Atlanta, GA
June 19, 2025
The American republic died long ago. But till recently, elected officials at least had the decency to honor its memory.
When starting stupid wars in distant places, our “leaders” at least pretended to be bound by constitutional scruples. Even if it didn’t do something as quaint as declare war, Congress would pass resolutions delegating its power to the president.
This was obviously illegal. But it was at least a wink toward constitutional constraints.
Our leaders now think so little of the rubes they rule that they no longer pretend the Constitution matters. Despite launching or supporting a daisy chain of wars since the start of this century, declaring one never comes up. It’s just assumed to be the president’s prerogative.
Speaking of which, regarding potential military action in Iran, President Trump had this to say:
"I may do it, I may not do it, nobody knows what I'm going to do.”
“I”?
Ron Paul replied correctly to Trump’s unhinged grandiosity, noting that “America's Founders drafted a Constitution to protect us from this.”
But the Constitution is worthless if no one enforces it. As Lysander Spooner put it, “the Constitution either permits what’s happening, or is unable to prevent it. Either way, it’s unfit to exist.”
That Trump’s comments not only go unchallenged by Congress, but are cheered by most members, reveals how far that institution has sunk. The judiciary, which fell over itself to intervene when the executive branch fired its own employees, sits silent as the president usurps Congressional power.
Honest Brokers
The ostensible reasons for war with Iran have been repeatedly refuted. Unlike Israel, Iran has no nuclear weapons, has invaded no neighbors, lacks capacity or desire to attack the U.S., and has consistently complied with non-proliferation treaties.
War proponents note that for forty-five years Iranians have chanted “Death to America” and called the U.S. the “Great Satan”.
This is true. But so what? They’ve hated us for almost half a century and haven’t done anything about it. Unless irresistibly provoked, why would they start now?
And what caused such heated enmity? Is it possible the US regime did something to irk the Iranians?
Or do they simply “hate us for our freedom”… as if one day in 1979 a bunch of mullahs stumbled upon the Declaration of Independence or found a photo of a chick in a bikini, suddenly went berserk, and ordered crazed students to storm the embassy?
Or might their antipathy have something to do with incessant US meddling where it doesn’t belong? Had America stayed in its hemisphere and minded its own business, Iran likely wouldn’t have its reactionary regime.
Perhaps the Persians didn’t appreciate the CIA ditching their democratically elected government in 1953, and installing a dictatorial puppet for the next quarter-century?
Maybe Iranians resent the U.S. sponsoring a regional attack dog that wags its owner whenever it wants. Before Israel was established, the U.S. had almost nothing to do with the Middle East… and no enemies in the area.
No one burned U.S. flags or chanted “Death to America”. Within the region, Americans were mostly appreciated, and considered honest brokers among competing powers.
But a few years later, the CIA overthrew the elected ruler of Iran and replaced him with the Shah. Increasing intervention has defined U.S. policy ever since… with an overt tilt toward Israeli desire.
For apparently unrelated reasons, during the ensuing decades planes started being hijacked, hostages taken, barracks bombed, and buildings targeted by passenger jets.
Deafening Screams
The best thing the U.S. can do (and the last thing it will do) is butt out. It should shutter every base in the area and withdraw all troops from the region. The flow of US munitions and money to every country should immediately cease.
With the deafening screams of recent experience, this should go without saying. After the fall of the Soviet Union, the U.S. government wasted the “peace dividend”. Rather than revert to being a constitutional republic, it reasserted itself as a global bully.
For four decades, it’s flushed trillions of dollars and millions of lives into destructive interventions in god-forsaken sh*tholes… which is what many parts of this country have begun to resemble.
America is dying internally, suffering internal division, cultural decay, rising crime, crumbling infrastructure, festering homelessness, chronic disease, a deteriorating dollar, unassimilable migrants, and almost $40T of federal (never mind state, local, and private) debt. The last thing we need are more idiotic wars.
It’s not as if ancient history is required to learn the lessons of these disastrous quagmires. This century is a catalogue of catastrophic conflicts.
If we’ve learned anything from them (apparently we haven’t), it’s that their consequences are mostly unforeseen, and usually worse than even the pessimists predict.
What recent war has been “successful”? None this century have had anything to do with “national defense”… except to the extent they undermined it by creating millions of new enemies we don’t need.
Farcical Pretense
Preventing Iran from developing nukes is a farcical pretense for launching attacks. That regime is no closer to nuclear weapons than it has been for twenty years. Why the sudden “threat” that warrants war?
To the extent Iran has done anything to advance its nuclear capabilities, it was in response to Trump ripping up the original deal in his first term. Iran acknowledges its enrichment capabilities for civilian medical and power purposes, but that’s not synonymous with building a bomb.
The IAEA and Trump’s own administration affirm this assessment. Just three months ago, Trump’s own Director of National Intelligence refuted the notion in testimony to Congress.
When reminded this week of Tulsi Gabbard’s words, the president disrespected his director by saying “I don’t care what she said.”
That being the case, Tulsi Gabbard should resign. Why work for someone who publicly denigrates you while dismissing what you say?
