An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last.—Attributed to Winston Churchill.

Behold, the people shall rise up as a great lion, and lift up himself as a young lion: he shall not lie down until he eat of the prey, and drink the blood of the slain.—Numbers 23:24, KJV.

by Sanjay Perera

THE Israelis are doing what no one else would and will be thanked for it in years to come. That act opened the way for the US to do what only they could do. Trump’s America has struck and destroyed Iran’s potential nuclear weapon producing sites at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan (“Operation Midnight Hammer”). It appears the attacks were successful, and the sites pulverised. There have been no reports of radiation leaks after the attacks. There was a moment when it appeared that the recent ceasefire announced between the two belligerents was a sign hostilities were ending thanks to the US strike, but predictably Iran seems to have made the first break in the agreement. US President Donald Trump is furious over what he believes is an unintentional violation of the ceasefire by both sides. As he left for the NATO summit he told a gaggle of reporters:

I think they both violated it, I don’t think they did it intentionally, they couldn’t reign people back. I don’t like the fact that Israel went out this morning at all, and I’m going to see if I can stop it so as soon as I get away from you, I’m going to see if I can stop it…

I’m not happy with them, I’m not happy with Iran either but I’m really unhappy with Israel going out this morning [to bomb Iran] because the one rocket that didn’t land that was shot, perhaps by mistake, that didn’t land [in Israel], I’m not happy about that. You know, what we have: we basically have two countries that have been fighting so long and so hard that they don’t know what the f—k they’re doing, do you understand that? [@3m 16s-3m 23s].

Typical of the fog of war that makes a situation of conflict confusing Trump then announced on Truth Social that Israel was not going to attack Iran, the planes will turn around, and the ceasefire would be in force. Iran supposedly misfired a missile that triggered the swift response from Israel (they did drop some bombs on a radar site) that seems to have been curtailed as they heeded Trump’s call to enforce the ceasefire. However, it is difficult to believe Iran’s claim that its break of the ceasefire was a mistake, the Ayatollahs and their regime’s record for five decades has been one of viciousness unleashed upon its people and dissidents, and unbridled advocacy of violence against Israel and the US: they are paragons of anger and hate.

This whole drama, however, was the inevitable result of Iran not agreeing to the US calling for the dismantling of its nuclear facilities and engaging in peace talks. The tip of the sword was Israel’s stunning attack on Iran’s nuclear sites, military targets, and simultaneously taking out of some of its key nuclear scientists, military and intelligence officials. The pre-emptive precision strike against Iran is called “Operation Rising Lion”. Israel is taking on the terroristic theocratic totalitarian state of Iran that is behind various terror groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas. Iran has been regarded for decades as the world’s foremost sponsor of terror. The slogans of this oppressive and repressive regime include “Death to Israel” and “Death to America”. The casus belli is Iran’s nuclear programme that was about to transform into the production of nuclear weapons; the warheads would be launched ballistically into Israel and, eventually, the US (intercontinental missiles are being developed as well). Such weapons would have been given to Hamas and others to do Tehran’s bidding. This is not what the world needs.

Though the US has thus far not been providing military assistance to Israel in the attacks as such, its stand has been consistent in that US President Donald Trump has made clear that Iran must not possess any nuclear weapons. From the start of last year’s presidential campaign, and after being sworn in as president, Trump reiterated that Iran could not have nuclear weapons nor the capability of creating them. Unsurprisingly, he has insisted on this for at least a decade. He meant it, and his promise has been kept. He is not interested in changing the government of Iran so much as getting it to dismantle its nuclear facilities. His stance may be modified, given the recalcitrance of the dictatorial mullahs, to do what is right: as he demanded “Unconditional Surrender” from Iran. What this means with a tentative ceasefire in place is unclear, especially if Iran transgresses yet again. It would be naïve to think that Iran may never resume its nuclear programme at some point, and continue with its ambition of destroying Israel and the US. Therefore, it remains to be seen how long the ceasefire will hold; but if it resuscitates its nuclear weapons project it should remember a precedent has been set and will be assiduously followed through—that pre-emptive strikes on such sites will occur.

