It looks as if the hope that bombing Iran’s nuclear facilities would be a one-and-done affair was wishful thinking.
On Monday evening, Iran fired missiles at our military base in Qatar where about 10,000 U.S. troops are stationed.
In his address to the nation Saturday night, President Donald Trump defended the attacks as a means to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons capable of obliterating Israel.
For the last 30 years, Iran has made no bones about that goal.
Though Mr. Trump declared the attacks as an unequivocal success, conclusive evidence will take time. That they are a definitive setback, however, cannot be questioned, and could open the door for two scenarios that could bring greater stability to the world.
1. Address the growing unease in the Middle East. Israel’s war against Hamas is fraying its emerging relations with Arab countries, specifically Saudi Arabia, which had begun to regard Israel as a key link to Western relations and trade. That’s a good thing.
But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s expansionist goals of annexing the West Bank, and possibly Gaza, is an affront to Arabs.
For too long the United States has abetted Israel in those goals by arming it to the teeth.
For that seemingly unconditional aid and by removing Iran as an immediate threat, Netanyahu owes the United States a pledge to work toward stabilizing the region by ending the Israel-Hamas war, respecting the region’s borders and recognizing that Palestinians deserve to be self-governing.
2. Embolden President Trump to stand up to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s imperialist ambitions by giving Ukraine his full-throated support to defend itself against Russia’s invasion just as he has done for Israel.
Iran has been supplying Russia with drones to attack Ukraine. On Monday, Putin met with Iran’s foreign minister.
According to Thomas Friedman, columnist for the New York Times, Iran and Russia are on the same page, which is to create:
“A world safe for autocracy, safe for theocracy, safe for their corruption; a world free from the winds of personal freedoms, the rule of law, a free press; and a world safe for both Russian and Iranian imperialism against independent-minded neighbors.”
This is the time to show Putin which side of the fence we plant our flag.
On Sunday, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said the U.S. attacks on Iran are not about nation-building.
“This mission was not and has not been about regime change,” Hegseth said.
