Short Lived: Speculation on War
What does it take to start a war?
According to a good majority of concerned citizens around the world, the death of a person. Yes, just one person’s death can trigger a war. In fact, at the end of the day, it was one person’s assassination, Franz Ferdinand, that triggered the first world war. The second was another story in itself, one that I’m sure you’ve read enough about (cough..Germany..cough..Hitler..cough).
We had just bid our farewell to 2019, a year that brought us it’s a fair share of disappointments and challenges. Nevertheless, we all welcomed 2020 with open arms and hopes in our hearts. It was only then that we came to the realization of just what this year has in store.
As always the US has taken the center stage. Towards the end of 2019, President Trump had finally been impeached. This wasn’t the consequence of the lengthy Russian inquiry, rather the result of a certain phone call that Trump had with the Ukrainian President. “Do us a favor,” Trump had said as he put military support on the line for an investigation into the Bidens (who just happened to be a promising competitor for the upcoming elections).
But he was only Impeached, not removed from office. Something that, despite the January hearings that were to kick off the new year, was unlikely due to the republican senate majority. If that wasn’t enough to dampen spirits, there was soon more to follow. Tensions between Iran and the US had been growing ever since President Trump pulled out the Iran deal in 2018 (time passed quick, didn’t it?). However, it was only recently that things have been getting out of hand.
Qassem Soleimani was the man that triggered this chain of events. The US assassinated him which in turn angered the Iranians. His funeral was extravagant and the whole country mourned. In fact fifty people died in a stampede when many from around Iran came to pay their regards. Why all the fuss about one man? Well, he was an Iranian major general who came to second in command only to the president, Hassan Rouhani.
#WW3 was trending for days on end, as people made memes and jokes of getting drafted. Really makes you reflect on how desentisizied our generation has become.