Mastodawn

🧵 1/5

My current thoughts on the war against Iran.

In the first place, I want this war to end as soon as possible. I want an end to the killing, maiming, and terror.

This clearly an unjust war. No matter how odious the regime in Tehran actually is, this war, like other "preventive" wars, does not meet the conditions required for being termed a just war. Most of the justifications the US and Israel have put forward have claimed that war now will prevent a graver conflict against a monstrous enemy in the future.This kind of justification is rejected by almost all jurists and philosophers. The doctrine of "preventive" war is in fact a formula for perpetual armed strife.

I also find both Trump's use of terms like "fun" and "excursion" with reference to the war and Hegseth's naked bloodlust disgusting.

Although Hegseth proclaims his faith in Jesus, his real devotion is to Ares; if only he could be locked up like the god he worships!

Image of Ares imprisoned in a jar taken from "D'Aulaires Book of Greek Myths".

#Iran #War #JustWar #PreventiveWar #DonaldTrump #PeterHegseth #Ares

Show thread

Jonathan Emmesedi 1d ago

🧵 2/5

I'm relieved that the US airman was rescued, not just for the sake of the man and his family, but also because the US media coverage would have been unbearable.

I also note that his aircraft took off from a British base, RAF Lakenheath. This makes the UK complicit in this unjust war. Although Starmer has been right to distance himself from Trump's aggression, he should have gone further and, following the example of the Spanish government, forbidden the US forces the use of UK bases to wage war against Iran.

Show thread

Jonathan Emmesedi 1d ago

🧵3/5

https://aje.news/b37lkn

The current Iranian regime has a long history of violent antisemitism, terror, and implacable hatred of Israel.

Nevertheless, its aggression was being contained. It did not pose an imminent nuclear threat to Israel and its proxies in Lebanon were on the back foot.

What will Israel do if the USA walks away leaving an embittered and empowered regime in place? What will Israel do if the USA continues its attacks and the region lapses into a chaos that will not be confined to the present borders of Iran? What will Israel do if the already sinking support for Israel in the US plummets following a failure of the US to win decisively?

One can't help suspecting that Netanyahu's real fear was not of Israel being attacked but of his own being held to account for his failings and corruption.

Most Israelis support the war at the moment, but I think history will vindicate that small minority of Israelis protesting against the war.

Israeli police arrest antiwar protesters in Tel Aviv

Israeli police clashed with protesters and made arrests in Tel Aviv as demonstrators rallied against the war on Iran.

Al Jazeera

Show thread

Jonathan Emmesedi

🧵 4/5

One of the bad consequences of this attack on Iran by the USA and Israel is the damage it will do anti-regime movements and human rights advocates within Iran. Many of them will feel outraged by the bombing of their compatriots, and all of them will now be dubbed as traitors and collaborators not only by the government but perhaps too by a substantial proportion of their fellow Iranians.

Diplomacy, international campaigning by human rights groups, and the supply of peaceful means of communication and publicity to opponents of the regime would have been a better course to follow. How will the Tehran regime ever be persuaded to get back to the negotiating table with either its domestic or foreign opponents after what has happened now?

Image: A woman holding the "Woman, Life, Freedom" sign, with the fallen street sign "Jomhouri Eslami" (Islamic Republic) in the background and tear gas in the air. October 1st 2022. Tehran, Iran.Middle East Images/Redux

Show thread

Jonathan Emmesedi 1d ago

🧵 5/5

If, as seems all too likely, this war is not an unqualified success for the USA, then one can expect that PR catastrophe the Secretary of War Crimes to be sacked.

But there will no real accountability for him and his fellow criminals all the way up to Trump. In fact, we have to expect that in a few years Hegseth will be speechifying about how a decisive victory was snatched away from the Jesus warriors by pusillanimous lawyers and journalists.