War in Iran |
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1 March 2026 - Erlenbach
I can't say I'm surprised after the military build up of the past weeks that the USA is attacking Iran, but I can say I'm disappointed. There was no effort by the Trump administration to build an international consensus or legal justification. As we saw in his attack on Venezuela, he is a man of action rather than coalition building. The UN appears to be an ignored debating society. The western countries seem to be only meekly protesting if not lending rhetorical support to Trump. Ukraine's Zelensky might have thought twice about lauding a war of aggression including the assisination of a country's leader, considering the Russians tried to off him as well. Although Iran has contributed weapons to Russia's war effort against Ukraine, and he needs US money to continue defending his country. Everyone in Davos back in January applauded Carney's "brave stance" against the USA helping to tear down the post Cold War international order, but that stance seems hollow in light of his full-throated statement of support of the USA's attack on Iran this weekend. I guess strong countries can do what they want. The cynic would, of course, say it was always thus; that the international order was just a veneer to protect the USA's hegemony after the Cold War ended. As other countries have started to win economically in the rules based international order, people like Trump, seeing it as a zero-sum game, want to tilt the table in their favor using other means. Hence the tariff craziness. And the gunboat diplomacy. The USA has even recently repeatedly threatened to send troops into their neighbor Mexico to deal with the cartel violence there. One would might assume that the USA already took all the land it wanted from Mexico, but who knows what's in Trump's mind. I really hope that the Iranian people come out of this war better off than before, but looking at the current state of Afghanistan and Iraq it doesn't seem promising. Unfortunately Americans will definitely come of the war poorer financially and more poorly esteemed internationally. And all those who thought that Trump's first term was evidence that he would not entangle the USA in more foreign wars feel foolish, this author included.
