If Donald Trump went back in time and assassinated Adolph Hitler in 1939, the New York Times, CNN and the rest of the liberal media would be condemning the gambit as a reckless escalation.
On the other hand, if Donald Trump went back in time and murdered Mother Teresa, the conservative press would label her a threat.
Such is the state of American media today where the hatred or adoration of Donald Trump precludes any fair and impartial analysis. Issues are no longer judged on their merits and for Americans, Trump is always wrong or always right.
Even the so-called expert commentators are chosen by the respective networks for their political stripe and so it's fair to say that everything we hear about the assassination operation on General Qasem Soleimani on CNN is negative and positive of FOX News.
Let us step away from the partial and politicized media bias and take an allegorical journey to simplify what seems to be a complicated situation.
Think of Iran as a large and powerful drug cartel wishing to expand its influence into neighbouring countries. The cartel uses stealth, subterfuge and violence to eliminate and supplant any local competition or leadership in order to install its own members. However the drug cartel doesn't have a free hand and while the countries it is trying to overtake are relatively weak, they are however under the benevolent protection of the all-powerful Sheriff Donald and his super-powerful police force
The Sheriff has a trusty deputy named Moishe Israel who lives in a neighbouring country not yet under attack by the cartel but determined to check its advance by taking the fight across its border.
Moishe Israel is ruthless and unafraid. Moishe has superb weapons and a highly trained force that over matches the cartel.
And so Moishe Israel with the Sheriff's blessing, attacks the drug gang at every turn, bombing its bases and attacking its drug conveys, even going so far as to sabotage its installation back in its home base.
The drug cartel hates Moishe Israel even more than it hates the Sheriff and constantly threatens retaliation. But after three years of taking it on the chin, the cartel is unable or just plain afraid to confront Moishe Israel.
Instead, the drug gang accepts operational losses and shrugs off the setbacks in the same way they accept that a certain percentage of the drugs they are smuggling into a country will be intercepted by authorities, not unexpected or unanticipated, just the cost of doing business and so like an allied World War II convoy sailing the Atlantic, a certain level of acceptable losses to u-boats is the battle plan.
Despite the serious losses, the gang is loathe to directly confront either the Sheriff or his deputy Moishe, understanding clearly that to directly challenge and confront them is a losing proposition because, despite its power, the gang is vastly outgunned.
And so the battle lines remain static, the cartel attempting to expand its base to its neighbours, while the Sheriff and his deputy fend off these advances, a situation not unlike the stalemate of enemies in the World War I trenches.
But the Sheriff decides to up the ante and launches an operation to take out one of the highest-ranking members of the cartel, a ruthless gangster who has wreaked havoc and death throughout the region, but who is nonetheless a hero to the cartel.
The motivation for such an attack is questioned by some in the Sheriff's department and others in the media and of course by the Sheriff's political foes who claim that an assassination of the deputy cartel leader is a political distraction meant to deflect criticism of the Sheriff. They warn that the assassination would probably lead to a dangerous escalation and would likely lead to retaliation that might well lead to an all-out war.
Others in the Sheriff's department argue that the cartel will not escalate and summon as proof the failure of the cartel to actually engage Deputy Moishe, even after countless and countless losses over the years where the deputy has pounded and pounded cartel installations with impunity.
While the cartel howled and swore retribution, it proved to be mostly bluster.
And so the Sheriff launches a successful and masterful assassination, killing the deputy gang leader in a powerful display of intelligence and capability.
The gang is outraged and screams bloody murder, swearing that retaliation will be swift and powerful.
The world is frightened that an escalation is in order and as such holds its breath in fearful anticipation.
But the Sheriff is serene and promises more deadly attacks if the cartel replies, a threat that the cartel takes seriously believing the sheriff to be reckless and insane.
Back at gang headquarters the pain and humiliation are agonizing. The blatant hit on its number 2 is a message of utter contempt and a challenge to the gang leadership.
The cartel meets to decide a response because such an attack cannot go unanswered, or else they will lose serious face. While the cartel has plenty of firepowers, it is not nearly enough to take on the Sheriff and his deputy.
The cartel realizes it cannot go to war, because although it can inflict a lot of damage to the neighbourhood, it would end badly for them in the end.
The cartel, unlike its terrorist minions who have no problem attacking the Sheriff or his deputy, has a lot to lose.
Some members suggest using these proxy-agents to do the dirty work and attack the Sheriff or his deputy in its stead, but the Sheriff has already warned them that any attack will be considered a direct attack by the cartel.
What to do? What to do?
The cartel decides that there's no other option but a face-saving attack that will satisfy the rank and file, but one that will not spur the Sheriff or deputy to action.
And so the gang lets it be known to the Sheriff that they will stage an attack that will be full of sound and fury but will, in essence, be nothing but a show.
The gang's leaders explain to their minions that they have too much to lose and too little to gain in confronting the Sheriff and his deputy head-on.
And so those who love the Sheriff and even those who hate the Sheriff are forced to face the reality that the Sheriff has won this round decisively and has exposed the Cartel as a paper tiger.
Nobody is more thrilled than Deputy Moishe who cannot resist telling the naysayers"I told you so."
The cartel is diminished and will soon be forced to rethink its expansion plans because (using a mixed metaphor) ....when push came to shove, the cartel blinked.