The Middle East is at War. And America is the Bad Guy.
My country is on the wrong side of history.
In the late months of 2023, as it became clear Israel was not limiting its response to October 7th but going on the offensive, the Biden Administration made its top priority avoiding an all-out war in the Middle East. Not only did Joe Biden not want another dreaded Middle Eastern conflict in an election year, but he sought to be the President who moved beyond America’s historical failings and entered a new phase of foreign policy — a “pivot to Asia,”1 building alliances with Asian nations to combat China’s growing regional hegemony. In a national address weeks after October 7th, Biden re-emphasized this strategy of Middle Eastern stability.
“The United States and our partners across the region are working to build a better future for the Middle East, one where the Middle East is more stable, better connected to its neighbors, [has] more predictable markets, more employment, less rage, less grievances, less war. It would benefit the people of the Middle East, and it would benefit us.” — President Joe Biden, October 20th, 20232
By every available metric, Joe Biden has failed. After the events of the last two weeks, we can confidently declare the Middle East is in a regional war, and America is an active participant.
“Escalating to Deescalate”
For nearly a week, Israel bombed southern Lebanon. Using aerial ordinance and terroristic booby traps, they killed over 1,100 Lebanese, Hezbollah commander Hassan Nasrallah, and at least one American. In disgusting but expected fashion, the State Department downplayed the murder of this American, clarifying he was a “permanent resident,” not a citizen.
Following the bombardments, Israel invaded Lebanon, the fifth time it has done so. Invoking its modus operandi, Israel insists it is “defending itself” from Hezbollah, a profoundly ironic claim considering Hezbollah was created in the 1980s to defend the Lebanese people from Israel’s then-occupation. In response, Iran launched 200 missiles at Israel. There appear to be no casualties. Netanyahu has pledged “Iran will pay,” and I fear he might take the shot hardline Zionists have spent decades calling for — a full-out bombing of Tehran, possibly with the use of Israel’s not-so-secret nuclear arsenal.
Israeli soldiers film Iranian missiles striking their base.
To many Americans, Middle Eastern conflicts such as this one are falsely reduced to religious animosity, as represented by the Tweet below from Stephen King. (With all due respect to the literary GOAT, foreign policy analysis is not his forte.) With this distorted worldview, the Saudi Arabia vs. Iran cold war is positioned as “Sunnis vs. Shia,” while Israel’s colonization of Palestine is framed as “Jews vs. Muslims.” This perspective is easy for Americans to swallow, given prominent anti-Arab racism and Islamophobia, but it serves a more consequential purpose than stoking bigotry. When Middle Eastern wars are boiled down to “backward Muslims unable to let go of a millennia-old grudge,” it lets American leaders off the hook for the role they played in creating, escalating, and enabling the violence. Similarly, it fosters automatic condemnation of America’s Islamist enemies, who, at least in this case, are on the righteous side of the conflict.
Are We the Baddies?
America’s fault for the current Middle Eastern war can be attributed to our leaders’ suicidal devotion to Israel. For the last year, Israel has conducted a genocide in Gaza and escalated violence in the West Bank for two reasons:
To further Zionism’s imperialist goal of conquering its neighbors, and
To provoke a response from nearby Islamic actors —Iran, the Houthis, and Hezbollah — who are allied with the Palestinian resistance.
If Israel achieves goal #2 and drew its adversaries into an all-out war, it would create the chaotic conditions Israel needs for further conquest (goal #1). In a best-case scenario for Tel Aviv, a war would draw in the United States, giving Israel the firepower it needs to defeat its perennial enemies. Unfortunately, we have already stepped down that path.
While many Americans are naturally disinclined to support theocracies, especially Islamist ones with long-standing histories of human rights violations, the facts don’t lie. Iran, Hezbollah, and the numerous other armed groups combatting Israel are on the virtuous side of the conflict, while the United States has raised its guns in defense of genocide, imperialism, and apartheid.
Under the 1948 Genocide Convention, nations are obliged to take “immediate action” to prevent acts of genocide. While South Africa’s case accusing Israel of such crimes awaits a verdict from the International Court of Justice, there’s no need to delay. In fact, it may be illegal to do so. In Bosnia v. Serbia,3 the ICJ ruled states have an obligation to act as soon as they learn of “a serious risk that genocide will be committed.” The ICJ recently stated that “such threshold has been reached in Gaza, triggering States’ duty under international law to take measures to prevent acts of genocide.”4 So far, it is only Islamist groups that have answered this call.
