A long specter

The possibility of expanding war is clear. Already the US is complicit in the Israeli strikes on Iran, as we are in the destruction of Gaza, the bombing in Syria, Yemen and Lebanon. Iran possess an opportunity to use weapons that have been considered too dangerous to use, until now. The Israeli government wanted the US to drop its most powerful bomb, short of a nuclear weapon, to destroy Iran’s heavily protected nuclear facility, Fordow. 

Called a “bunker buster” the 30,000-pound Massive Ordinance Penetrator (MOP) has never been used on a battlefield, but Israel has long pressured the US to add this weapon to its own arsenal.  

Part of the allure of using the weapon is to show its destructive force. In an administration enamored with displays of military power, the opportunity to drop a single bomb, capable of “shock and awe” is irresistible.

In response to this possibility, even some in the authoritarian mode were concerned about the implications of such an action. Hardly anyone missed the obvious parallel between the push to attack Iran and the drive more than two decades ago to attack Iraq. Elisabeth Bumiller, writing in the New York Times explained:

The specter of Iraq now hangs over a deeply divided, anxious Washington. President Trump, who campaigned against America’s “forever wars,” is pondering a swift deployment of American military might in Iran. This time there are not some 200,000 American troops massed in the Middle East, or antiwar demonstrations around the world. But the sense of dread and the unknown feels in many ways the same.

“So much of this is the same story told again,” said Vali R. Nasr, an Iranian American who is a professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. “Once upon a time we didn’t know better, and we bought all the happy talk about Iraq. But every single assumption proved wrong.”

Iraq and the deadly disasters that followed are not the only specter haunting us. The US has a long and sordid history of meddling in Iran. Over two decades before the Islamic Revolution in Iran, the US and Great Britain orchestrated the overthrow of Iran’s democratically elected prime minister, Mohammad Mossadegh. In 1951 Mossadegh won a popular election and moved to nationalize oil production. The CIA and M-16 funded protests, orchestrated propaganda campaigns, and supported military officers loyal to the Shah of Iran, who was in league with the West. In August of 1953 Mossadegh was removed from power by a military coup and the Shah moved in with US backing. Thus began a repressive, brutal regime, maintained with US backing until the 1979 revolution. 

As crude and cruel as this current administration is, it is drawing on a long tradition in the US of the willingness to use military force to overturn the popular will of sovereign people for its own economic interests.

For those of us imagining a different future, it is not enough to oppose yet another military misadventure that will only lead to more death and destruction.  We must understand the depth of the militarization of US culture, its commitment to violence, its willingness to kill for control and money.

Building life-affirming cultures, on values rooted in respect for human life, for the capacity of people to determine their own futures, and for the protection of the planet begins with creating new ways of living. Working to create life-affirming communities is an essential step in not only resisting this most recent call to arms, but in creating a world of peace and justice.