Antiwar.com Blog

Conflicts of Interest: Will Trump Go to War with Iran?

On COI #741, Kyle Anzalone discusses Biden’s final weapons shipment to Ukraine and whether Trump will attack Iran.

Attacking Iran Would Be Wrong and Illegal

Richard Nephew thinks that the case against attacking Iran isn’t as strong as it used to be:

But today, the case against military action is not so neat.

If anything, the case against attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities is stronger than it has ever been. It is because Iran’s nuclear program has advanced so far that we have no reason to believe that military action would be successful. Because Iran is more vulnerable than it has been in the recent past, that makes it more likely that an attack would spur the Iranian government to pursue nuclear weapons as a deterrent. When a government feels more threatened than before but has more advanced capabilities for developing these weapons, that is a terrible time to make their fears of attack a reality. Thanks in large part to the stupidity and malice of hawks in the U.S. and Israel, Tehran’s incentives to acquire nuclear weapons have increased. That is why we should reject a military option that gives Iran an even bigger incentive to cross that line.

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Biden’s Middle East Legacy: Reality or Illusion? New Episode of the Kyle Anzalone Show

In this episode of the Kyle Anone Show, we unpack the narratives being crafted by officials in the waning days of the Biden administration. Jade Sullivan’s recent interview with Ian Bremmer reveals surprising developments in the Middle East that have shaped our understanding over the past year.

We explore how Israel has reestablished dominance and examine critical shifts involving Iran and Syria. However, amidst these discussions, it’s crucial to address what’s often overlooked: the devastating impact on Palestinian lives due to U.S.-backed actions. Join us as we unpack these complex issues and their implications for global politics.

Gaza: Cap Guns Versus Bazookas

Reprinted from Bracing Views with the author’s permission.

If one side is armed with cap guns and the other with bazookas, would we call that a “war” between roughly equal powers?

I thought of this as I turned to Antiwar.com to see that President Biden has approved yet another massive arms shipment to Israel, to the tune of $8 billion. Here’s the report:

The sale includes AIM-120C-8 AMRAAM air-to-air missiles, Hellfire AGM-114 missiles, 155 MM artillery rounds, small-diameter bombs, JDAM kits, and 500-pound bombs. Many of these munitions have been used by Israel during its campaign of extermination in Gaza, including in attacks on civilian targets.

In June, CNN reported that Israel used US small-diameter bombs in an attack on a school that killed 40 civilians. In October, The Washington Post noted, “The Biden administration has received nearly 500 reports alleging Israel used U.S.-supplied weapons for attacks that caused unnecessary harm to civilians in the Gaza Strip.”

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Bob Costello: Farewell to my dear old friend, RIP

I just found out that my old friend Bob Costello died in late November.

Bob and I met in the late 1970s in the Libertarian Party. We worked closely at the San Francisco Montgomery Street complex that included the LP, Libertarian Review, Cato Institute, and Students for a Libertarian Society.

Bob and I became fast friends and worked on a number of projects together. Along with Justin Raimondo, Colin Hunter, Murray Rothbard, Chris Weber, Jonnie Gilman, Scott Olmsted, Bill Evers, and others, Bob was part of the original central committee of the original Libertarian Party Radical Caucus.

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