Are We on the Verge of a World War Three?
“I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.” – Albert Einstein.
Long before World War III was ever discussed, Albert Einstein warned us about the dangers of weapons of mass destruction. Today, these weapons are at the tip of political leaders’ fingers, and these leaders have been walking us towards a potential new conflict. The recent clash between Iran and the US justifies why discussions of World War III have been trending across the internet.
Conflicts between Iran and the US have been ongoing for several years now. They have concretized through trade sanctions, embargoes and travel bans. However, never has a confrontation between the two powers been as direct as it has been for the past days. After a US contractor was killed in Iraq in late December, President Trump ordered the taking out by drone of Iranian general Qasem Suleimani.
Suleimani had an important role during the Iraq War. This was a primary justification for the strike, along with the belief that he was, once again, planning to attack American soldiers and diplomats in Baghdad. President Trump called him “the number one terrorist in the world.” In his speech revealing the execution of Suleimani, Trump clearly stated that the decision to target the Iranian general was made to “end a war” and not start one.
However, for Iranians, Suleimani was more than just a top general. He had social and religious influence and a wide reputation as a strong military man among the Iranian people as well as neighboring populations, some of whom mythologized him. The general is seen as a hero in his home country, where thousands have been mourning his death. The significance of this execution cannot be overstated; it certainly did not go unnoticed by the Iranian government, which viewed this action as a blatant call to war. “Iran’s retaliation against America’s assassination of Soleimani will be harsh” said Mohsen Rezai, the Secretary of the Iranian Expediency Discernment council.
Legal experts have stated that an assassination cannot be justified by self-defense. “Trump is not the first president to carry out drone assassinations in violation of international law, but he has taken the practice to a new level of lawlessness,” stated Mary Ellen O’Connell, a professor at Notre Dame Law School. Many American politicians have also opposed Trump’s decision to kill the general, including Bernie Sanders, who stated that “this [situation] is a dangerous escalation that brings us closer to another disastrous war in the Middle East” and assimilated it to the catastrophically-miscalculated Iraq War. Former Vice President Joe Biden also commented, saying “Trump is dangerously incompetent and incapable of world leadership” and called out the president’s “reckless disregard for the consequences that would surely follow.”
On January 7th, Iran launched a series of missiles targeting US troops in Iraq. Iran not only confirmed the launch of these missiles but also code-named the operation “martyr Suleimani” and broadcasted images of the missiles on Iranian state television as evidence of the attack, claiming that tens of American had died, which is entirely false. This response fulfills promises of retaliation made from Iranian president Hassan Rouhani and supports claims that a war is igniting between the two countries.
One of the reasons why this situation can be compared to past world wars is that countries come in direct attack of one another without having to enter any of their territories. Iran would not want to hit the US on American territory. US troops located in Iraq thus make targeting the US much easier, logistically speaking. The issue, at this point, is whether or not any American service-people will be killed in the following days, if further retaliation there is, as the killing of Americans is a “red line” for Donald Trump. Iran having American blood on its hands will only escalate things further and little is known about what the US might do in response.