Will Iran Take the Initiative from Israel?
Paul Craig Roberts
Last Monday’s interview by Nima on Dialogue Works turned out to be more of a debate between us than an interview ( https://www.youtube.com/live/pqdcVcGimf4 ).
Nima is encouraged, as Simplicius is ( https://simplicius76.substack.com/p/iran-establishes-escalation-dominance?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=1351274&post_id=201029580&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=dx5km&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email ) by an increase in Iran’s aggressiveness. For the first time, Iran struck Israel not in response to an Israeli attack on Iran but in response to Israel’s bombing of civilians in Beirut, Lebanon. Nima and Simplicius view this as a game-changer.
Certainly it shows Iranian confidence and a move toward exercising initiative in the war. But my point is that only Israel has an agenda and therefore, the initiative remains with Israel as it has for the past 75 years, during which time Israel has absorbed Palestine into Israel and has used America to destroy Libya, Iraq, and Syria.
Too much is being made of Trump’s annoyance with Netanyahu. A majority of American voters disapprove of Trump’s war on Iran, and Trump is concerned about the Democrats winning the midterm Congressional elections and spending the last half of his second term being impeached in the House and possibly convicted by the Senate. Possibly, America can lose Trump, but the merging underway of the US and Israeli militaries leaves America with its Israeli burden regardless of what happens to Trump or who the next president is. If you are unaware of the merging of the militaries, look at my recent postings. This merging plus Israel’s agenda of Greater Israel leaves the initiative in Israel’s hands. It is unclear whether Iran has yet understood the importance of having the initiative.
Our interview/debate took place at a later time than usual, a time past my shutdown time. Although my tiredness and frustration show, I believe I managed to remain coherent. Nima is a gracious and intelligent person, We need more like him.