The world is at a losing end in the US-Israel war on Iran

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By Christopher Ryan Maboloc, PhD 

Since the Vietnam War, the narrative of the United States has not changed. It still suffers from that Superhero syndrome. It portrays all wars as the struggle between good and evil. The main goal is always to destroy the enemy. That enemy is seen as a threat to humanity and America is the mighty police force that is out there to protect and save humankind from its enemies. 

This was the logic of Henry Kissinger. He theorized that if communism succeeds in Vietnam, then the whole Asia would become communist. His solution was to carpet bomb Vietnam and Cambodia. And as what my student reminded me, America lost that war. It is the same story in Iraq and Afghanistan. Bombing Iran does not make the world a safer place. It makes it more dangerous.

After all is said and done, Iran will simply rebuild and desire more to develop an atom bomb. America is safe. You cannot say the same to proxy states that it uses to fight for its brand of freedom. It is the story in Ukraine. After the collapse of the Soviet Nation, NATO promised not to expand. It reneged on that agreement. Russia went to war against Ukraine to protect itself from an existential threat.

But the West paints two distinct narratives. Russia is bad, Israel is not. The US chooses to do its wars outside its territory. It is protected by distance and two vast oceans, which help it protect its hegemonic position. Nobody understands what Trump wants. While he says that getting oil from the ME is not the problem of the United States, the fact of the matter is that the US is alienating its allies that in the end would require a rethinking of global security.

The reason why the US wants to control the ME is not oil. It is about protecting Israel. But oil and global security are linked together like two inseparable lovers. One cannot exist without the other. Trump had threatened to destroy the power plants in Iran. Iran countered by saying that in return, it will destroy the oil infrastructure of its neighbors. The disruption caused by the war is inherently incredible, its reasons irrational.

In fact, Trump knows that the destruction of the oil infrastructure in the ME would be devastating for the global economy. What is bad for the world is also bad for the US. This will force its allies to turn to China for rescue. That is why he changed his mind, for now. Iran does not think the US has the upper hand. The truth is that the rest of the world, especially poor counties, stand to lose from this conflict.

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