Still, it is not the intention of the Trump Administration to see US troops deployed in Iran, and Trump will clearly be open to various options if the Iranians violate the ceasefire. The ‘weak’ response by Iran of firing missiles at a US base in Qatar and having them shot down, in addition to warning the US about the strike early, must not lull the Americans into thinking that all will be well.

If peace does not come quickly, we will go after those other targets with precision, speed and skill.

US President Donald Trump.

As US Vice-President J.D. Vance says:

Look, I’m seeing this from the inside, and am admittedly biased towards our president (and my friend), but there’s a lot of crazy stuff on social media, so I wanted to address some things directly on the Iran issue:

First, POTUS [President of the US] has been amazingly consistent, over 10 years, that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. Over the last few months, he encouraged his foreign policy team to reach a deal with the Iranians to accomplish this goal. The president has made clear that Iran cannot have uranium enrichment. And he said repeatedly that this would happen one of two ways—the easy way or the ‘other’ way.

Second, I’ve seen a lot of confusion over the issue of ‘civilian nuclear power’ and ‘uranium enrichment.’ These are distinct issues. Iran could have civilian nuclear power without enrichment, but Iran rejected that. Meanwhile, they’ve enriched uranium far above the level necessary for any civilian purpose. They’ve been found in violation of their non-proliferation obligations by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which is hardly a rightwing organization.

It’s one thing to want civilian nuclear energy. It’s another thing to demand sophisticated enrichment capacity. And it’s still another to cling to enrichment while simultaneously violating basic non-proliferation obligations and enriching right to the point of weapons-grade uranium.

I have yet to see a single good argument for why Iran needed to enrich uranium well above the threshold for civilian use. I’ve yet to see a single good argument for why Iran was justified in violating its non-proliferation obligations. I’ve yet to see a single good pushback against the IAEA’s findings.

Meanwhile, the president has shown remarkable restraint in keeping our military’s focus on protecting our troops and protecting our citizens.

He may decide he needs to take further action to end Iranian enrichment. That decision ultimately belongs to the president. And of course, people are right to be worried about foreign entanglement [US being involved in foreign wars] after the last 25 years of idiotic foreign policy.

But I believe the president has earned some trust on this issue. And having seen this up close and personal, I can assure you that he is only interested in using the American military to accomplish the American people’s goals. Whatever he does, that is his focus.

Each one hopes that if he feeds the crocodile enough, the crocodile will eat him last. All of them hope that the storm will pass before their turn comes to be devoured. But I fear greatly that the storm will not pass. It will rage and it will roar ever more loudly, ever more widely.

Actual quote from Churchill, 1940.

Currently, there seem to be some isolationists in America who insist that neutralising the Iranian nuclear threat is dangerous as it could lead to a ground war in Iran, and that could be similar to the disaster of US troop involvement in Iraq (or worse). The idea is to avoid getting the US involved in any conflict even when it is in its interests to do so in the form of an airstrike: in other words, it is not ‘America First’—part of the Trump agenda for which he was elected—but ‘America Alone’. However, self-isolation undermines what Trump says that the former is about, which is placing US interests first. And if that means keeping US forces in the Middle East safe, protecting its number one ally there (Israel) when necessary, and ensuring nuclear weapons from a rogue Iran do not reach the US requires the use of force: then military might will be employed. Trump is still opting for a diplomatic solution to the war but no credit for that is given by isolationists. The obliteration of the nuclear facilities was prompted by Iran’s continued bellicosity, and it seems unlikely the regime would ever stop attacking Israel in the future, or threatening the US.

