Time Magazine’s “Time for Kids” publication issued a guide Tuesday for parents on how to talk with their children about the situation unfolding in Iran riddled with biased omissions.
The legacy outlet first refers to Qasem Soleimani, the recently slain Iranian general responsible for hundreds of American deaths, as a “top military leader in Iran,” rather than a terrorist. In the next line, the guide explains that President Donald Trump took action on Soleimani simply because Trump said Soleimani was a terrorist.
The official position of the United States government however, declares the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which includes the Quds Force run by Soleimani, a terrorist organization.
In the same paragraph, the magazine for kids also notes that “an Iraqi leader was also killed,” minimizing the significance of their execution. The Iraqi leader? Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the founder of the terror group Kataeb Hezbollah, which killed an American contractor and injured four service members in Iraq late last month.
When describing the animosity between the two nations, Time’s guide mentions the 1979 hostage crisis where Iran took captive 52 Americans for 444 days, before focusing solely on Trump pulling out of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and reimplementing sanctions on the Middle East country. Never mind Iran killing hundreds of Americans, undermining the landmark nuclear deal by building weapons of mass destruction anyway, financing terror, and threatening U.S. allies.
Trump approved the execution of Soleimani last week, pushing tensions between the two countries to reach new heights following several days of funeral processions. Iran retaliated Tuesday with strikes on U.S. missile bases in Iraq.
Since Soleimani’s death, Democrats have criticized Trump’s decision to kill the world’s most dangerous terrorist as reckless, denouncing the president’s actions out of fear of igniting another war in the Middle East.
U.S. forces are now on high alert for further Iranian retaliation in the aftermath of Soleimani’s death, and the White House has made clear that it will respond to whatever Iran does. U.S. intelligence officials reportedly told CNN that the Pentagon is concerned of an “imminent” attack after Iranian forces have moved weapons and military equipment in the region.
Defense Secretary Mark Esper told reporters at the Pentagon Tuesday that while the United States was not looking for a war, it is “prepared to finish one.”
