“The strong do what they can, and the weak suffer what they must.”
― Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War
Waging war for personal gain perpetuates global insecurity and moral hypocrisy among powerful regimes.
When regimes unilaterally start conflicts and illegal wars by bombing schools and children, best believe they mean business. The business in question is intentional cruelty mixed with gratuitous violence, promoting endless war and global insecurity solely for personal gain. The strategy of such maniacal hegemonic giants is rooted in the war economy and its “fruits.” This is what pays. Murdering school-going young girls is what really brings home the big bucks. You may wonder how they get away with it. It is quite simple, really. Commit atrocious war crimes in a foreign land and when confronted with it internationally, scream out, “propaganda!” and “pre-emptive self-defense.” This is, in a nutshell, what the terror domes of the US empire and the Israeli Zionists have been up to in Iran since last year’s 12-day war (also initiated illegally) and the recent full-scale assault on the nation. This should not be confused with the decades-long economic warfare being waged against Iran by the US and Israel, which has lasted for about 45 years. It is also crucial to distinguish that these are not naturally occurring, arbitrary actions. These are calculated, premeditated policy measures deployed to weaken and break the will of a nation over a long period.
We might also come across many well-informed and not at all unfounded claims that Israel forced the US into this illegal war; however, that is a half-truth. The US has relied on such open violence for its power consolidation in foreign countries for ages. In fact, the US has been an unstoppable gangster in the global realm since the 1950s, while feigning a message of world peace and universal fundamental rights. These false-prophet dynamics and business models are seen in other European countries as well, which proudly claim to shoulder the responsibilities of preserving the international order, deeming themselves champions of human rights, but cannot and do not wish to oppose similar interests with the US-Israel nexus. Thus, never going past initial condemnations, these states later on reluctantly side with the war criminals, and gradually shift towards the harder stance of battling the ‘other’ that is now the sole threat to global peace, ignoring the ones who ravenously started an unlawful murder campaign in a sovereign state.
At some point, we must ask ourselves how regimes build this morally superior excuse for defending themselves on foreign soil. A rational mind would see this lunacy for what it is. How are world leaders, top elites, and political giants defending these obvious, grotesque tactics? To understand that, it would be pertinent to consider a dictum by 19th-century French economist, Frédéric Bastiat, “When plunder becomes a way of life for a group of men in a society, over the course of time, they create for themselves a legal system that authorizes it and a moral code that glorifies it.”
This scenario was observed on the ground when unlawful air strikes on Iran began by the US and Israel. The US ― embarrassingly setting aside its previous stance of having ‘totally obliterated’ Iran’s nuclear programs ― claimed the urgent need to eradicate an imminent threat from Iran’s supposed nuclear weapons, hence, the air strikes on 28th February 2026. Not to mention, Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad Albusaidi told the media how Iran had accepted all the terms set by the US administration regarding their nuclear enrichment goals, making this illegal war even more unnecessary and ill-founded. Then, Israel’s very own demonic Prime Minister Netanyahu opens this debate wide open by making contradictory statements about this illegal war. First, he claimed the pre-emption of an existential threat to the state of Israel from Iran’s nuclear weapons, without any proof, which was enough justification for them to assault a sovereign state with bombs. In the following days, he put up a statement that says he has been ‘yearning’ to wage this war for the last 40 years. Therefore, the picture has been painted quite vividly for the global audience, if they wish to open their eyes to these blatant hypocrisies.
As expected, European countries backtracked on their initial strongly worded statements of not supporting such violations of international law by the US and Israel. For instance, UK Prime Minister Kier Starmer promised not to compromise on international law standards by giving the US their airways or bases to conduct attacks on Iran. However, in early March, Starmer permitted the US to use their airspace and military bases for “limited defense” purposes. President Macron of France also recently stated that allies are preparing for a ‘defensive’ mission to open the Strait of Hormuz. Again, these are not coincidences or the needs of the hour. This is how it was always going to unfold, and any sane person could have predicted the response. There is a high chance that these current limitations for defense will also morph into offensive capabilities. Full-blown military actions by the West towards the Iranian regime to ‘subdue the rogue’ are entirely reasonable future developments, given the historical and present contexts available to those watching. My aim, by passing such a beleaguered judgment, is to shake us, wake us, and unite us against the redundant false narratives being propagated by the Western mass media that encompasses popular discourse.
Rational thinking is easy; it is a natural human instinct to call a spade a spade. However, contemporary modes of information have been ubiquitously and aggressively polluted. Key factors and ground realities are kept from the public or falsified to suit a certain belief system. According to the Middle East Monitor, Israel is paying influencers $7,000 per post to generate pro-Israel content on social media, a tool every individual uses religiously, almost every minute of every day. Similarly, AI companies like ChatGPT are also paid millions to ensure data and responses that present the genocidal regime of Israel and the US dominion in a positive light. In such a situation, the strongest wall of defense for ordinary citizens is reading. Read voraciously, and read as your life depends on it, because I assure you, it does. Susan Sontag, in her 1966 critical essay, described the US as a curious hybrid state that was both apocalyptic and valetudinarian in nature. She guaranteed that this trajectory would lead to more wars and wider wars. Additionally, books like Vincent Bevins’ Jakarta Method uncover the violent, extermination-based policies and programs of the US administration throughout 1945 to 2000, laying bare a pattern of imperialist disregard and violation of international norms, while claiming a moral high ground to justify disproportionate damages to foreign countries.
The headline is, They will woo you with promises of democracy and civil liberties, while they cut your roots and drain you of any independent political will. Not to mention, the countless mass murder campaigns of civilians in the name of ‘casualties of war.’ Therefore, it is our duty as citizens to stay well-informed and educated about these bitter truths. These are facts and ammo for our mental and physical safety. People are tired of the trite reasoning for carrying out endless wars and the garish show of strength that only results in further damage to the environment and human life. It would be a truly peaceful society if geopolitics were based on visions of social and ecological human welfare rather than the structural rot of the war economy, sitting comfortably in the laps of dictatorial leaders of apparent democracies. Waging wars for the sake of war is how the world will end. If not today, then tomorrow. There has to be a better way to live on our home planet, and it is well within our grasp if we only strive for it.
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The views and opinions expressed in this article/paper are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of Paradigm Shift.
Eesha Afzal is a lawyer with a master's in international dispute resolution. She writes on governance, global policy, and international affairs. She can be reached at [email protected].
