There are moments in a presidency of no turning back, decisions made and actions taken that are so consequential and far-reaching, they mark a fundamental turning point. George W. Bush’s invasion of Iraq, for example, poisoned Bush’s presidency and reshaped the Middle East for the worse in ways that are still reverberating.
The war that Israel just started with Iran may well be another.
For the past few months, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has watched uneasily as peace threatened to break out in the Middle East. Despite having pointlessly killed the agreement that had successfully contained any potential Iranian nuclear ambitions in his first term, Donald Trump now seemed to be spending a significant amount of energy and political capital on negotiations with Tehran to reenter it, negotiations that had made headway and were set to continue this Sunday. Meanwhile, Netanyahu, who had tried to torpedo that deal when it was first signed, appeared to have had a falling out with Trump, sidelining Israel. Maybe there was a chance to avoid war after all.
Then last night, Israel suddenly launched a major attack on Iran, damaging one of its key nuclear facilities and assassinating six nuclear scientists. The attack was sold as a way to stop Iran’s nuclear program, but it was much bigger: Israel also assassinated a spate of top Iranian military commanders, the man leading the negotiations with the Trump administration, and dozens of civilians, including children, in bombings on residential buildings.
To say this is a provocation doesn’t really do it justice. There are many countries that consider the United States a threat, the way that Israel sees Iran. If any of them suddenly started bombing the United States, killed American scientists and children, and assassinated Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and other top military brass, all on the basis that they feared that war-hungry Washington politicians…
Auteur: Branko Marcetic
