Some people have learned the hard way you don't want to get Donald Trump mad at you.  The long overdue killing of Quds Force leader Qassem Soleimani may mark the final showdown in the long struggle for Iraq between the relatively pro-Western side and Iran's Shiite fanatics.  The Middle East's ultimate bad guy, Soleimani was the author of all the death and terror the regime has exported to Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and Afghanistan.  The Obama folks forbade his killing, protecting him from Israel.  Trump lifted this ban two years ago, but it took good old American firepower to get the job done.

Not surprisingly, Soleimani played a major role in setting up the Iraqi government that collapsed last month amid violent protests by young Iraqis against the malign influence of Iran's mullah regime.

With Soleimani out of the way, we need to push quickly for a new Iraqi government that will finally do the people's business, kick out the Iranian forces, and disarm their Shiite militia allies.  The vast majority of the Iraqi people would support such an effort.  The problem is, the Iranians have bought off or scared off all the politicians.

While the Iranians are deeply unpopular, the U.S. has already gone more than the extra mile to keep Iraq a viable country.  It's only because of U.S. support for the Baghdad government that Iraqi Kurds were unable to effect their independence two years ago.  I would think President Trump right now is telling the Baghdad leaders this is their last chance.  Get the Iranians and their militias out, or we do the unthinkable — revisit the post-WWI borders of the Middle East and recognize an independent Kurdistan.

Given the last couple of months, does anyone not doubt that Trump now has his own ideas in the region and means business?

As for Iran itself, we should do everything to support the current mass movement against the mullahs.  The people there despise the brutal regime in power, and thanks to the economic sanctions Trump has wisely invoked, things will only get worse for the mullahs.  Given the ease with which Soleimani was dispatched, I would think Supreme Leader Khamanei is now in hiding, lest a U.S. cruise missile with his name on it come calling.  These creeps never learn, though, and once he thinks he is personally safe, he will no doubt feign cooperation while ordering terror reprisals, bringing on a wider conflict.

For forty years now, ever since these despicable thugs took power in Tehran, the day of reckoning has been coming.  Most American leaders, from Jimmy Carter to Barack Obama, have done all they could to ignore or appease the mullahs.  But now ordinary citizens of Lebanon, Iraq, and Iran risk their lives every day fighting these terrible people.  This new year may be the final nasty end to it all.  We can only pray that it is.

Frank Friday is an attorney in Louisville, Ky.