously fleeing to South Korea. Rocket man now wants to talk to South Korea for first time. Perhaps that is good news, perhaps not – we will see!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2018
Although Obama had never even tried to negotiate peace with North Korea, in June of 2018, Trump met with Kim in Singapore to discuss denuclearization. Trump’s tactics may be unconventional, but they get results.
During his bid for the White House, Trump blasted previous Presidents for the wars they had started. During his first two years in office, Trump allowed military leaders to run their game plan, but when it was clear they had no intention of leaving Afghanistan or Syria, he made personnel changes and announced that our troops would be coming home. Trump has signaled to everyone who will listen, his intent to get us out of the endless wars in Asia and the Middle East.
This philosophy applies to Iran, but Iran presents a unique set of problems. The Obama administration entered into the disastrous Iran deal, which allowed Iran to develop nuclear weapons covertly. (Benjamin Netanyahu exposed Iran’s secret weapons program in April of 2018).
Iran wages violence in the region via the use of proxies. Initial reports on the missile attack on a Saudi oil field in September did not connect it to Iran, but evidence later showed it was an Iranian-backed operation. The attack on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad was initially reported as not being connected to Iran, but later, the State Department said it had proof that those who attacked the embassy were an Iranian proxy group. Iran’s highest-ranking military leader, Qassem Soleimani was killed in an airstrike at Baghdad International Airport last night. If Iran was not behind the recent attack on the U.S. embassy, what was Soleimani doing in Baghdad?
To maintain a strategic advantage over his opponents, Donald Trump does not reveal his plans in advance, but he will signal his intentions to people to pose a threat.
To Iranian President Rouhani: NEVER, EVER THREATEN THE UNITED STATES AGAIN OR YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE. WE ARE NO LONGER A COUNTRY THAT WILL STAND FOR YOUR DEMENTED WORDS OF VIOLENCE & DEATH. BE CAUTIOUS!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 23, 2018
Barack Obama threatened Bashar al-Assad with a “red line in the sand” over the use of chemical weapons. When chemical weapons were used, and Obama did nothing, it signaled to Iran and every other rogue nation that Obama was a paper tiger who would not hold them accountable for acts of violence.
Trump’s personal decision to order the airstrike on Iran’s highest military leader signaled to Iran (and other rogue leaders) that if they believe they can continue using acts of terror against the U.S and its allies there will be painful consequences. That’s what it looks like when the “strength” component of a “peace through strength” foreign policy is applied in real life.
President Trump has demonstrated no interest in starting another war. He knows the Iranian people are being held captive by corrupt political leaders but regime change is not a primary objective. His primary goal is a negotiated peace agreement. The use of economic sanctions are intended to break the will of Iran’s leaders and cause them to agree to peace talks.
If Iran’s leaders act foolishly and take military action against the U.S. we should expect a swift response from President Trump. Militarily, Iran is no match for the U.S. and Iran has few allies. Most nations in the region are friendly to the U.S. including Israel and Saudi Arabia. Russia might be expected to help Iran, but Putin may see them as a liability and refrain from becoming involved. NATO would have little choice but to support the U.S. I would expect any military intervention in Iran to be over quickly.
Please pray for President Trump and his team to have the wisdom to negotiate these events with godly wisdom and for peace to finally come to the Middle East.
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PM
Spot on as usual. It may be that all these thugs work for the out of control CIA. But of course DT can’t mention this just yet.
We all value your Devine backed clarity.
I do what I can to spread the word to my long term friends, many of which are asleep.
Love. CJM
Well, PM, not only did Corey use one of my favourite lines (Spot on), but also essentially already made my intended comments. So I shall simply say “What Corey said!”
I think you are spot on Dave. Nice article.
I commend Trump’s efforts to bring peace to the region and I do hope for some semblance of peace among all those nations, but in my heart I know that true peace will NOT come from MAN but only through Jesus’s second coming and HiS Kingdom here on Earth. But, in the meantime, I do pray for relative peace as it will bring some stability to the world as well as save the lives of so many innocent victims.
Very wise assessment, also well written, of the situation, PM.
“Korth Korea” is that a Q message :). Thanks Dave for your perspective.
I think that this was a totally misguided action and will not accomplish Trumps aim of bringing home troops. He has recently deployed 4000 more to Iraq and has bombed militia who were ridding Syria and Iraq of Daesh and Isis factions, set up by your country.It is my contention that because he is a total supporter of Israel American troops will always be in the Middle East at the behest of the War criminal Netanyahu.
I have followed your comments for quite a time and generally agree with you but I fail to see how this action is in any way a christian way of acting. It was in fact a weak cowardlly act by a supposed great country and great man. I look forward to how Q squares this one.
