A senior writer for The American Conservative wondered Thursday night on Fox News if the killing of an Iranian general might set off a world war.
Curt Mills said killing Iranian Major General Qasem Soleimani, the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s terrorist cell Corps-Quds Force, isn’t “necessarily something to mourn or begrudge the U.S.”
“The question is though, is this a Franz Ferdinand moment? Mills asked in reference to the Austrian archduke whose assassination by Serbian terrorists in 1914 precipitated the First World War.
“Is this a situation where a great power gets involved with a middle tier power and gets the world into a world war?” He asked, adding that although Iran may be “a problem for the U.S. And its allies in the region,” it is not “an existential threat” like China or Russia. (RELATED: Top General Warns That ‘A Buzzsaw’ Waits For Anyone Attacking US Embassy)
Mills said either country, but “particularly China would love to see another decade or two of Americans my age dying in the sand for no particular purpose.”
The death of Soleimani comes in response to Tuesday’s attack on the U.S. embassy in Baghdad by pro-Iranian Iraqi militants who scaled the wall and entered the building while shouting “Death to America!” By Wednesday U.S. forces had removed the attackers.
Supporters of Iraq’s Hashed al-Shaabi paramilitary force protest outside the US embassy in the Iraqi capital Baghdad on Jan. 1, 2020 to condemn the US air strikes that killed 25 Hashed fighters over the weekend. (AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images)
The Department of Defense has dispatched 100 Marines to Baghdad. They have been reinforced by 750 paratroopers with the 82nd Airborne deployed to Kuwait, per the Military Times. (RELATED: 100 Marines Sent To Baghdad To Fortify Embassy Defenses Amid Protests)
Responding to Carlson’s comment that it is “absurd” to think Iran is the greatest threat to America, Mills responded, ”It’s a joke. It’s a joke. I think the real question is why do we still have troops there? So we see the Baghdad embassy protest and to be clear, this is not just an embassy, this is a fortress … I think the choice is clear, the president should contain Iranian influence in the region, which should avoid a hot war, which we are barreling towards at all costs.”
Carlson suggested a general war might occur against President Donald Trump’s wishes because some in his administration are hell bent on getting one started.
”Right,” Mills replied. “So I think the president of the United States and his convictions on this matter are sincere but I think it’s relevant, particularly extremely relevant in matters of war and peace and life and death, who he stacks his administration with … ”