While there’s no evidence Iran has nuclear weapons, these attacks provide further incentive for them (and every other regime) to have some… just as the U.S. and Israel do.
Yet, as if to preemptively scuttle any potential deal, Trump insists enrichment be prohibited. This is nonsensical, like allowing McDonalds to make burgers so long as they don’t use beef. The demand was made knowing it would be rejected, and provide pretext for a long-awaited war.
At the behest of Israel, the president is fomenting one on the plateau of Persia. A few days ago Trump told ten million Iranians to leave Tehran, as if the city is about to receive the Gaza treatment.
Who the hell does he think he is? How would Americans react if the Ayatollah ordered residents of Washington to flee the district?
Sinister and Stupid
This entire fiasco makes Trump look terrible. As it should.
He either pretended to negotiate while knowing an attack was imminent, or was blindsided by Israel bombing Iran while letting him think he was cutting a deal. The president was either duplicitous or impotent.
Neither is good. But which is worse?
If Trump was unaware of the attack, his fear of looking like a fool (too late) isn’t letting him call Israel out. Rather than thwart a moronic war by admitting he’d been duped, he prefers to pretend his double-cross was part of the plan.
Regardless, Trump is sending disconcerting signals that he’ll mire America in another worthless war, and is willing to wreck his presidency and country to appease Israel. And he’ll do this on his own, with no declaration from Congress… much of which is cheering him on.
Everything about this is sinister and stupid. The endeavor is even dumber than recent regime-change wars, not only because Iran is a more difficult target… but because Trump has the fresh lessons of those disasters that he refuses to heed.
What of genuine threats this phony one could precipitate? How many nefarious sleeper cells have entered the U.S. during the decades the border has been open? Could any be activated in response to another American attack in the Middle East? Would one be used as a “false flag” to retroactively “justify” invasion of Iran?
Al Qaeda was ostensibly the culprit on 9/11. They are enemies of Iran, so toppling the ayatollah would be a blessing to them. It could open vast terrain to recruit and rebuild, much as they did in the boiling cauldron of post-war Iraq.
All of these are unknowns, among scores of unpredictable consequences war advocates breezily brush aside. After two decades of carnage, even those who admit earlier errors shrug their shoulders and urge doing it again.
No Brain
And they apparently have a president who’s all ears… and no brain. He’s not alone. There are many empty heads on the Hill.
In response to Trump telling Iranians to “evacuate Tehran”, the loathsome Representative Randy Fine summed up his bellicose sentiment by flippantly posting “bombs away”, not caring how many innocent lives he’s cheering away.
He also posted this. Again, this is an American politician:
Even among intelligent people, the ignorance is astounding. Despite being a proponent for this war, Senator Ted Cruz admitted he didn’t know the population of Iran. How big a threat can a government be if you don’t know rudimentary facts about the country it rules?
It doesn’t matter. Except to the extent this war makes it one, Iran is no threat to the United States.
But it’s an inconvenience to Israel, in the pocket of which Senator Cruz comfortably nestles. He needn’t make a coherent argument to attack Iran. His only job is to do what he’s told.
Whether as payoff for campaign contributions or because of blackmail regarding illicit financing or nefarious files, Donald Trump is willing to dangle from Israeli strings.
Whatever the reasons, he’s acting like a lunatic… and clearly not in America’s interest.
He posted a demand for “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER” from a country with which the U.S. is supposedly not at war. This is deranged and asinine, the language Truman used (and that General Eisenhower wisely opposed) to rationalize dropping atomic bombs on Japan.
During his first term, Donald Trump was twice impeached for nonsensical reasons. But as with every president this century (including Trump), waging an undeclared war warrants removal from office.
This process should already be underway. But it won’t happen, because the president’s accusers would be complicit. With all the criticism Trump receives, he’s never blamed for lobbing bombs.
As in Syria or Yemen, he’s cheered for it. And not just (or even mostly) by Jews, plenty of whom oppose what the Israeli government does in their name. Many of the most maniacal Zionists… including the current U.S. ambassador to Israel… are nominal “Christians”, and Evangelical lunatics:
Relying on a demented dispensationalism, they weaponize “Christianity” in the West to eradicate Christianity in the Holy Land. This probably isn’t their intent. But had it been, it’s hard to conceive what they’d have done differently.
I have no fear any Iranian will kill me. I’m not worried about a rogue Russian picking my pocket. But I know with absolute certainty my own government will steal my money and endanger my life. Thru inflation, taxes, debt, and war it does so every day and all the time.
War proponents often remind us we live in “a dangerous world”. That’s correct, particularly given what they’ve done to it.
But the greatest peril is closer to home.
JD
Unfortunately JD, every word you have written is true.
And even more unfortunately those in power are unlikely to read them or act on them!
It does make you wonder what dirt they have got on the political class in the land of the free!
JD, your analysis is spot on. Thank you.
BTW, if I hadn't seen the video evidence I would not have believed that Ted Cruz did not know even approximately Iran's population. Let's bomb a country into oblivion -- never mind that it has millions (I don't know how many and I don't care) of people.
Makes a body despair.