How to start a war

The US has made the fatal misstep of cementing its legacy as the instigator and enabler of catastrophic violence. In unleashing a barrage of airstrikes against Iran’s IAEA-safeguarded nuclear sites late Saturday night/early Sunday morning, President Donald Trump chose war over diplomacy. This was not ‘America’s war’ was the refrain heard constantly from American pundits. Yes, it is Israel’s war, cynically expanded by a settler-colonial project that has long operated with impunity – but what is Israel if not an entity supported, molly-coddled and funded by the US? For decades, Israel has pushed the boundaries of international law, but its recent provocations have been a descent into madness: starting and perpetuating a genocide and then initiating unprovoked strikes on Iran’s military and nuclear infrastructure. Tehran had made its red lines clear – cross them, and there would be a response. Still, Israel forged ahead, dragging Washington into a maniacal confrontation. And the US – with all its power, resources and diplomatic clout – could have said no. It could have said not again. Instead, Trump said OK.

The result is a dangerous and unnecessary widening of a conflict that could ignite the entire Middle East and beyond. In the name of ‘deterrence’, the US bombed facilities under international safeguards. These are the actions of a co-belligerent in a war of choice. And let this be clear too: Iran is not at fault here. Its nuclear programme, closely monitored by the IAEA, has remained within the boundaries of civilian use. In fact, Iran has neither sought war nor welcomed it. However, under international law, it has every right to defend its sovereignty and its people. And yet, President Trump declared the operation a “spectacular military success”. Success for whom? Certainly not for the American people, who now find themselves on the brink of another endless war. The same conservative base that swept Trump into power had demanded a return to economic stability, not geopolitical adventurism. Many of them were anti-war not out of idealism, but from exhaustion. Trump has betrayed them too. The refusal by all US governments to hold Israel accountable has exposed the complete subservience of US foreign policy to Tel Aviv’s agenda.

Meanwhile, Gaza continues to bleed, with more than 56,000 people in Gaza having been killed by Israel since October 2023. The US, far from restraining its closest ally, has allowed a humanitarian catastrophe to unfold while fixating on an Iranian threat that remains hypothetical at best, and fabricated at worst. What is perhaps most galling is that there was a window for diplomacy. Trump had previously hinted at waiting two weeks before making a decision. Instead, that window was slammed shut by bombs and missiles. The US now claims it does not seek regime change, but how does one reconcile that with an attack so criminal? With reports trickling in on Sunday night that Iran could shut off the Strait of Hormuz, things are not looking good. Iran has called for an emergency session of the UN Security Council. Pakistan has rightly condemned the US strikes as a gross violation of international law and the UN secretary-general has warned that this is a dangerous escalation with global consequences. Yet none of this may matter in a world where might continues to masquerade as right. Is there still time for some sanity? Perhaps – if the US can step back, restrain Israel and return to diplomacy. To continue down this path is to flirt with global calamity.