Iranian threats are flying after Qassem Soleimani, the powerful head of Iran’s Quds Force, was killed in a daring American airstrike at Baghdad International Airport. As pointed out by the US State Department, Soleimani was responsible for the death of hundreds, and wounding of thousands of Americans, as well as planning future attacks.
Just who was Qassem Soleimani? The Washington Examiner described him as the man who waged “an explosive campaign that killed hundreds of U.S. soldiers in Iraq, to supporting Bashar Assad’s regime with legions of Shiite fighters and IRGC operatives, to conducting a campaign of bombings and assassinations and intimidation across the world, Soleimani was a master of his very dark arts.”
Now that President Trump has provided this swift and strong response to the humiliating supported attack on the American Embassy by Iranian- Shiite Muslims, Iran’s Ayatollah Khameini is promising revenge. What is likely to happen next?
To examine the conflict and where it might be going, let’s go to Jerusalem, to Middle East expert David Rubin, former Mayor of Shiloh and author of the book, “Trump and the Jews”.
Suggested Q&A:
- What do Israelis think about the assassination of Soleimani? Answer: The Middle East is a very volatile place, where any lack of a response to the embassy attack would have perceived as weakness. President Trump understood that and responded accordingly.
- What about the threats from the Ayatollah? Answer: Wild threats are to be expected in the macho ego games of the Middle East. That being said, decisive action is what determines the reality and the president was very decisive in showing that Iranian aggression will not be tolerated.
- How about those who say that the attack on the US Embassy was just a spontaneous eruption of outrage by Iraqi civilians? Answer: I suggest they examine the recent history. For years, Iran has been heavily funding and guiding the Shiite Muslim militias in Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon. Only a naïve fool would believe that Iran’s fingerprints were not all over the US Embassy attack. Remember the 1979 regime-inspired siege on the American Embasssy in Iran when 52 American hostages were held captive for 444 days? At first, the media referred to the hostage takers as “students”, but history repeats itself and we dare not be so naïve again.
- What are you expecting to happen next? Answer: The Iran regime will probably look to retaliate, but I always say the best defense is a good offense, so it’s better to keep them on the defensive. Look for concurrent steps by the Trump administration to strengthen the military coordination between American allies like Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt, who are all extremely concerned about Iranian aggression.
- You and your son were victims of an attack by Muslim terrorist that left you injured and your son in critical condition, leading to your founding of Shiloh Israel Children’s Fund. Tell us about that and your charitable organization.
- Answer: I was driving home from Jerusalem with my three-year-old son when our car was ambushed by Muslim terrorists who were perched on the side of the road with AK-47 assault rifles. I was shot in the leg and my son was shot in the head. In fact, the bullet that went into his head and through his neck missed his brain stem by one millimeter. In short, I eventually managed to restart the car, to get away from the terrorists and to get to the hospital where we had several operations over a span of several months, but the psychological trauma that my son experienced caused me to start the Shiloh Israel Children’s Fund for the purpose of creating integrative therapeutic-educational programs to heal the trauma of thousands of Israeli children and to restore some of the lost innocence of childhood to their young lives.
- Where can people get a copy of your book “Trump and the Jews”? Answer: They can go to www.DavidRubinIsrael.com or just go to Amazon.com and type in the words “Trump and the Jews”.
Bio: David Rubin, former Mayor of Shiloh Israel, is the author of the book, “Trump and the Jews” and five other books. Rubin is the founder and president of Shiloh Israel Children’s Fund, established after he and his then three-year-old son were wounded in a terror attack. He can be found at www.DavidRubinIsrael.com or at http://www.ShilohIsraelChildren.org