Crucially, the thinking by isolationists on this matter is flawed. The hypothetical they pose is that hitting Iranian nuclear sites, some of which require bombs and aircraft only the US possesses, could lead to American troops being embroiled in a land war with high human and economic costs. They are under the impression that supporting Israel’s attacks of self-defence signifies taking up the interests of another state which implies contradicting US interests. In a bizarre ‘interview’ with US Senator Ted Cruz, erstwhile journalist Tucker Carlson displayed remarkable unprofessionalism in his extraordinarily disrespectful, aggressive and incoherent attempts to play ‘gotcha’ with Cruz in the senator’s own office than have a proper discussion. Cruz was clear on many points and showed consistent thinking but was interrupted repeatedly by Carlson who harassed him with questions on Iran’s population size, as the latter even showed a penchant for moral relativism (which he then denied). An implicit accusation of Carlson’s is that Israel is taking America for a ride and getting its supporters within the US to get America to fight its wars. This coming from so-called Trump supporters has as much clarity as the foggy twisted thinking of the dysfunctional Democrats who support anyone other than their own country and citizens; they are the party who insist on open borders, taxpayer dollars lavished on illegals and even criminal illegals who bypass any vetting. What is denied by them and isolationists, like Carlson, is that Israel is fighting not only for its survival—yet again—but for American interests and its people: in truth, it is helping keep the world safe by preventing a nuclear Iran. During this ordeal the Israelis have been hitting military targets whereas the Iranians have reciprocated by striking primarily civilian neighbourhoods and a hospital. Israel is taking a toll in civilllian casualties while sparing Americans the same and worse if a nuclear Iran had its way. A neutered nuclear death driven Iran obsessed with destroying America is in the vital interests of the US. It even helps keep isolationists safe.

As I’ve long maintained, this was the correct move by the president. Iran is the world’s leading sponsor of terrorism and cannot have nuclear capabilities. I’m grateful for and salute the finest military in the world.

US Senator John Fetterman, the only Democrat who has kept his sanity, and clarity of mind.

But here are some issues those blindsided by the ideology of isolationism do not grasp, wilfully or otherwise; and since they are fond of hypotheticals they should bear in mind: that if Iran has nuclear weapons and a nuclear bomb hits Israel or the US, or is detonated by the overtly acknowledged Iranian sleeper cells already in the US—it will surely lead to a full scale war between Iran and the US: it would probably result in nuclear retaliation against Iran. How would such an extreme situation be a good thing? And it would equally be the case of a full-blown US-Iran (possibly) nuclear war if American troops in the Middle East are victims of a nuclear strike. Stopping the creation of Iranian nuclear bombs is the best option. Notwithstanding, Trump vowed earlier that if any US military forces are targeted by Iran, there would be massive retaliation against them though he did not hint at any troop ground involvement. But a massive retaliation he did promise, and he keeps his promises.

Moreover, what the isolationists and Trump’s critics do not want to address is that if there was an Iranian nuclear strike against the US and he did not launch a full war against Iran including nuclear retaliation, then he would certainly have failed in his duty as president; he would also have failed in his sworn duty for allowing this to happen by not taking out the Iranian nuclear threat earlier in the first place. Trump must uphold his oath to protect and defend the Constitution; dithering over eradicating an imminent Iranian nuclear threat is not an option. He must act, and so he has on many matters of great importance. What is constantly missed is that Trump’s decisions and actions are a function of America’s security and national interest. He is not an adherent of an ideology: this is what isolationists and other Democrat ideologues cannot understand; they oppose him on false pretenses precisely because they cannot (or refuse to) comprehend what common sense implies.

The isolationists and others also do not want to admit that a weakened Iranian regime is an opportunity for the long-suffering Iranians to replace the tyrannical Ayatollahs with a democratically elected government. They are of the mistaken belief that this a ‘regime change’ that Trump is implicitly pushing. He has no reason to do so other than see to the elimination of the Ayatollah’s nuclear fantasies. If a positive regime change happens, that would be fine; but there is no indication that Trump wants US involvement in forcing what could possibly lead to a shaky temporary group taking over Iran, that could then be overthrown easily by a more ruthless one. But such hypotheticals cannot obstruct the imperative of crushing Iran’s nuclear gamble.

