Reprinted from Bracing Views with the author’s permission.
The worst of the Iran War may be over, according to this report from NBC News:
Oil plunged and markets surged amid a report the U.S. and Iran are nearing a deal to end the war as gas prices jumped past $4.50.
Officials in Washington and Tehran were working on “a one-page memorandum of understanding to end the war and set a framework for more detailed nuclear negotiations,” according to the report from Axios, which cited two U.S. officials and two additional sources.
I like how that NBC report focuses on what really matters: gas prices.
The Iran debacle, much like America’s previous wars of choice in Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere, has been a total disaster. Professor Glenn Diesen sums it up well in this post on X:
Marco Rubio argues that “Operation Epic Fury is concluded” as the objectives were achieved. In reality, Iran won this war. There was no regime change, no nuclear deal, no limits of ballistic missiles and drones, no decoupling of ties between Iran and its regional allies, and the Strait of Hormuz is now under Iran’s control. US bases in the region have been destroyed, the US alliance system has been weakened, and the petro-dollar will not recover. This epic failure was not just another failed regime change war, this will severely weaken the position of the US in the Middle East. All that was achieved was the murder of many Iranians and keeping the Epstein files out of the media.
In fact, Iran is likely more determined than ever to acquire a nuclear weapon, more united than ever, and more confident in its ability to resist U.S. and Israeli pressure. Meanwhile, Trump has shown yet again that he’s unconstrained by legality, morality, and the U.S. Constitution, and Congress has shown its utter inability to constrain him in meaningful ways.
When it comes to war and foreign policy in Washington, the process is utterly broken. Congress is inconsequential and irrelevant. All that matters is what Trump, Israel, the national security state, and powerful oligarchs want.
America may have an “all-volunteer” military, but the wars it wages are involuntary, undemocratic, and most often unconstitutional. The troops, whether they know it or not, violate their oath of office when they participate in them. (Not that I blame corporals and ensigns; rather, I blame the gutless “salute smartly” brass.) So too do members of Congress and anyone who takes the oath where one solemnly swears to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.
Is America ever going to stop waging undeclared wars of aggression? Maybe “We the People” should act to put a stop to this.