Netanyahu, Biden, and the Zionist reactionaries who flood my comments can say whatever they want about Iran or any of its proxies. I’m sure they’ll point out Islamist governments are hostile to women’s rights and LGBTQ+ individuals. They’re correct, but the point is moot. International law is clear. The military strikes from Iran, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and any other group fighting Israel are legal, moral, and imperative. If Iran or Hezbollah’s missiles force even one IDF soldier to turn his gun away from Palestine, they will have fulfilled their obligation under international law: An obligation the United States has decided to ignore.
As a secularist, I have no love for any theocratic project. As a socialist, I’m naturally inclined to despise governments. Combine my two beliefs, and you can see why theocratic, capitalist states are the target of my untethered ire. Regardless of if they are Jewish, Islamic, or Christian, I view religious governance as a burden; a testament to humanity’s unwavering stubbornness and fear of progress. The Islamists in Tehran deserve the same scorn as the Christian fascists in Washington. They seek to use the state’s monopoly on violence to impose their religious beliefs onto others. Whether it bows before a cross or a moon, a religious state is equally evil. However, my despisal of theocracy does not blind me to reality. While the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, and other ostensibly secular Western nations enable Israel’s genocide of Palestine and its invasion of Lebanon, it is the Islamist groups (as well as South Africa) that are abiding by international law. Their counterattacks, both legal and judicial, on Israel’s transgressions are a manifestation of states’ duty to prevent genocide, a duty the United States pledged but will never fairly enforce. I can count on one hand the amount of good things the Islamic Republic of Iran has done. But undeniably, combatting genocide through military force is one of them, which I’ll strongly endorse with a thumbs up.
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https://www.npr.org/2021/10/06/1043329242/long-promised-and-often-delayed-the-pivot-to-asia-takes-shape-under-biden
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2023/10/20/remarks-by-president-biden-on-the-unites-states-response-to-hamass-terrorist-attacks-against-israel-and-russias-ongoing-brutal-war-against-ukraine/
https://www.icj-cij.org/files/case-related/91/091-20070226-JUD-01-00-EN.pdf
https://www.icj.org/resource/gaza-occupied-palestinian-territory-states-have-a-duty-to-prevent-genocide/
Another articulate post, Joe. I have to add my two cents, as I always do.
First and foremost, what does the United States gain from its alliance with Israel? Particularly at this point in history? They suck billions of dollars in aid from us and what do we get in return? Stability in the Middle East? Oil? The upcoming return of Revenge Jesus so that Christians can be Raptured?
Second, Ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel want a theocracy. They're as bad as any Islamic fundamentalists. They separate women from men (women have been attacked for worshiping at the Western Wall). Men have asked to be moved when traveling on planes and buses if seated next to women they don't know. They want to decide who is really a Jew (there have been instances of discrimination and rejection of resettlement for "half-Jews" rejecting millennia of rabbinic thought and law). They are subsidized by the government so they don't have to work to "study Torah" and they don't serve in the military to defend their country. They are, in a word, parasites. (Ah, but they are religious so that excuses everything /s).
Third, Netanyahu makes American leadership look like losers and chumps. All US military aid would be conditional (based on OUR OWN LAWS). I can't wait for Bibi to lose control of the government and finally stand trial for his corruption.
Lastly, when will America stop supporting tyrants, authoritarian regimes, fascists, military juntas, and strongman leaders and actually put our supposedly great system of democratic ideals into action both here and abroad. Did we bring democracy to Iraq and Afghanistan? Vietnam? South Korea? Did we kill leaders in Chile?
Let's walk the walk and not just talk. Biden's foreign policy is for shit and spying on "pro-Palestinian supporters" as agents of Iran is just the icing on the cake. Maybe I'm just an angry contrarian, but clarity is necessary and all I see is muddy water.
Excellent! I agree with every word. Our western governments have lost whatever moral standing they had because of their support for genocide. BTW, I’m a devout, left-wing Catholic (we do exist!), and I agree with you about theocracies. My Church has done great harm when it lost its way and allied with empire. And the U.S. is headed in that direction, as well as allying with the most wicked theocracy I have ever seen.