Viewpoint: Operation epic failure – the real reason for the war
Charlie McPherson
Well, the U.S. is at it again. After the wild breakout successes in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, and Libya, our President of Peace, along with the Israeli regime, has attacked Iran. But this time around, their reasons for doing so are crystal clear.
Yep, it’s definitely—the Iranian government’s crackdown on protesters. No, wait, it’s their treatment of women. Nah, never mind, it’s their “state sponsorship of terrorism”. Nope, it’s gotta be their “weapons of mass destruction.” Funny, I think I’ve heard that phrase before.
Apparently, our foreign policy is being decided by people with Alzheimer’s. Here’s an
excerpt from a recent Pentagon meeting: “We’ll say there’s weapons of mass destruction, we haven’t tried that one yet, have we? Can I have your pudding?!”
In spite of the Trump administration’s prevaricating, chest-thumping, and assorted barnyard noises, the unspoken goals behind this latest example of aggression are profit and imperial domination. As Marine Maj. Gen. Smedley Butler put it in his 1935 book, War Is a Racket…war is a racket. Let’s break it down.
The Islamic Republic of Iran produces oil. Lots of it. More oil than even Pete Hegseth’s greasy hair can tolerate. But Iran doesn’t sell its oil in U.S. dollars, as nations like Saudi Arabia do. When oil is sold outside of the U.S. dollar, the U.S. gets no cut of the profits and it weakens the power of the dollar as the main international trade currency.
As more and more oil-producing nations refuse the U.S. dollar, this limits the U.S.’s ability to print virtually limitless money without catastrophic inflation. In other words, Iran’s status as an oil producer operating outside of U.S. dollar dominance defies the U.S. empire and threatens its world domination.
Secondly, there’s China. The People’s Republic is currently hatching its dastardly leftist plot to trade with other nations and create win-win arrangements with its trading partners. Chinese trade, through the popular Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), connects China, Central and West Asia, Africa, Europe, and Latin America into a cooperative global trade network. Meanwhile, the U.S. abducts leaders at will and steals assets from “disobedient nations”. Funny how aiding nations’ development works better than bombs do.
Iran and its petroleum industry are central facets to the foundation of China’s BRI. Part of the reason for U.S. aggression towards Iran is to interrupt trade with China and stymie the budding multipolar world of equal trade and cooperation that China and other members of the BRICS+ (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) economic bloc are building 9 .
Finally, there’s Israel, everyone’s favorite genocidal uncle. Iran, the most powerful nation in West Asia, is categorically opposed to Israel’s genocide in Gaza, apartheid in the West Bank, and butchery of the indigenous Palestinian population. Netanyahu has been whimpering about Iranian nuclear weapons since 1996, despite no evidence of such weapons and an Iranian religious edict stating that use of such weapons is un-Islamic. Israel’s lies about Iranian nuclear weapons are part of their larger project to dominate West Asia and eliminate all opposition.
Despite the stupidity and vulgarity of Trump and Hegseth, this attack on Iran is part of a larger plan of conquest, robbery, and domination. It is designed to blunt China’s rise, assert control over Iran, and aid a wanted war criminal’s savage crimes. The U.S. empire is awash in blood, from Iranian schoolchildren to Palestinian civilians, Ukrainian teenagers forced to the front, and Cubans starving under U.S. blockade.
It is our duty together to dismantle this depraved murder machine and build a future based on life, hope, and happiness in place of want, cruelty, and death.
Charlie McPherson is an organizer with the Western Montana Democratic Socialists of
America.