Bernan, your comments are lacking wisdom especially the one about Netanyahu is a War Criminal. PM is correct and I never gave it a thought until he mentioned why was Soleimani in Iraq? I agree with this article 100%.
Hi David I would not say that you are unwise, just perhaps ill informed about the situation in the middle east. Maybe if you got another point of view you may see what I am saying in a different light. Perhaps you may like to check out presstv,ir and get the other side’s point of view best regards
being cristian, doesnt mean you have to be a welcoming doormat and not defend yourself, where are you from ?
A wise assessment, and I can’t see this getting passed over by Iran without at least a little resistance. In response to those that think such actions against Iran are irresponsible, all I can say is that evil prevails when good men do nothing.
As a member of the general population we are only privy to a very limited amount of data as to what is really going on. There has to be volumes that we don’t know and what little we hear is filtered and twisted until we are left very little that we can rely as truth.
Then there is the largest factor that gets little consideration. Where is God in all this. IF one is to believe in God at all, you must believe he is working in all this, and ultimately the outcome, whatever it looks like to us, will be his doing.
Personally I think the insurmountable obstacles Trump has came through were only a testimony as to God’s intervention. We scratch our heads in amazement as to why God would put a man like Trump at the helm of such a monumental task.
Do a little research, God has many times before selected men , that seemed at the time hardly qualified and very questionable, but God in his infinite wisdom never missed the right choice.
We all stand in awe at what Trump accomplishes, his unorthodox methology and his his less than eloquent comments. Perhaps God loves to keep us awestruck, perhaps to get our attention, but always to prove he is in control.
We are in a battle of biblical proportions, most of which is unfolding beyond what we know.
The forces of evil know scripture, and know God will prevail and they have already lost.
So the overall outcome is known but there remains one variable. How many souls will Satan take with him when he falls.
The only way Satan can inflict any pain upon God is to take a soul. Every soul is of equal importance to God, equally painfully to lose.
This battle is not to win or restore nations, but millions of souls are at stake.
God will fight the battle against the forces of evil for we are I’ll equipped.
Our job, our contribution is to pray.
Bernan, to look at the world from any point of view which you are not privy to the in’s and out’s and make comments which are primarily opinion, it makes you look foolish.
Every person who is a soldier and has engaged the enemy combatant and killed them is considered a war criminal, Netanyahu has been called one before, and worse. Your opinion shows your prejudice and lack of wisdom.
You sound like a NeverTrumper with mixing up Christian action and beliefs. President Trump is the Commander in Chief, it is his role and responsibility to keep the citizens of the US safe. That is a Christian virtue, No? By killing an enemy who has not only threatened Americans but has developed EID’s and many weapons and used them to kill hundreds, if not thousands of people, the enemy now has to regroup and rethink their strategy. This is war. Whether we like it or not.
We serve the Lord of Hosts, He is a military commander, and I believe President Trump knows that very well.
I seems to me that you are entirely self absorbed I was under the impression that the Lord said love you neighbour as yourself, and that God commanded us not to kill. America and Britain embarked on an illegal war in 2002 which has led to millions of deaths of innocent men women and children,admittedly they were Arabs and of colour but they are no less human than the average white american, and these offending countries America and Britain and others are still oppressing and killing people everyday under the pretext of wiping out the invented terrorism of former President Bush. The way to solve this schizm is for America to withdraw all forces from countries where their presence causes problems where their presence is not and never had been requested and leave them to self determination and maybe restoration of peace. If you profess to be a Christian I can only say that your views smack of the highest hypocrisy. Recommend the link presstv.ir it may give you food for thought.
Here’s the deal. Foreign Aid has been going into off shore accounts of the Deep State. The countries who were to receive the Aid agree to it, because they are buying our government. The countries get favors. Now, Iran the same. Think of the billions Obama sent. Made a lot of Deep State officials richer. (Yes, some was used to fund terrorism). So what else did Iran get for lining the pockets of our officials? Safety. Our troops occupied but didn’t do serious damage. By design. Obama, Kerry and Pelosi (the ones we know of) made trips to meet with Iranian government. Why? To leak WH plans and policies and to assure Iran that they (the Deep State) had their backs. And that is the real reason everyone is so upset. The Deep State because they were exposed. Our President made fools of them by acting without informing them (so they could warn Iran). And the Iranian government is furious because they counted on info from the Deep State. Because they had bought off the Deep State for protection. And the Deep State didn’t protect them.
