CCNY Reacts to the U.S. & Iran Conflict
By Jada Gordon
The following article was featured in the February 2020 edition of The Campus.
OnJanuary 3rd, at the direction of President Donald J. Trump, a U.S strike inBaghdad killed Qasem Soleimani, the leader of Iran’s powerful Quds Force. ThePentagon confirmed this attack and claimed that “General Soleimani was activelydeveloping plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq andthroughout the region.” However, the facts behind this statement were neverconfirmed. Iran mourned Soleimani’s loss and the words “Death to America” wereshouted in the streets. Both the U.S airstrike and Iran’s mourning of theirleader reverberated throughout the world. Americans mostly reacted with fear ofretaliation, starting the decade off filled with fright and confusion. Then toadd to the conflict, on January 8th, Iran shot down a Ukrainian plane byaccident, killing all passengers on board. With this onslaught of fighting,conflict, fear, and retaliation, the conflict between Iran and the U.S must beexamined, questioned, and discussed.
KellySullivan, a junior at The City College of New York and an English major madeher sentiments quite clear; “The attack on Iran I believe is mindless and willonly negatively affect America.” The U.S was already in a compromising positionwhen it came to foreign policy, however, these events put the U.S in a worsepredicament. Sullivan continued, “The problem with it is that we always believethat the opposing country can never retaliate enough to significantly harm us,which is toxic nationalism.” Nationalism historically has turned the U.S’srelationships with other countries awry. These acts against the leader of Iranand its citizens might lead the country to war and more conflict. Sullivanexplains;
“When the U.S drone strikes first killed Qasem Soleimani, I was unfortunately not surprised. I thought about the United States’ role in the Iranian Revolution and the negative consequences that followed the Iranian people.” Historically, the U.S and Iran have had a complicated past dating back to the 1970s. This conflict was dubbed the “Iran-Contra Affair.”
The“Iran-Contra” affair was a political scandal in the United States that occurredduring the second term of the Regan Administration. Senior administrationofficials secretly facilitated the sale of arms to the Khomeini government ofthe Islamic Republic of Iran, which was the subject of an arms embargo. Thisconflict led to American hostages being taken in Lebanon and former presidentReagan taking full responsibility for the affair. The U.S strike against QasemSoleimani is another event in the U.S and Iran’s storied past.
Otherstudents, like Eva Friedberg, a senior majoring in International Studies, feellike this assassination will bring about even more hateful attacks andreligious bias. She says, “I feel that Trump’s decisions with Iran will affectradicalized tensions only heighten Islamophobia in the U.S.” A lot of criticsfelt as if Trump’s actions were impulsive and dangerous for the people of theU.S. Friedberg continued to say, “What Trump might not think about is thelongevity of his decisions and the consequences that follow his every move. Ithink [the Iran and U.S conflict] will dramatically affect the U.S economy,national security, and position in the Middle East.”
ShilpaShaju, a junior also studying International Studies and Political Science feelsstrongly about this matter, breaking down a lot of ways this conflict will hurtthe U.S.:
“First, the attack will definitely cause an increase in oilprices and a drop in the stock market. Second, as Iran stated, it willretaliate in an equivalent manner. This means Iran will coordinate an attack onU.S soil or on an equal significant U.S leader. Third, it will force the U.S toremain in the Middle East for a longer period, even though President Trumprepeatedly promised to get the U.S out of costly wars in the U.S.”
Althoughin the Obama Administration, it seemed like the U.S and Iran were buildingtowards peace, now the relationship is fractured. Shaju reflects, “It seemed asif the two nations were making progress. The Trump Administration has shiftedthis and adopted a policy of escalations with Iran.” She continues, saying,“Yes, I believe this will dramatically affect U.S relations with othercountries. For instance, Iraq will be drawn into the conflict between Iran andthe U.S.”
Inmatters of retaliation, Iran has stated that there will be more, which scared alot of people and made them think deeply about the severity of the conflict. Inregard to Ukraine retaliating against Iran, Friedberg says;
Ido not believe Ukraine will imminently retaliate for the following reasons.First, Ukraine needs to maintain diplomatic relations with Iran so that itsexperts can conduct an independent investigation. Second, Ukraine does not havethe resources needed to negotiate with and apply pressure on Iran.
Thisconflict has affected the U.S., Iran, and the entire world. President Trump’sbold move may end up hurting a lot of people in the end. The U.S and Iran nowshare another dark chapter in their troubled international relationship thatwill impact how the U.S will be seen and how it will interact internationallywith other countries.
