AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): Greg Simons, an analyst and professor at Daffodil University in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, has examined the ideological and informational aspects of the second aggressive war of the United States and Israel against Iran.
There is nothing more dangerous in the world of international relations than a declining empire that possesses a morally and ethically corrupt leadership. Imperial decline often initially manifests in the cognitive and psychological decline in the capability and capacity of its political leadership to recognise and pursue national interest and security. These factors are all very clearly observable in the decline of Pax Americana and the rule of President Donald Trump (2.0). This is symptomatic of the wider global trend and process of the great geopolitical transformation that is currently taking place in the 21st century, the relative decline of the US-led Global North (Western-centric) and the relative rise of the multipolar Global South (Non-Western centric). The actions and reactions of the primary actors in the current war of aggression by Israel and the United States against Iran can be partly understood through an ideological lens that guides the thinking and (re)actions of the sides.
In the euphoria of the end of the Cold War in 1991, the US perceived and projected itself as the victor of this era in a typical zero-sum fashion. As a consequence of this narrative, the level of hubris, arrogance and ignorance was magnified with the messianic predictions of being able to enforce an absolute global hegemony and to shape the world in its self-idealised image. Hence such proclamations as Francis Fukuyama and the End of History and the ideological idea of “Democratic Peace” (wars become obsolete if all non-democracies are forced into some form of ‘democratic’ governance). Those countries that sought to retain their self-respect and dignity on the world stage by remaining subjects of international relations and not wanting to become US objects were threatened with ideas of political warfare such as Samuel Huntington’s Clash of Civilisations and the creation of artificial fractures in society intended to destroy an independent society from the inside.
It has become increasingly clear in the last decade or so, Pax Americana is in severe trouble, the empire is in a clear state of relative decline. This relative decline is largely due to the hubris, arrogance and ignorance that has been generated as a result of the unipolar moment in history, the empire thought that there shall be no consequences for its actions no matter how ill-advised they are owing to the tangible reality of no peer competitor in international relations to constrain their actions. Hence, the Colour Revolutions, Arab Spring and Global War On Terrorism created regional chaos across the world, but also have soaked up US blood, treasure and reputation. One of the grand miscalculations based on hubris is the concentration on the tangible elements of war and coercion – how many soldiers and how much military equipment they have and how much physical damage can be done based on theoretical and mathematical estimates. Although, this ignores the intangible elements of war and resistance. True, there is a calculation of effect based on the presumed measure of military activity. But this ignores the obvious intangible elements of the people’s belief and trust in the political and military leadership as well as their level of willingness to fight and possibly die for a cause.
The US and Israel both make widespread use of information and communication immediately before a conflict as well as during the conflict. It is the use of information and communication in an attempt to justify and legitimise military action, even if the logic is false and manipulative. They attempt to project themselves as being “the good guys” against “the bad guys” like in some low-grade Hollywood fiction about a just and righteous war. The main point, information operations plays a subordinate role to military operations, which is attempted though information space dominance as the narrative is very flimsy, at best.
Trump once admitted to a reporter, who asked what constrains him in international relations as international law obviously does not, he answered his own morality. This is an odd and frightening admission from someone that has no apparent moral compass or sense of ethics, who attempts to pin the blame for the murder of some 170 elementary schoolgirls on Iran. The same person that has led the life of a playboy and avoided the military draft to Vietnam while now sending military personnel to the death. A narcissist with an enlarged and yet fragile ego, who we see unravelling on a stage of his making before the world. The lies are getting more desperate, his vindictiveness and cognitive fragility creating contradictions live as well as the numerous dilemmas posed.
Reasons for the second sneak attack by Israel and US within eight months remain in a constant state of flux and generally do not make sense. Especially when contradicted by the Omani Foreign Minister. Trump who created the fake façade of himself as being the master of the art of the deal and as his reality show character (The Apprentice), the alpha who everyone must come to and submit is disintegrating at an increasingly exponential rate. He has become the laughing stock of the world, his childish name for the illegal war against Iran and her people, Operation Epic Fury has been informally referred to as Operation Epstein’s Fury. Alluding to his likely underlying reason for waging this latest war of Zionist aggression against the one state in West Asia that is capable of preventing the realisation of the abomination of Greater Israel as an ideological dystopia.
Netanyahu is often referred to as the actual President of the United States, this unholy relationship is subject to satire and ridicule as it has become less subtle with time. Even though Israel and the US are fighting against Iran and Iranians, trying to bring back a historical time of a client state under their tyrannical control, there are different reasons for doing so. Trump and the US seek revenge for their ‘humiliation’ for the 1979 Iranian Revolution that delivered the people from being a US and Israeli client state. Also, Trump is not American First he has and always will be Trump First. Somehow, he has been ‘convinced’ this war of aggression may bring him personal glory and a legacy, if he refused to begin the war the legacy of the Epstein files may have been the result. A mix of coercive threat to release compromising photos of the man guided by his own morality to push him, but also the promise of military glory to pull him. Netanyahu on the other hand needs continuous war to keep him from being toppled from power and put in an Israeli prison, not for his numerous war crimes and crimes against humanity, but his abuse of office against his own citizens. As with Trump, Netanyahu is an ardent narcissist and runs on Netanyahu First, he also wants a legacy with his ‘glory’ at the centre of it. This was obvious from October 2023, the Greater Israel project as he flails politically from one disaster to the next of his own making.
The war is going badly politically, economically and militarily for Trump and Netanyahu. It is likely to result in their ouster from politics as well as the possible fracture of Israel and the end of Pax Americana. Their people, largely, do not believe or trust their political and military leadership in this war of choice. The use of collective punishment and numerous other war crimes and breaches of international law against the Iranian nation and civilisation, on the other hand bestows moral ascendancy in this existential war. It does not mean that Iran has not and does not hurt from the tangible military activity and aggression, but the intangible effects of these actions is to create resolve to resist this injustice and inhumanity being imposed upon them, to rally around with belief and trust in the political and military leadership of Iran to protect the interests and dignity of future generations. The Global South is seeing the real face of Pax Americana and Zionism in manner that has never been exposed to this extent before, even voices in the Global North are becoming more vocal against the degeneracy of their political leadership and state that they do not want to die for what they see as Israel’s war.
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