As US Vice-President J.D. Vance states:

By choosing overwhelming force and overwhelming force tied to something that is important to the American people: that is the end of the Iranian nuclear programme, we can achieve peace much more fully than if we sit on our hands, and hope—somehow if the Iranians get a nuclear weapon, they’re going to be more peaceful. That is a stupid approach, and the president rejected it.

This is the context for the opening provided by the strikes against Iran’s nuclear facilities, as delineated by Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu:

To the proud people of Iran.

We are in the midst of one of the greatest military operations in history, “Operation Rising Lion”. The Islamic regime, which has oppressed you for almost 50 years threatens to destroy our country, the State of Israel. The objective of Israel’s operation is to thwart the Islamic regime’s nuclear and ballistic missile threat to us. As we achieve our objective, we are also clearing the path for you to achieve your freedom.

In the past 24 hours, we have taken out top military commanders, senior nuclear scientists, the Islamic regime’s most significant enrichment facility and a large portion of its ballistic missile arsenal. More is on the way. The regime does not know what hit them, or what will hit them. It has never been weaker.

This is your opportunity to stand up and let your voices be heard. Woman, Life, Freedom Zan, Zendegi, Azadi. As I said yesterday and many times before, Israel’s fight is not against the Iranian people. Our fight is against the murderous Islamic regime that oppresses and impoverishes you.

The nation of Iran and the nation of Israel have been friends since the days of Cyrus the Great. The time has come for the Iranian people to unite around its flag and its historic legacy, by standing up for your freedom from the evil and oppressive regime. Mar-do-me sh-ja-ee Iran, noor bar tariki piruz ast: ‘Brave people of Iran, light defeats the darkness’.

Netanyahu’s words are echoed by someone who is supposed to be Iranian:

As an Iranian citizen, I want to express my deepest gratitude for your recent actions against the Islamic Republic regime. While I know the geopolitical situation is complex, I speak from the heart of an Iranian who has suffered—like millions of others—under decades of tyranny, corruption, and oppression.

Your recent response gave many of us a rare feeling: hope. For the first time in a long time, we saw the possibility that this brutal regime, which has hijacked our country and silenced our voices, might finally face real consequences.

We Iranians are proud people, but we have been hostages in our own land for over four decades. We are tired of fear. Tired of poverty. Tired of seeing our wealth used to fund terrorism and war, instead of education, healthcare, and freedom.

Your actions reminded us that the regime is not invincible. And while the future is uncertain—and yes, we are scared—we are also quietly hopeful.

This is not about war. It’s about justice.

I hope the world understands that the Islamic Republic does not represent the Iranian people. We want peace with all nations—including Israel. We want a future where our children can live with dignity and freedom. Thank you for reminding the regime that their crimes do not go unnoticed. Thank you for showing us that there are still those willing to confront tyranny. Please don’t stop until they are out of my country.

With deep respect and hope, A citizen of Iran.

However, the Israel-Iran conflict and US involvement in emasculating the Ayatollah’s nuclear prowess is symptomatic of wider and increasingly dangerous issues. It is a corollary of the ongoing unrest, rioting and antisemitic violence in America. Witness the recent riots against US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in Los Angeles to remove illegals. The violence that resulted led to not only several hundred arrests, and costs to the city of at least US$20 million so far: but Trump had to call in the National Guard and even the marines (to protect federal buildings) to supplement the strained local police force. But the rioting was more a reflection of what happens in the Middle East, and closer to what could be expected in a war zone. From another perspective, the LA riots are indeed reminiscent of a foreign invasion with Mexican, Guatemalan, and Salvadorian flags flown as the enemies of America—on US soil—burned American flags. This is an unprecedented moment in US history where it is not the Confederate flag that is flown but foreign flags, this is a country that is under attack from within. The riots are recognised now as being orchestrated and sponsored: not spontaneous as portrayed by legacy media and the Democrat establishment. As Senator Josh Hawley points out:

We’ve seen the videos of vans driving up handing out gas masks before someone blows up a car. It’s time we found out where the money is coming from, who is behind this…The worst part is somebody is paying for all this and they are trying to spread it across the country: to Chicago, St. Louis, Seattle, New York, everywhere. We have to figure out who is behind this. By the way, why is the Democrat Party basically an extended mental ward. What has happened to these people? They are nuts…

We ought to penalise people who burn the American flag while they are committing a crime. If these protesters want to have a place to protest, how about a nice jail cell? Right after that, how about a one-way ticket back to the country they came from.

