Are you concerned that you might have to be recruited to fight in WW3? You probably shouldn’t be… Well, not yet anyway. The year just started and #WorldWar3 has been trending on Twitter ever since US President Donald Trump ordered an airstrike that killed Qasem Soleimani, who heads the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Quds Force and Abu Mahdi al Muhandis, Deputy head of Iraqi Popular Mobolization Forces. 

What happened? According to the Trump administration, Qasem was a killer and should be blamed for a lot of deaths of Americans and their allies. The Pentagon, in a statement, said: “At the direction of the President, the US military has taken decisive defensive action to protect US personnel abroad by killing Qasem Soleimani.” According to CNN, Soleimani and his force were to be blamed for the attack on coalition bases in Iraq in recent months. Recently, there was a December 27 strike that resulted in the deaths of an American contractor and Iraqi personnel. He’s also blamed for the US embassy attack in Baghdad. General Soleimani was responsible for commanding the Quds Force and attained celebrity status as a military mastermind for Iran’s war efforts in Syria and Iraq according to Express Co. 

What now? Iranian political officials said that the killing amounts to an act of war. They went on to ensure a “harsh retaliation.” Trump responded in a January 5 Twitter post saying “These Media Posts will serve as notification to the United States Congress that should Iran strike any U.S. person or target, the United States will quickly & fully strike back, & perhaps in a disproportionate manner. Such legal notice is not required, but is given nevertheless!” Donald Trump then boasted on the fact that the United States is fully equipped and ready in case Iran strikes. He said in a recent tweet “The United States just spent Two Trillion Dollars on Military Equipment. We are the biggest and by far the BEST in the World! If Iran attacks an American Base, or any American, we will be sending some of that brand new beautiful equipment their way…and without hesitation!” 

So Iran and America might fight, where does the rest of the world come in? Both Iran and the US have their allies (countries that are their friends). In a report by Express Co., Soleimani enjoyed devoted loyalty from tens of thousands of fighters across Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen and the Gaza Strip. Even though there is a possibility that there are more allies, these are seen as definite members of Iran’s team. Then to the United States. They have some major allies such as NATO ( The Northern Atlantic Treaty Organization) members, including some countries like the United Kingdom (UK), Canada , Turkey and Germany. They also have Non-NATO allies such as Argentina, Australia, Israel, Kuwait, Morocco and Pakistan and more. Many people claim that China has warmer relations with Iran than with the US, but according to Adnan Mazarei, an Iran specialist, “ China will, despite its closeness with Iran, still recognize that the US is their big trade partner… And given the unfavorable sentiments in the US government these days toward China, they would be very, very hesitant to come out and make any declarations of any sort.” Even though China is Iran’s biggest trading partner, China isn’t willing to upset America, especially in light of the ongoing trade debacle.  

Now, where does Jamaica fall? Note that both China and the US heavily aid/ invest in Jamaica. Also, Jamaica is still a member of the Commonwealth, and the head of the Commonwealth is the Queen of UK. Let’s say we had to help. The UK is an ally of the US and China would probably just avoid it. In a very hypothetical situation, we would be aligned with the US. Being aligned with the US just proves how unlikely Jamaica would have to get involved since their military is fully equipped along with the other powerful allies they have. This is just a big WHAT IF. Let’s just continue to hope and pray that nothing happens. What we should be concerned about is the fact that if there is a nuclear war, it would deeply affect the world, including us. However, until all is settled, stay WOKE! 

–Akkeem Polack