Alwaght- On the anniversary of the Iran's General Qassem Soleimani, and his Iraqi comrade Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the Axis of Resistance states are busy arranging commemorations to remember a brave and great commander who fought terrorism for long years.
It is so important, thus, to bring in spotlight his role in rise and boost of the Axis of Resistance, a regional bloc led by Iran and including Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen, and Palestine, as an influential regional developments actor and also the outcomes of his blood in further flourishing of the regional resistance against the occupation and colonialism and also humiliation of the enemies, on top of them the US.
Revisiting General Soleimani'role in formation of Axis of Resistance
After the victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979, supporting the liberation movements in the world, especially in the countries of the West Asia with the aim of combating arrogant Western powers, became a priority for the newly-established political system in Iran. This task was entrusted to the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), which in the years after its establishment provided advisory and logistical assistance to groups and resistance movements in the region.
With the appointment of General Soleimani as the commander of the Quds Force in 1997, the activities of this organization entered a new phase. During the 22 years of command of the Quds Force, General Soleimani, despite the formation of a single front called the Axis of Resistance, expanded Iran's sphere of influence from Afghanistan in the east to the Mediterranean coast in the west and Yemen in the south. In fact, the axis Resistance camp emerged as a single chain of countries and groups against an enemy– the US and its minion in the region Israeli regime.
In the meantime, General Soleimani, with his field and physical presence, was able to consolidate the resistance forces in Afghanistan, Yemen, Iraq, Syria and Palestine. He also strategically supported and led to enforcement groups like Fatemiyun, Ansarullah, Zaynabiun, Jaysh al-Shaabi, Hashd al-Shaabi, and resistant Palestinian groups.
Hussein Kanani Moghadam, an ex-IRGC commander last year said: "With the appointment of Hajj Qassem to this post, a focus was put on the various issues of the region that were brewing in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria and Lebanon. General Soleimani first identified the nuclei of resistance that had emerged spontaneously and communicated with them and strengthened the groups that were on the path of struggle and jihad. Then by interconnecting these groups and turning them into circles of resistance, he more effectively fought the global arrogance and the Israeli occupation. Uniting these forces, General Soleimani formed the Axis of Resistance. The Resistance camp represents a bond connecting pro-liberation movements that act as the most influential variable in the face of the Americansl hegemony."
The formation of the Resistance front along with General Soleimani's field presence in the Israeli 33-day war on Lebanon in 2006, the fight against ISIS and Takfiri terrorism in Iraq and Syria and its destruction helped maintain and enhance the position of the bloc. This was while in 2014, 80 percent of Syria's territory was held by an array of foreign-backed terrorists and opposition groups, and if it were not for General Soleimani's initiative in persuading Russia to deploy forces and air power to Syria to provide cover for ground operations, as well as his advisory actions in Iraq and Syria, the threat of Wahhabi-takfiri terrorism would spread today throughout the region.
The US scandalized by assassination
In the years after the victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, the US efforts have focused on weakening and eliminating the revolutionary thought in the region and the world, because the thought of the Islamic Revolution has been, above all, based on freeing the nations from exploitation and oppression, fighting arrogance, and liberating Palestine. In order to prevent the spread of this important mindset and also to create insecurity in the region, especially in Muslim countries, Washington provided financial and equipment assistance to the Israeli regime, designed divisive Greater Middle East plan, invaded Afghanistan and Iraq, nurtured terrorism, and ultimately assassinated General Soleimani.
Meanwhile, Washington and Tel Aviv, by trying to present a terrorist image of the top general and his actions in the region, repeatedly threatened him and finally assassinated him at Baghdad International Airport with drone strikes on January 3, 2020. The assassination told the region something important: The Americans proved to be against the regional security by assassinating the most crucial face of the security and stability in the region. The Americans are enemies to the regional nations and their claims of fighting terrorism are sham.
The assassination operation, launched from air and not on the battleground and assissted by Tel Aviv and London, and Berlin, provides the fact that Washington was far away from being capable to directly facing off Tehran and General Soleimani and the sole choice was assassination.
General Soleimani assassination expedites US withdrawal from region, boosts Resistance camp
Resistance is a thought and discourse that has taken root in the last 42 years with its center being the Islamic Republic of Iran and under the guidance and strategies of General Qassem Soleimani. For this reason, with the assassination of the Iranian commander and contrary to the American expectations, this thought and discourse not only did not become passive but the legitimacy and popularity of the two commanders led the Axis of Resistance into a new phase. More popular resistance forces formed spontaneously and at the grassroots level, and many people throughout the region declared joining these movements, despite their religious, ethnic, and identity diversity.
Also, the funeral of the general and the international reactions to assassination were a seal of approval for his popularity and popular position. His blood drew a global right-and-wrong line between the discourse of resistance to arrogance and the overbearing approach adopted by the US.
The resistance forces and their commanders across the region in strongest terms condemned the assassination crime and emphasized continuation of the resistance path and revenge for the "blood of the martyrs."
Actually, this declaration of readiness was a wake-up call for the US, as these movements increasingly sought to combat the US presence in the region. Contrary to the purpose pursued by the Americabs behind the assassination, the region grew insecure more than ever for American forces and their allies in the region.
Immediately after the assassination, the process of the US expulsion from Afghanistan and then Iraq gained further pace. Yemen shifted from defensive to offensive approach in resistance against the US ally Saudi Arabia. In Gaza, Hamas forces unveiled a new picture of of their power in last year 11-day war against the Israeli regime. Two years after General Soleimani, the "hard revenge" strategy is now an official path to the Resistance camp, giving its member movements a new sense.
