Madness in Iran

A lunatic and a war criminal just launched an insane and illegal war against an enormous Middle Eastern country. What could go wrong?

The unprovoked and illegal U.S.-Israeli war against Iran represents a low point in U.S. history. This demented war of choice, launched by a crazed president and a war criminal, could go wrong in ways that would severely damage the region, the world and the United States. Yes, it could conceivably go well, or at least as well as any war can. But rolling the cosmic dice on that outcome, when the status quo was acceptable—Iran posed zero threat to the U.S.—is quite simply insane. Wars are terrible things and are to be avoided unless there is no alternative. Donald Trump, who rose to power in part because he criticized George W. Bush’s catastrophic war with Iraq, is repeating Bush’s catastrophic mistakes. The same Manichaean babbling about “evil” is being used to justify this war that was used to justify toppling Saddam Hussein. Trump has no idea what he’s doing: deluded by the Venezuela operation, he seems to believe launching a major war is like going to the grocery store. Or he may have some understanding of the gravity of starting a war against a country of 90 million people, but is willing to do it to distract attention from his dire political situation. Either way, he has endangered our national security and revealed yet again he is grossly unfit to be president.

This is a dark and terrible day for the U.S. and the world. More to come.