Iran vs. USA in Iraq: Green Zone Blues

*BREAKING NEWS ALERT*Just before we were about to post this episode Thursday evening, President Trump ordered a targeted assassination of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike on Baghdad Airport.Welp.Soleimani was a) not a good guy in any way, shape or form, being responsible for Iran's proxy militias and therefore countless deaths across the Middle East over the course of decades; b) a major Iranian military hero and a beloved political figure who may himself have been Ayatollah someday.Make no mistake: this is a choice, on the part of the Trump Administration, for escalation and probable war in the Middle East.No doubt we will have more details for you soon.********************Are the United States and Iran on the verge of war?...Because of conflicts in Iraq?...Even though neither country wants war? ESPECIALLY in Iraq?...And do you need a flowchart to follow all the groups, interests, and possibilities entangled herein?These questions are at the center of what looks like @RealDonaldTrump’s 1st big international crisis after a violent demonstration at U.S. Embassy in Baghdad by Iranian-backed Iraqi militias.The militias have since withdrawn, but relations between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States remain at their tensest point in years and close Middle East watchers are starting to warn that these two countries might be about to sleepwalk into a large-scale military conflict.This week, Steve and Soumi elucidate this mess by going over the history of U.S.-Iraq-Iran relations and what lies ahead in this very central part of the Middle East.Further Reading:1.    https://www.voanews.com/extremism-watch/irans-iraqi-militia-proxy-kataeb-hezbollah-explained?amp2.    https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/30/middleeast/us-strikes-iraq-syria-analysis-intl/index.html3.    https://www.ft.com/content/40dc36ee-2b15-11ea-a126-99756bd8f45e4.    https://www.politico.com/news/2019/12/30/state-department-iraq-airstrikes-us-troops-0912835.    https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/30/world/middleeast/iraq-airstrikes-us-iran-militias.html6.    https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/iran-backed-militia-supporters-converge-on-us-embassy-in-baghdad-shouting-death-to-america/2019/12/31/93f050b2-2bb1-11ea-bffe-020c88b3f120_story.html