In response to the killing of Qassem Soleimani, leader of Iran’s Quds Force, one commentator pointed out Iran as a kingdom/country has been around for a few thousand years to explain why this airstrike was a dangerous thing and would not alter the path the country was on. The statement is, in my opinion, a curious one. Rome was around for a long time, the British Empire was around for a long time, but technically modern Iran hasn’t been around all that long. Its current history can be traced back to 1979 with the Islamic Revolution led by the Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Before that was the Pahlevi dynasty which ran from 1925 until its overthrow in 1979, and before that, we had Persia and a variety of governments dating back to about 7,000 BC.
So, while we have volumes of history, including how the Greeks dealt with the Persians, what is really relevant is how the current theocracy fits into the game. And that remains somewhat of an unknown.
Candidly, we the United States, as we bumble through our diplomacy with what can at best be described as inconsistent expectations and promises are as much to blame for the problems as Iran is. Every President seems to handle the tensions with Iran differently. The Democratic Presidents believe if they are just empathetic the regime will behave as most western nations behave. The Republicans tend to see Iran as an evil nation bent on our destruction. Of course, the “Death to America” rhetoric of the state would seem to support that view, but for many, that’s just silly talk and surely, they don’t mean it. The UN (led by the U.S.) has made the theocracy of Iran the subject of economic sanctions since 1979 when they thought taking over the American Embassy and holding hostage its personnel was a good way to show they were pissed at the U.S. for helping the Shah escape and providing his with end of life medical care. Of course, the idea he may have left Iran with a planeload of gold as part of his retirement package or that we held Iranian assets, hostage, for years hoping they would come to see the error of their ways should not have been much of an issue, but it seems to have been one for the Ayatollahs who run the country.
Then, of course, we come to nuclear weapons. How can you claim to be a world power or return to the halcyon days of the Persian Empire if you don’t have a bomb that can destroy the earth (for context see “The Mouse That Roared”)? We have nuclear weapons, Russia, China, Great Britain, France, India, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan, and who knows who else all have nuclear weapons, to Iran’s thinking why not them? The fact they fund and support terrorists to attack those whose theology they disagree with shouldn’t be a concern now, should it?
All this brings us back to today when the news and social media sites are filled with tons of newly minted experts in foreign policy, international law, diplomacy, and insider knowledge of a nation-state that has remained fairly closed to outside influence for the past 40 years. We now have, thanks to Twitter, such luminaries as Rose McGowen (perhaps best known for her role in that TV classic “Charmed”)[1] speaking for what she claims to be 52% of Americans asking Iran not to kill us for the actions of our President.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not in favor of another war. But then again, I’m not in favor of letting those who would do us harm to go around doing bad stuff without fear of suffering some dire consequence. Keep in mind we are already engaged in a “Global War on Terror” that started on 9/11/2001. (By the way, the war on terror actually started well before that but it was an undeclared war from when the PLO and Red Army Faction began killing people.) As far as I know, Congress hasn’t been too terribly concerned about the War Powers Act when previous Presidents were bombing the heck out terrorist leaders, or when we invaded the sovereign space of Pakistan to kill Osama bin Laden or calling in Drone strikes on guys running around in West Africa. As the Babylon Bee® noted in its opinion section: “Trump Is Doing The Right Thing, But He’s Doing It As Trump, Which Means It’s Still Bad,” which pretty much sums up the dialogue of today.
- For all those who see this as an act of war, but raised no concern when we killed bin Laden – just sit down. (p.s. I know one was a terrorist leader and the other an Iranian General, but the difference is lost in the middle east politics.)
- For all those who see this as a great act of the President – maybe consider the 2nd and 3rd order possibilities before you get too excited.
- For all those politicians who see the President's actions as unlawful -- maybe you should resign in protest and let your actions speak louder than your words.
- For all those like Rose McGowen who are suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome – seek professional help before you tweet again.
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