The FBI has even arrested someone for dropping off face masks to rioters. It was reported:

President Donald Trump banned rioters and protesters who are demonstrating against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) actions in Los Angeles from wearing face masks.

‘We have made it a huge priority to try to identify, locate and arrest those who are involved in organizing, supporting, funding or facilitating these riots,’ US Attorney Bill Essayli told the outlet. ‘It appears they’re well-orchestrated, and coordinated and well-funded, so we want to understand who these people are and where this organization’s coming from and today was one of those first arrests, the key arrests that we did.’

The arrest comes after the Justice Department directed prosecutors to prioritize criminally prosecuting people who allegedly destroy property or assault law enforcement officers at protests nationwide.

What is happening in the US is that the “Globalize the Intifada” movement has been integrated into not only attacks on Israel and Jews but on Trump and America; Israel and the US are conflated and made into targets of violence by anyone who apparently sympathises with the Palestinian people (whose plight is never improved by such anger and hatred). On that unfortunate slogan:

We’ve seen ‘Globalize the Intifada’ scrawled on walls of Jewish institutions, kosher restaurants vandalized with ‘Free Gaza,’ and disturbing reports that the alleged shooter outside the Capital Jewish Museum invoked pro-Palestinian slogans in the act. These are not isolated incidents—they reflect a troubling blurring of lines between advocacy and incitement.

However, this combined with the LA riots and much that has happened in Trump’s second term is part of hybrid warfare or the more advanced ‘fifth-generation warfare‘ (see “The brutalist takeover”). The lines are blurred between protests and riots from parts of Latin America or the Middle East or Iran, and the US. The images and imagery and slogans have been merging into a composite picture that at times make it difficult to ascertain where the riots are taking place.

The truth is that the US is already embroiled in a war from the enemy within and it has allowed—through Biden’s open border policy—and the unchecked spread of anti-US and antisemitic rhetoric and influence via campuses, mainstream media and the Democrat Party: to wreak havoc nationally by pushing the US into a regular state of emergency. The US bombing of Iran, 50 years in the making since the Ayatollahs took over, is only part of the drama that has been unfolding: but the hybrid war going on in the US is taking on an increasingly kinetic dimension as the protests and riots within campuses merge with the acts of aggression against law enforcement trying to maintain some stability at home. America may not have boots on the ground overseas but the local hybrid war—that has morphed into a more kinetic one—has ensured that the home front is under siege. With the violence, burning of vehicles, foreign flags flying and millions of illegals abetted by organised resistance within by Americans who may well be in league with foreign powers; buttressed by potential fifth column isolationists among its citizenry: the US is facing challenges that will make its people question the very principles of its founding. It may not be apparent now, but a time will come when it will be declared—that the Trump Administration is fighting to maintain the existence of the republic as established over two centuries ago.

The foreign fronts have been transferred into the US. It is more than rioting. It is an insurrection. It is a domestic war. The US may well be undergoing the start of a second civil war in a different form. What is being promoted openly is nihilism, death, and destruction. The battle is with a many-headed hydra and the first serious blow may be the decapitation of the most prominent serpent in Iran. A great inversion is happening, all that has made sense to the west or is of value has been upturned. The genuine values that underlie western civilisation are being inverted to that which is antithetical to it: no synthesis is allowed but the enforcement of one and the destruction of the other. The slogans ‘Death to Israel’ and ‘Death to America’ encapsulate this.

