The Laughing Wolf

Qasem Soleimani (Suleimani) was a “revered military leader” only to a very select few. To the rest of the world, including many in his own country, he was a feared man who engaged in killings and terror around the world — particularly in the Middle East. He was directly and personally responsible for deaths and injuries to our troops and support personnel.

I shed no tears for his death. In fact, I smiled. If where he was killed is where I think it is, there may even be a touch of the poetic in the justice that has been meted out. For all that I did say a prayer for his soul (I suspect it needs far more prayers than I can give), I will smoke a cigar today at some point for the fact that he is gone.

The usual suspects have their panties in a twist, screaming about how “oh god oh god we’re all going to die” because President Trump gave the Iranians the business end of a Hellfire (oh, I hope it was, adds to the poetic aspect) instead of pallets of cash which Soleimani has used to spread misery and death around the Middle East, Africa, and elsewhere. To Congressman Schitt and all the other desperate pearl clutchers in the lace panty brigade, I offer the immortal words of Commander Bialar Crais: “Tough Noogies!”

That said, alert levels at various locations in the U.S. and overseas have been raised. This is right and prudent, especially as the Mahdi Army has been reactivated, and there are some reports that it, along with Quds and others, have sleeper cells in the U.S. Iran will try to do something to strike back, and it is possible that sleeper cells in the U.S. may act on their own even if told not to do so. There are reports right now that PMF forces are massing in and around Baghdad. There are also reports of additional strikes of some sort in and around Baghdad. Maybe the two are connected… There are also some interesting movements of military aircraft underway. Lots of open-source intel out there, but as with official intel reports, the fun lies in trying to separate out the 99 percent that is bullshit from the 1 percent that is gold.

My take is: ignore the pearl clutchers and the bug-out because Armageddon is here types, be alert, and celebrate two victories.

First, a mastermind of terror is dead. The media won’t cover it, but you can find out a lot about him and what he has done via the blogs and other experts. Think I may even raise a drink along with smoking a cigar, now that I think about it.

Second, celebrate that American Leadership, political and military, looked to the ghosts of the Rough Rider and Reagan rather than to the failed shades of Jimmy Carter, Obama, and Hillary. The Baghdad embassy was defended and reinforced, as President Trump did not do like his predecessor and go to bed and then to a fundraiser. Nor did he blame what happened on a movie that no one had ever heard of, and had jack shit to do with what happened. Iran was warned there was a price to be paid, and they learned that there was a high and personal price to be paid. One wonders if they have thought about what the next level will be, and how personal it could be made. Also, give thanks that the leadership apparently does already have next steps planned and ready to go.

What we have now is not Desert One; it is not Benghazi; and, it is not the start of Armageddon — at least not for us. Iran can (and often does) do something incredibly stupid. That said, I’ve noticed that President Trump has almost always gone for pointed, personal, and somewhat surgical responses. He makes points, very strongly and at a high cost for a regime that is in dire economic straights and is facing an unprecedented level of unrest from major sections of its population. The Iranian regime is more than brittle, it can (and hopefully will) shatter at the right blow or series of blows.

For all that they want Armageddon (to bring about the return of the Hidden Imam), the leadership of Iran is not in a position to make it happen themselves other than on a limited scale. So long as no major power joins them, this will remain true. Fact is, they want to survive so as to welcome the Hidden Imam. What scares them right now is that at home and abroad, they see the signs of their own mortality. That may cause them to do something stupid, truly and epically stupid; but, it will not be the Armageddon they seek.

Stay tuned. I’m hoping that the little list that seems to exist has some of the same names as mine. I have to admit, it would be nice to see justice done, even if long delayed. Soleimani is the latest and greatest on that list, and the world is much improved by his departure. Now if some others will join him…