Here Comes Another Big Mideast War
And: Happy Birthday Andrew; Woke Sewage; Why Europe Matters; Grifter In Tel Aviv
Look, I have no love for the Islamic Republic of Iran. I was old enough to remember the time when they kidnapped our diplomats and held them for 444 days. Images like this are among the most resonant of my childhood.
That shitty country — a great and noble people ruled over by religious fanatics — has been at war with the United States since its inception. Having shown its aggressive intentions towards its neighbors, the United States, and our allies, it must not be allowed to get a nuclear weapon. I will not mourn its passing in blood and fire. But I have some questions.
Let’s say we bomb the Islamist government into oblivion. Then what? What is our plan for keeping order there in the aftermath? Iraq turned into a hellhole of violence and terrorist militia activity after we knocked over Saddam, even though US troops were occupying the country. I know that Trump couldn’t tell us if the Pentagon had secretly gained the loyalty of the Iranian Army (against the Republican Guards), but absent that, I can’t see any good coming from this.
Are we planning to occupy Iran? Seriously?
Why is the United States about to launch a major war, but Congress has neither been consulted, nor seems to care that it hasn’t been? Why haven’t the American people been prepared for this?
Russia and China have placed token naval vessels in Iranian ports. What are we planning to do if, in the fog of war, the US sinks one of those ships, and Russia and/or China responds?
I supported Trump in 2024 in part because I figured he would be less likely to continue the Forever Wars. Now he is about to launch the biggest war since Iraq. Was I betrayed? Is this war what Trump’s base wants? How about the American people as a whole? When George W. Bush took us to war with Iraq, he had 72 percent approval for the war — this, on the back of 9/11 trauma, and a long propaganda campaign to manufacture consent of the American people for a bad war. Trump’s approval ratings are pretty low now. What makes him think Americans want a major war at this time?
Yes, I know that wiping out the Islamic Republic benefits Israel. But don’t fall for the “we’re just doing this because Israel wants us to” line. It really is true that the ayatollahs have been at war with America in various ways since 1979. And many of you may not know this, but America’s Sunni Gulf allies have long been terrified of Shia Iran getting the bomb. I first became aware of this on a 2006 trip to Dubai, where I heard constantly from Gulf Arabs questions about whether or not America was going to do something about Iran. It doesn’t make it right or wrong, this coming war, but removing the would-be Shia hegemon from the Middle East benefits not only Israel, but the entire region — including Israel and the Gulf Arab states.
I don’t have a good feeling about this. But then, I don’t have a good feeling about most things, so take that for what it’s worth. It’s just insane to me that the president is taking the country into a major war, and people — including Congress — are sleepwalking through it. This is Caesar stuff. You know that, right?
Final point: there’s always a tweet:
