THERE is no doubt that General Soleimani was a dangerous man, but so too is Donald Trump. There is also no doubt what the reaction in the US and UK governments would have been if any other country (most especially Russia) had committed a similar state-ordered murder of such a high-profile figure.
It is all very well for Boris Johnson to call for “de-escalation from all sides”, but his comment that “we will not lament General Soleimani” will only serve to further infuriate those who do lament his death (“Johnson: Drone killing of Iranian general ‘justified’”, The Herald, January 6). Mr Johnson should make it clear to Mr Trump from the outset that the UK will not join the US in another disastrous foreign war, and that he deplores the thuggish antics of Mr Trump and what the President himself describes as further “disproportionate” responses towards Iran. Inevitably, the events of recent days have brought back sickening memories of another US President, a compliant UK Prime Minister and their illegal war which rocked the Middle East, and unleashed devastating misery and mayhem on Iraq.
As for the “Special Relationship”, there is nothing special in a relationship with a President who appears to think he is entitled to get away with anything, murder included; however, nobody should hold their breath waiting for Mr Johnson to denounce Mr Trump and distance the UK from a man who is mad, bad and a danger to the world.
Ruth Marr, Stirling.
PRESIDENT Trump’s order to kill General Soleimani represents yet another victory for stupidity over common sense. The inevitable Iranian response will further destabilise the tinder box that is the Middle East and endanger the lives of service personnel and innocent civilians.
As former British national security adviser Lord Ricketts has observed, the US has carried out the assassination of the Iranian general without any consultation with their allies in the region, including the UK, and appears to have no wider policy plan or strategy for the immediate future. This gung-ho action is typical of a US president who views the world through his own prism of what constitutes good and evil in the manner of a John Wayne Western with no time for or cerebral understanding of, any perceptible shades of grey.
President Trump’s re-imposition of stringent sanctions on Iran in 2018 following his withdrawal from former President Obama’s 2015 nuclear deal was carried out to fulfil pre-election promises to his hawkish faithful and to curry favour with his allies in the Middle East, namely, Israel and Saudi Arabia. He seems to view confrontation with Iran as inevitable despite his protestations to the contrary and, just as in his rejection of the nuclear treaty, he has placed his European allies in an invidious position.
The world knows that Gen Soleimani could never be mistaken for Mary Poppins, as he played a leading role in what is a highly repressive regime with an appalling record on human rights. His death, however, will now unify a deeply divided Iran against the West and will certainly provide the US President a welcome distraction from his impeachment proceedings domestically. The news seemed to take our Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary totally by surprise despite 1,400 British troops being in the region. It is sadly a further demonstration of our lack of gravitas on a world stage where we remain America’s poodle and at the whim of an American President who acts first and thinks later. The consequences of his deeds will offer no celebration of jingoistic sabre rattling, especially for the blameless who will inescapably suffer.
Owen Kelly, Stirling.
SINCE its creation as a nation in 1776 the United States has been involved in armed conflict for all bar 17 of the intervening years. During this time the lives of 1.1 million American servicemen have been sacrificed, half in their own civil war. Since the end of the Second World War the US has been involved in wars, bombing, sabotage and attempted enforced regime change in at least 50 sovereign states.
Currently the US has more than 800 active overseas bases in 70 countries compared to a total of 30 for the UK, Russia and France combined. The US has 225,000 personnel regularly stationed overseas at any one time up, to 65,000 in the Middle East where it has approximately more than 30 bases in countries adjacent to or within striking distance of Iran. At present almost 10,000 troops are even permanently stationed here in the UK.
US involvement in wars in the Middle East and Afghanistan has cost the lives of mire than 7,000 US servicemen however the Global Research organisation suggests that since the end of the Second World War conflicts directly involving the US have killed 20m innocent civilians in what they describe as “victim nations”.
I see a recent pattern developing here, one that endorses a public display of self-congratulation at the extra-judicial execution of those who stand in the way of what is essentially US corporate policy, one designed to exploit the resources of foreign lands.
Where is the morality in murdering someone to prevent some imagined future scenario? Are we all allowed to use that defence if we murder those we dislike or disagree with or can you only dispense death by remote control if you are a self-important delusional ignoramus with a pending election?
David J Crawford, Glasgow G12.
THE UK Government’s response to the US assassination of an Iranian General in Iraq is utterly appalling and completely unacceptable. It was an action of unbelievable stupidity and, even worse, utter wickedness. And excused by infantile and easily debunked lies. The US obviously believes it can kill anybody it likes anywhere in the world. So what’s new? “Poodles” doesn’t even begin to describe the empty vessel that makes up the UK’s Tory government. We have to get out of this.
David McEwan Hill, Sandbank, Argyll.
HAVING been directly implicated in the deaths of US servicemen and hundreds of thousands of Sunni Muslims across the years, General Qasem Soleimani’s passing is neither a surprise nor a cause for mourning.
Iran engages in bloodcurdling rhetoric but cannot retaliate in any substantial way as it is weakened by domestic unrest and economic sanctions. It launches regional provocations but denies any responsibility for major attacks such as the Pam Am atrocity. Certainly a head-to-head confrontation with the US would be a catastrophe for the theocracy.
Rev Dr John Cameron, St Andrews.
DONALD Trump’s tactic is to keep “allies” uninformed about foreign tactics, as in the drone attack on the Iranian general. Sounds familiar. Tom Tugendhat, chairman of the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, complains about the US allies being kept in the dark. There is no special relationship any more, that was a refrain by Westminster to keep up the pretence of UK still being a Great Power. President Trump is only for keeping America great ... Britain does not figure in his equation.
John Edgar, Kilmaurs.
WHY is Nicola Sturgeon even commenting on the situation in Iraq? Her role is entirely domestic; she has no foreign policy remit. If she wants to get involved in foreign affairs, she should have resigned in December and stood as an MP. Since she didn’t, she should focus on her role managing Scotland’s struggling public services, instead of self-aggrandising on matters outwith her authority.
Martin Redfern, Edinburgh EH10.
Read more: Sturgeon says UK must not get dragged into Iran conflict
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