What is happening is that enemies of the Trump Administration but sympathetic towards the Iranians, illegals and anyone who helps undermine Europe and North America—or what is left of western civilisation or any semblance of Judeo-Christian values—are attacking on all fronts: and underpinning this is the blurring of any clear sense of morality, justice, fairness or righteousness. Everything is permissible, no restraints are required on illegal immigration, law and order, or sense of right and wrong. Eastern spirituality will face difficulties but seems to be managing thus far; but the Judeo-Christian civilisation is under direct assault. It is a matter of admitting it openly.

In mid-June, the US Army celebrated its 250th anniversary and under Trump’s Administration conducted quite a parade. Appearing were 6,600 soldiers, 150 vehicles, 50 aircraft, and drones. But the military hardware displayed was also a show of force. It is significant that it took place framed by the LA riots and violent demonstrations throughout the US against Trump’s attempt to establish a semblance of proper law and order post-Biden. Nor should it be missed that the Israel-Iran war began around the same time. It is quite appropriate that this military flexing, albeit via a parade, is a reminder that the actual battle for America’s integrity is in force; a framing for the fight of whether its Constitution will last and be respected, and that the Declaration of Independence will be celebrated for still having significance on its 250th anniversary next year. There is the distinct danger that many Americans are sleepwalking into a situation wherein the fundamental principles of the Constitution are constantly violated given the many unlawful judicial actions against the president’s legitimate powers, among other matters. As Senator Ted Cruz proclaims in a timely hearing against judicial tyranny:

District Judges versus Donald J. Trump: this hearing is a joint undertaking by the Subcommittee on the Constitution and the Subcommittee on Federal Courts because our country is facing a constitutional crisis, a full-blown judicial assault on the separation of powers that strikes at the very foundation of the republic. What we’re witnessing is the rise of judicial lawfare from the bench.

One unelected district judge sitting in a courtroom in San Francisco or Boston or Baltimore can now issue a nationwide injunction that ties the hands of the president of the United States for all 340 million Americans: that’s not law that’s judicial tyranny.

President Donald Trump was elected by over 77 million Americans with a constitutional mandate to govern, these district judges were not elected, they were appointed by one individual and confirmed not to legislate, not to govern, but to apply the law—and yet far too many of them have abandoned that role: they’ve stepped off the bench and into the political arena issuing sweeping edicts that impose their policy preferences on 340 million Americans.

All this only complicates further the enormously complex scenario of the US dealing with a new form of war; this insidious judicial lawfare is part of the hybrid war that is afflicting the US. To worsen matters, the violation of the recent ceasefire by Iran only confirms the exceptionally fragile situation the US is in given that it is becoming a house divided with supporters of the regime questioning Trump’s firm handling of Tehran, and even casting doubt on the efficacy of the US strikes through leaked documents; and this is important: for what happens in the US will affect the world. The Freudian death drive of the Iranian regime is epitomised by its terror groups, the intifadas across the US and Europe, the recent shootings of Israeli diplomats and US lawmakers in Minnesota: it is like a libidinal force pushing for destruction and self-destruction, a return to the inanimate; it is undergirded by blind materialism, the antithesis of the spiritual. The calling for ‘Death to Israel’ and ‘Death to America’ by the Iranian regime and its adherents echo and merge with the chants and slogans of the US and European intifadas on campuses and major cities: it is the death instinct writ large; anyone who stands in the way must be destroyed, annihilated. The Iranian regime with or without nuclear weapons does not care for the so-called ‘mutually assured destruction’ of old, it embraces it: its is a death wish for all, especially Israel and America.

There will come a time when it will be quite clear that trying to hold a conversation with the beast is impossible, and that will leave only one other option. At that time, the path towards a golden age will open.

If you have an important point to make, don’t try to be subtle or clever. Use a pile driver. Hit the point once. Then come back and hit it again. Then hit it a third time—a tremendous whack.

Churchill.

My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart.

1 Corinthians 4:1-5, NIV.

The writer is the founding editor of Philosophers for Change.

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[Featured picture: Linas Garsys, The Washington Times.]