Everything happened – and hopefully it ended – so rapidly that at any point the media stopped following, and attempts to analyse the situation, written lyrics and recorded podcasts became obsolete before publication.
On Sunday, June 22, morning, the United States joined a fire exchange between Iran and Israel, which seems to have made an effort to destruct the Iranian atomic program on its own. In the American attack, this program either was "destroyed," as Trump announced, or barely grazed as Iran declared. The fact must lie in the middle.
In a symbolic response, Iran launched 14 rockets on an American base in Qatar, prior to informing the Qatari government, so that almost all rockets were intercepted. This did not end the rocket exchange between Iran and Israel, which continued until Trump unexpectedly — possibly under force in the US — called for an immediate ceasefire.
"God Bless America, God Bless Israel and God Bless Iran," said the president, adding a fewer days later that both countries fight each another so long that "they don't know what the fuck they're doing." Since then, the ceasefire has continued, though any day can change that.
The 12-day war, as the American president called it, showed us a lot. We have seen not only what Trump's abroad policy looks like in practice, but above all how political parties, Congress, media and public opinion in the US respond to the possible war with Iran.
This reaction shows one more time the change of both parties in their approach to abroad policy. It's not like the Republicans are going for war, but the Democrats are going for peace. Americans on both sides of the political barricades are heartily tired of intervention in the world, which translates into a situation in the country, not only distracting attention from the economy and mediocre citizens, but besides affecting the condition of subsequent generations of American men who return from these wars straumatised, threatening to the environment and themselves. The United States has nearly 16 million veterans who the government can't handle and who die of suicide in poorness or prisons.
Still, nothing shocks more than American ignorance of everything that happens in the wide world. The name Iran begins with the letter ‘i’, so immediately there were comparisons with Iraq – is the United States setting up a long war again in the mediate East?
The position towards the Iraq War (2003–2011) was, and hopefully inactive is, the most crucial issue for American voters, voting for their leaders in fresh years. Loudly opposing The foolishness of this warwhich began with false assurances that Iraq leader Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, Obama won the 2008 presidential election. The same position helped Trump win the presidency in 2016 and in 2024 – it is the same isolationism, expressed by criticism and questioning the sense of NATO.
A lion's share of MEGA voters voted for Trump as critic of American interventions in the world, and especially the years of wars in the mediate East. Now, for example, the war would draw attention and resources distant from the "immigration problem" and interrupt the mass deportation program, which Trump fans believe is doing rather well. They want the government to focus on hostile forces at home – Marxists, anti-Semitists, feminists, political activists and “illegal aliens”.
Therefore, just after the attack on Iran, any Trump voters expressed large concern about the president's abroad policy, but the fast deescalation of the conflict clearly calmed them. possibly actually "Trump is always right", as it says on his favourite red baseball?
Meanwhile, modern-day Democrats do not even pretend to hold conventional leftist positions in abroad policy based on anti-imperialism. This was very well seen in the Biden administration erstwhile the Democrats supported military efforts not only of Ukraine, but besides of Israel in Gaza. In Iran, too, they are no different from Republicans – they besides see him as America's deadly enemy.
Americans inactive have the 1979 hostage crisis in their heads erstwhile Iran humiliated America, and in retaliation for the coup that the Americans carried out in 1953, changing power against the will of the people. That communicative gave power to the U.S. Republicans for many years, starting with Ronald Reagan's 1980 win, and until now it has not been verified. The only thing Americans know is that “Iran cannot have atomic weapons”. And the fact that specified a weapon is owned by the US and that Israel has it is treated as an apparent and correct state of affairs, although Israel evidently keeps its atomic program secret and, unlike Iran, does not let UN inspectors into the country.
The anticipation of starting a full-scale war with Iran – a Republican dream from Bush elder and Bush junior times – criticized talking heads from both political camps. The comedian and political commentator Jon Stewart noted with disbelief that he agrees with MEGA star-right Tucker Carlson, and even with the MEGA strategist, Steve Bannon, who warned Trump before stepping in another war in the mediate East.
Carlson He made a fool of himself on the air. Republican senator from Texas Ted Cruz erstwhile he showed that supporting the attack on Iran politician does not know the number of people of the country he wants to bomb, and he does not know what spiritual groups are represented there. Another right-wing star, Marjorie Taylor Greene, unexpectedly clinched—in the name of American isolationism—with Medea Benjamin of the left-wing anti-war Code Pink movement.
Trump, however, faces a very different mediate East than its predecessors. An expanding number of arabian states are trying to get along with Israel, which in turn is increasing stronger and He's going ahead.. Russia is busy with the war in Ukraine, Syria has a fresh government, and Afghan Taliban They got their hands off the US.
Trump thus grows up to be a genius of instant military action, finished so rapidly that they cannot be called war. That's how it went with Syria in 2017 and Yemen in March of that year. The problem – and possibly indeed any sick genius? – is that Trump can rapidly convince himself to change his position, as in the case of Russia (good Putin, bad Putin) and China (good Xi, bad Xi). The president applies the same tactics to NATO and in the context of the announced and immediately later suspended duties – after the provoking scale is extended beyond the limits, a retreat occurs quickly, which ends with verbal hugs and pats on the shoulder.
Every time it's roulette and playing with fire, which so far pays off to Trump. Although did the attack on Iran make sense? The administration and the Pentagon are trying to hide the panic by convincing the media that the Iranian atomic program has been completely neutralized. But if it's true, as any experts say, that Iran will pull this program together in just a fewer months, the Twelve-day War will be history's absurdity.
