Is the US headed for World War III? Here’s what experts say as Twitter fears the worst

World War III rapidly became one of the top trending topics on Twitter after last night’s announcement that a U.S. airstrike killed Iran’s top general.

While a war on that scale is unlikely, according to experts, the actions put the U.S. on a new path of escalation.

The airstrike in Baghdad, Iraq, killed Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who was the leader of Iran’s elite Quds Force. In confirming that the U.S. was behind the attack, the Department of Defense said in response that the 62-year-old was “actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region.”

Iran’s State TV has since reported that the United States has urged Americans to leave Iraq “immediately.”

That warning in and of itself is an answer to the danger that exists, said Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, a policy think tank.

He said that if Iran takes action that kills Americans, then there is a massive chance the U.S. will retaliate.

“Trump talks about ending the endless wars and leaving the Middle East,” Parsi told McClatchy News. “In reality, he may have just started another endless and unwinnable war and ensured that America will remain trapped in the Middle East for decades to come.”

David Schanzer, a terrorism expert and professor of the practice at Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy, warned the killing “will strengthen the Iranian regime domestically, the exact opposite goal of our policy.”

“President Trump’s decision to escalate hostilities by killing Qassem Soleimani epitomizes the failure of his strategy for dealing with Iran,” he said in a press release obtained by McClatchy News. “ ... By engaging in a unilateral act of aggression inside Iraq, we have pushed our Iraqi allies even closer to Iran.”

Quincy Institute analyst and Colby College International Relations Professor Steven Simon said it is unlikely weapons of mass destruction will fall on a city such as Chicago in the near future.

Still, many on Twitter feared the worst.

But Simon told McClatchy News that there are many Americans in the region near Iraq and Iran, and plenty of opportunities to retaliate.

Iran has promised just as much, following a three-day mourning period for Soleimani. In a post on Twitter, Iran President Hassan Rouhani said the country will “take revenge for this heinous crime.”

By waiting, Simon said officials in Iran will have time to decide an attack that is “successful and proportional to American provocation.”

Simon had warned of a potential attack on Soleimani in a New York Times op-ed just a day before the strike. He said by the nature of the leader’s death, it is likely Soleimani and other Iranian officials were not expecting an attack.

“Iranians thought this would be too far for Americans, and they would have taken security measures to protect him,” Simon said.

As to whether the U.S. went too far, Simon said that depends on the Trump administration’s objectives.

“If the objective was anything short of war, it was probably overkill,” he said.

Multiple outlets including CNN and NBC reported thousands of additional U.S. troops will be deployed to the Middle East amid tensions, citing unnamed officials. Officials previously sent 750 additional troops to Baghdad following an attack on the U.S. Embassy earlier this week.

What Trump and 2020 Democrats are saying about Soleimani’s death

Trump took to Twitter the day after the killing, saying Soleimani “should have been taken out many years ago.”

In a press conference Friday afternoon, Trump said a “flawless precision strike” killed Soleimani, who was plotting “imminent and sinister attacks on American diplomats and military personnel.”

“But we caught him in the act and terminated him,” Trump said.

The president pushed back against those saying the attack could start another war.

“We took action last night to stop a war,” Trump said. “We did not take action to start a war.”

Meanwhile, Democrats vying for the party’s 2020 nomination for president urged restraint amid fears the killing of Soleimani could provoke retaliation from Iran.

This story was originally published January 3, 2020 at 11:59 AM with the headline "Is the US headed for World War III? Here’s what experts say as Twitter fears the worst."