From a Google Image Search - WLTB - Photo from Italy
War, here we are again, listening to the drumbeats of war. The world has changed so much, and America helped change it. We spread capitalism, we did not put too fine a point on who we bought products from or sold products to.
We rely on Iran for oil and gas. We produce enough oil and gas in America, but we import oil and gas to keep prices down and for reasons of diplomacy, for trade balances, and because it makes some people wealthy. Iran cannot have a nuke we say. Iran is ruled by an extreme religious leader who considers the US a nation of infidels. Religious differences between Christians and Muslims are a force creating tension in the world.
Although Iran deals in oil and gas, they are not a capitalist nation in other ways. We fear Iran because we believe that they see us as enemies. America and other allied nations have long tried to prevent nations that perceive us as enemies from having nuclear weapons for obvious reasons. We don't want to be blown off the face of the earth or have our soldiers and weapons of war destroyed so that we cannot defend ourselves.
We understand the dangers. But we hate war. We long to live in a peaceful world. We often worry that some enemy nation is enriching uranium to produce nuclear bombs. We are suspicious of their intentions. Will there be a preemptive strike? We don't want an authoritarian leader (or at least we didn't) but we certainly don't want to be ruled by an Iranian supreme leader.
Netanyahu, PM of Israel, has long warned the world that Iran either has a nuclear weapon already or is enriching uranium and will soon have nukes. Is Netanyahu paranoid because Israel and Iran are enemies, are both religious nations with different religious beliefs, and are nations that lay claim to the same land? Israel has often been threatened with destruction at the hands of Hamas. Iran provides support for Hamas and Hamas has a presence in Iran. If Israel was under nuclear attack what would Trump do?
Are Iranian nukes real or are they in the process of manufacturing nukes? Is it just paranoia to think that Iran would defy powerful nations that don't want them to have nuclear weapons? As in the case of Iraq's WMDs it is difficult to know what goes on in closed, secretive nations. There are sites that we are shown on media reports that match the sites used by other nations to produce enriched uranium and nuclear weapons. The evidence seems clear, but some people thought that was true in Iraq.
As has already been said, the world is changing. We are told that we live in a multipolar world and, by definition, that appears to be true. This means that America is not necessarily the only superpower on the planet. We are not the only nation that has nuclear reactors for energy production and, since the technology is the same as that used to produce weapons (bombs) we can assume that we are not the only superpower with nuclear weapons.
Although Iran's rich oil and gas resources give them powers beyond their size, they are not considered a superpower nation. It makes sense that powerful nations would prefer that Iran did not stockpile nukes. If they did, they could wipe out Israel. Netanyahu's zeal may be based on his wish to destroy his enemies before they can lay waste to Israel. But what if he's wrong or just wants to perpetrate a lie so that he can have the world's permission to attack first. There is no doubt, however, that Iran is lobbing bombs (not nukes) at Israel - ("they started it", "no they started it.")
Netanyahu seems to feel that Trump is his BFF and will back him. Trump for his part has a longing to be seen as a warrior, a superhero. He tries on the costumes regularly in internet graphics and the cards he sells. Now here he is with a great armed force at his command. He has Doomsday planes that can withstand nuclear weapons. Will he be able to resist? He isn't someone that we expect to meet the moment. He appointed Pete Hegseth to direct the Pentagon.
Trump has used the phrase "no boots on the ground" but that's not so hard. We live in an age when wars are fought at a distance (except between Ukraine and Russia). Even then we have the recent Trojan horse tactics used by Ukraine to send drones right into Russia in trucks to blow up Russian planes. We have the clever use of pager bombs by Israel. Nations don't need "boots on the ground" to inflict major damage without using nuclear weapons. There is even a rumor that China and Cuba have used a "microwave" weapon.
Still, the suspicion that a hostile nation could rain down nuclear bombs at will makes even pacifists think that we ought to do something to prevent a nuclear winter. Trump tells us that he will decide what he will do to Iran in two weeks. America has, according to an article in Aljazeera, a GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator built to penetrate up to 200 feet underground before exploding. Seems like a big temptation for a "wanna-be" warrior.
American presidents cannot declare war without Congressional approval. Will Trump even bother to consult Congress. He knows that he has a majority in both houses. He may be able to retaliate from a distance without a declaration of war.
With all the world's nations awake, the rules of the game of life may have changed along with the changes in the world order. We may be without clear guidance from the past and we certainly are manned by a different breed of leaders. Yikes!
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Great piece.