Why the World Should Thank Trump for Killing Soleimani

“In the event that one is not overly familiar with the past forty years of Iranian history, I will explain what I mean; Iran—over the past four decades—has perfected a playbook of deceit that is so effective that nearly anyone has the potential of falling for it.”

President Donald Trump’s remarks this morning in a live speech from the White House reiterated his support for the decisive action the United States took in eliminating “ruthless terrorist” Qasem Soleimani last week. As President Trump put it today: “Soleimani’s hands were drenched in both American and Iranian blood. He should have been terminated long ago. By removing Soleimani, we have sent a powerful message to terrorists: If you value your own life, you will not threaten the lives of our people.”

Although Iranian rockets were fired at United States airbases in Iraq in the early morning hours (local time) in retaliation for Soleimani’s death, President Trump remained on subject during his remarks today and asserted that the world is better off without Soleimani—and also, for that matter, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the ISIS leader killed in an American raid in October. However, the situation in Iran remains urgent.

One of the most important moments in Bryan Singer’s 1995 film The Usual Suspects is when the main character, the mysterious Keyser Söze, says: “The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.” This sums up the story of the current Iranian regime; among the most enduring outcomes of the 1979 Iranian Revolution was the birth of unparalleled propaganda and deception perpetrated by those in the Iranian regime.

In the event that one is not overly familiar with the past forty years of Iranian history, I will explain what I mean; Iran—over the past four decades—has perfected a playbook of deceit that is so effective that nearly anyone has the potential of falling for it. Even when a murderous, terroristic figure such as Qasem Soleimani is eliminated (an event the world truly benefits from), one sees an enormous amount of disinformation from the usual suspects—no pun intended—including the American left and many Democratic politicians and activists.