2020 - Too late for the Liberals

Patrick Cockburn wrote:
Down the centuries, the Shia have been one of the most savagely persecuted religious minorities; they fear today that in the wake of the assassination of Qassem Soleimani, they are once again being demonised, as Donald Trump denounces all who oppose the US in the Middle East as Iranian proxies.

Old propaganda claims have resurfaced over the last week about Iran assisting the predominantly Saudi 9/11 bombers or enabling an IED campaign against British troops in southern Iraq, as if Iraq at that time was not knee-deep in discarded munitions.

Such self-serving conspiracy theories, whether they are being peddled in Washington, London, Riyadh or Abu Dhabi, are counterproductive. They foster a sense of Shia solidarity that is to the benefit of Iran. We saw this over the last week, as anti-government protests in Iran in 2019 were replaced this year by crowds numbering millions jamming the streets of Iranian cities to mourn General Soleimani, that very same government’s top military commander.

At the heart of Shi’ism, more than in most religions, is martyrdom, and Soleimani is now being elevated in the eyes of Shia – and not just in Iran – to the status of a warrior martyr who died fighting for the faith.

The triumphant Iraqi army commanders I saw in the wrecked Shia cities of Iraq in 1991 all tried to persuade me that the Iranians had been the driving force behind the rebellion. Much the same nonsense is being uttered today about an Iranian hand being behind anything the west and its allies do not like in the Middle East.

When they claim to be targeting Iran, they are in practice targeting the Shia community as a whole – a mistake for which both they and the Shia are likely to pay a high price.

Yousif al-Khoei, the grandson of the grand ayatollah and the head of the London-based Al-Khoei Foundation wrote:“The threat to demolish ‘cultural sites’ in Iran was shocking to hear from a US president,” said Khoei. “Ordinary Shia express fear that this may mean attacking our holy places and institutions where faith and culture are intertwined.” He told me how young Shia are angered by potential “gross violation of the Shia faith” by US threats to holy sites and shrines that have only recently been targeted by Isis. “We are still recovering from the losses ISIS inflicted on the Shia,” he said.

Wikipedia wrote:On January 27, 2020, a US spy plane reportedly carrying CIA officials was downed over Afghanistan, with Michael D'Andrea ( a.k.a. "the Dark Prince", "Ayatollah Mike") said to have been among the passengers, amid claims of retribution for the assassination of IRGC Quds Force commander Lieutenant General Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad on January 3, 2020.

The Taliban claimed credit for the downing, according to the Arab media, the downing of the plane was overseen by elements of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards.

After CentCom denied losing two aircraft, photos started turning up on the Internet. A Pentagon official then also denied that the plane was carrying CIA personnel. When asked by media outlets to confirm whether Michael D'Andrea was killed in the downed plane, the CIA declined to answer. While the CIA has declined to confirm the report, news coverage has noted that "If the CIA regional chief has not been killed in the plane crash, he has also not appeared in public to refute claims of his death."