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

-

 

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. 

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, the same argument that Israel uses against Iran and its proxies. 

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. The Philippines, once more, will become another theater of war if its national government makes a big miscalculation that could cause our country's ultimate destruction in that final reckoning. 

If making the Philippines an ammunition hub will push through, the above is nothing less than an existential threat. The Philippines must not believe the false sense of security from its former colonial master. 

Iran wants nuclear weapons. This is what the US and Israel fears. What Israel and Trump are doing is called a “Strike First” policy. Israel wants to prevent Iran from acquiring any nuclear capability because that would spell its doom. be the dominant power in the Middle East. The war depends on Trump’s actions.  Right now Iran has an advantage by controlling the Strait of Hormuz, which accounts for 20% of the global oil trade.

The reason why the US wants to control the ME is oil. 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. In fact, 

Trump knows that the destruction of the oil infrastructure in the ME would be devastating to the global economy. What is bad for the US is also bad for the world. 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. But the reality that can't be denied is that the rest of the world stand to lose from this conflict.

Popular posts from this blog

The Proposed Removal of 3 GE Courses from the College Curriculum

-
Image
  By Oliver Perater (MSU-IIT)  Education comes from the Latin word ‘educare’ which literally means "to bring out," "to lead forth," or "to nourish”. It means the development of the whole person, i.e., one’s character and humanity, and not just transfer of knowledge and skills. Its primary task is to liberate and never to enslave. I list down below some of the possible reasons behind the proposed reforms in Philippine Education. 1. Cost Efficiency It is cost efficient at the expense of quality, holistic, depth of education, and human development. It is a wrong economic measure. 2. Neo-Liberal Agenda This is not an ideological shift in education because it has been the case for quite some time. Education for too long has been shaped to serve the demands of the global market. The idea is to produce a globally competitive workforce, an idea which could appear to be good and appealing to some uncritical minds. 3. Cultivation of Docile and Uncritical Manpower Strippi...
Read more

What Philosophy has failed to teach us

-
Image
  By Christopher Ryan Maboloc, PhD I don't understand why many of the bright philosophy academics in this country are still discussing Plato or are debating about Plato and Aristotle, or why they are arguing about forms or whether or not human beings have a soul. They use esoteric language when in truth our problems are clear. I have read John Rawls and it is fair to think that he has a lot to say about what matters in this world when it comes to the question of justice. But you need to read Thomas Pogge or Amartya Sen if you want to say a thing or two that's relevant about it.  I remember Fr. Thomas Green who said that if anyone wrote about Aristotle today (he said this in 2001 when I was in his class) his thesis ought to be rejected at once. But that is not the issue that I seek to address. Queen Elizabeth once asked a group of economics experts why they were not able to predict the 2008 financial crisis. Even former US Treasury secretary Alan Grenspan later admitted that he...
Read more

Ethics is not GMRC

-
Image
  By Diane Auza (Central Mindanao University)  “May batang nadapa, ano ang iyong gagawin?” A. Tawagan ang kaibigan mo at tumawa kayo sa kanya B. Tulungan ito C. Wag pansinin D. Sharon Cuneta  Kidding aside, Ethics IS NOT = GMRC/Values Education. Oh, man, I wonder whether these people who decide on these things are actual teachers (actively) teaching. If they are, they should see for themselves how most college students are still at a loss.  We are actually risking and leaving future professionals intellectually and morally unprepared for the weight of the decisions theyll face. The world is not black and white. Being “nice” does not always mean you are doing what is right. It takes ethical reasoning to improve judgement. It takes skill, and like any skill, it must be trained, challenged, and developed ESPECIALLY when a student begins to pursue in fields (medicine, engineering, business, law, education) each of which carries its own ethical dilemmas.  I once had ...
Read more