Donald Trump’s Lawless Regime-Change War in Iran: No. Not in Our Name.

Trump scored endless political
points, and won more than a few votes, by promising Americans repeatedly that
he wouldn’t start wars. And now, what has he done? He’s launched another
preemptive regime-change war, America’s second this century, if you’re
counting; and he’s launched it against a country three times the size of Iraq
and with a far more powerful army. Iraq, which was supposed to be over in weeks
and pay for itself, took about four years to stabilize and cost north of $2
trillion. Iran, by the way, is the seventh
country he’s bombed, and we know very well that Cuba’s on the list, too. You
and I have always known that his word is worthless, but there are still people
out there who’ll be shocked to learn he’s been lying. Oh well, better late than
never.

Second: To put it mildly, to have
done this with Israel is not, from a global perspective, a good look. Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made Israel one of the leading pariah nations
in the world. In fact, Google “pariah nation” and see which country turns up
most. I know Jonathan Greenblatt would ascribe
that to antisemitism, and there’s surely an element of that among many who
see Israel in that light. But the vast majority of liberal, humanist, decent
world opinion—the sort of opinion Israel used to court—ascribes Israel’s low
status to its, and Netanyahu’s, actions.

Just Friday, Gallup released a
poll. For the first time this century—and therefore probably ever—a majority of
Americans declared themselves more
sympathetic to the Palestinian cause than to Israel, by five points.
Netanyahu is the author of that. And early signs here indicate that he’s still
at it: The Iranian news agency (take it as you will) says
that Israel hit a girls’ elementary school in Iran, killing 50 people. This
operation—a joint regime-change war against Iran with the United States—has
been Netanyahu’s most fervent dream for years. It’s hard to imagine that in
capitals across the Middle East and indeed across Europe, it will be seen as
anything other than Bibi having dragged Donny into his personal revenge
fantasy.