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U.S. and Middle East tensions rise Jonathan Bigio-Vargas
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Top: Shiite Muslims hold pictures of slain top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani to pay him tribute during a candle light vigil in Islamabad Jan. 8, 2020. Iran fired a volley of missiles late on Jan. 7 at Iraqi bases housing US and foreign troops in Iraq, the Islamic republic's first act in its promised revenge for the US killing of a top Iranian general. photo with permission Getty Images/TNS; Bottom: Screen grab of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in a propaganda video in an undisclosed location, released on April 29, 2019. photo with permission Abaca Press/TNS
The Middle East has seen a lot of activity in the past few months with several U.S. enemies killed. In early October 2019, President Trump announced that he wanted to pull American troops out of northern Syria. This caused a lot of debate because many people feel that the humanitarian crisis going on there requires outside intervention. According to Social Studies teacher Mr. Pablo Gomez, Trump promised to physically remove American soldiers out of dangerous foreign places. He is trying to keep his campaign promise of bringing U.S. troops home. There are many people in this country who believe that it is not good for the U.S. to be the policemen of the world and that our men shouldn’t even be over there.. However, by pulling out of Syria, we are leaving an ally unprotected. A group of people called Kurds live in the northeastern part of Syria and eastern part of Turkey. With the death of more than 10,000 Kurds, we have been supporting them with ground and air support for years. By pulling out of the region, we are leaving the Kurdish people open to genocide by several countries. In the midst of the controversy over this decision, Trump approved a mission that resulted in the death of ISIS founder Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi in Syria. After airstrikes took out ISIS forces, U.S. troops surrounded and attacked Al-Baghdadi’s compound. They evacuated some people who were willing to leave, but Al-Baghdadi continued to fight and eventually set off a suicide vest killing himself and two children. The compound was later destroyed with drones so that it could not be used as a shrine. While the death of Al-Baghdadi is a step in the right direction for getting rid of ISIS, it didn’t take long for a successor to be named: Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Quraishi. In January, Trump approved a drone strike against General Qassem Soleimani, the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. The guard is a very large military force within the Islamic Republic, very loyal, very well trained and very well funded. Gomez equates Soleimani’s position as military Surrounded by Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo as well as the Joint Chiefs of Staff, President Donald Trump delivers a statement in the Grand Foyer of the White House, in response to Iran firing more than a dozen ballistic missiles at two Iraqi military bases housing US troops on Jan. 8, 2020 in Washington, D.C. The attacks came the night before in response to the United States drone strike that killed top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani. US and Iraqi sources said there were no known casualties. photo with permission Abaca Press/TNS
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leader with one of America’s joint chiefs of staff. He was not seen as a crazy terrorist, but a military general. Iran supports Shia militias around the Middle East with training and guidance. “[Soleimani] was very active and very influential in most of the Shia sect part of the Muslim Middle East,” Gomez said. Because of his leadership, he has been a target since George W. Bush was president in 2007. The idea would be to “cut the head off the snake” and stop some of the attacks. According to NBC News, Trump signed the order to kill Soleimani after Iran attacked an Iraqi base in Kirkuk that killed a U.S. contractor and wounded American soldiers and Iranian-backed militia stormed the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. After Soleimani’s death, Iran struck bases in Iraq that had American forces, but no soldiers were killed. Instead of striking again, Trump decided to try to deescalate the military conflict and imposed new sanctions against Iran.