I’m not sure i follow your argument, America has submitted Iran to a decade of sanctions bringing misery and hardship to all of its population. Iran has never waged war with any country and its philosophy is to only retaliate if attacked. You say that you supplied funds for terrorists and that you haven’t done serious damage when occupying these countries,. I beg to differ as Iraq Lebanon and Syria Afghanistan have been reduced to rubble thanks to your foriegn policy. Iran was impervious to the deep state which are behind these wars in order to profit from the sale of arms and reconstruction of the countries decimated. Iran has abided by all the conditions of the nuclear agreement agreed after Five years of negotiation with the Five major super powers until the president withdrew arbitarily from the deal and imposed tighter sanction on them and tried to force other countries to stop dealing with them. It is heartless and unreasonable. If you want to search out the deep state turn your gaze to the zionist faction that is running your country and the UK..
As always a clear and thoughtfully written assessment…rings of truth to my ears!!
Following Trump’s killing of the Iranian military leaders the Democrats and international press are up in arms. Compare this reaction to the carefully planned 1943 assassination of top Japanese admiral Isoroku Yamamoto in the Solomon Islands during the Second World War. The American aviators who ambushed Yamamoto’s plane were later celebrated as heroes. Yamamoto was an early champion of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
A friend on facebook just sent this to me: Just listened to a phone call interview between a German indipendent analyst and a representative of the Iranians. There will be a retaliation against U.S.A./Israel or one of the two.
For the missile attack on the Baghdad airport.
I commented: I’m quite sure Trump got all his inside info from Israel, just like we got all our inside info from Israel when we started the war with Iraq, where there later turned out to be NO weapons of mass destruction. It is easy to lure leaders to certain locations to “justify” actions based on projected intent, and it is easy to use fake comms to propagandize intent. Israel is not above infiltration and betrayal, look at the USS Liberty.
It’s Trumps way of saying to the Mullahs, we know where you sleep at night and If you want to keep going down this road, it won’t end good for you. You take out a Pawn, we take out your Rook and Knight. We have our targets on your Queen and King. Want to keep playing?
To the Communist Socialist Democratic Party any enemy of their enemy is a friend no matter what.
The Socialists are a National Security threat now and their subversive ideas and tactics are Treason and Subversion.
The President is signalling to those awake of his intentions concerning them and all of the other Traitors agreeing with and enabling them.
It’s about to get ugly for them.
KEEP AMERICA GREAT.
What a thoughtful piece. Thank you, Dave.
I was praying most of the day, not knowing how to process this attack, knowing I didn’t have any information. I hope you’re correct in your assessment. I was pleased with how POTUS has handled N.K.. I’m sure he acted with top intelligence advice; and I hope with prayer and wisdom in this latest decision.
Thank you for shedding some light, from a perspective the near hysterical (fake) media and Dems aren’t addressing…. Not that I listen to them much :p it’s wise to know what enemies are saying, but more important to know the Truth!
Prayers for a blessed New Year (and Decade) for you and Denise, POTUS and family/Q Crew, USA,…
Thanks as always for your message. I don’t know enough about this to know if it’s good or bad in the long run, but i do see a lot of actions from Trump that I like and I’m grateful for them. I just keep observing and praying. My prayer is for anything Trump does that is in alignment with God’s righteousness will flourish and anything that is not will fall, for a group of wise counselors, and a surrendered heart to listen.
Amen! Praying in agreement with you, Mr. Bigbee…
???☝️?❤U2 and GO USA TEAM ??????
Thank you so much for the input and insight!
Trump was in a no win situation. If he did nothing, he would be labeled weak. If he chose action, he is labeled reckless. He said he would not have another Benghazi on his watch.. this was the decision.. to act, and protect American lives. I lift near-constant prayers for the strength and sustaining of OUR President’s spirit throughout the attacks and dissention created by His enemies. May the Ministering Spirits protect our POTUS, and his family, physically, mentally and spiritually.
Thank you, PM. Praying for God’s mercy and protection for our sons and daughters in harm’s way on foreign soil. ???
good
Thank you for your analysis. It is easy for us to sit back and play armchair quarterbacks when we are not privy to all of the available information and have no experienced in foreign affairs. That is why President Trump is the POTUS and we are not. I personally would not want someone in the Presidency who does not consider the safety and well being of his people first. What all of this has and is showing to all is how many people are willing to sell out the country and take the side of those who claim to want to kill us and then try.
Thank you PM. Appreciate your wise analysis. God Bless.
Here is a film on the growth of Christianity in Iran that you might like to see:
Sheep Among Wolves: Volume One
https://hitchhikeamerica.wordpress.com/2019/12/28/sheep-among-wolves/