Give the U.S. an inch… (October 2025)

I queued this article in October of 2024 but never published it. Since Israel and the U.S. are gearing up to attack Iran again, it’s time to clear out the backlog.

The article Biden escalates toward disastrous war against Iran by Andre Damon (WSWS) writes,

“Iran surrounded by US basesUsing Iran’s attack on Israeli military infrastructure Tuesday as a pretext, the White House has effectively given Israel carte blanche to carry out an illegal attack against the most populous country in the region.

““We’ll be discussing with the Israelis what they’re going to do, but all seven of us [referring to the G7 nations] agree that they have a right to respond,” Biden said Wednesday. Reuters commented in a news report, “[T]he US is not pressing Israel to refrain from retaliation.””

Like it would matter if the U.S. had pressured Israel for anything. This is all just so tiresome. It’s always lies and deceit. It’s quite obvious that Iran is the end-goal. The U.S. use the Israelis as a very willing and enthusiastic proxy to take advantage of Iran’s reluctance to go to total war, just as the U.S. has Ukraine doing the same to Russia. These are proxy wars with the goal of weakening perceived enemies.

“One year after the start of the Gaza genocide, it has become clear that Israel seized upon the events of October 7 to implement long-held plans to ethnically cleanse and annex all Palestinian territories. This is part of a regional war throughout the Middle East to conquer what the Zionist state claims to be its biblical borders.

“For the United States, it has been a means to cement imperialist control over the oil-rich Middle East region and to establish the Middle East and Central Asia as a firm base for US military operations in order to press ahead with its confrontation with Russia and China.”

Uncle Sam relaxes with a glass of oil and his feet on a pile of skullsIt has always been about the oil. U.S. actions in Venezuela, Russia, and now Iran are not coincidentally in the oil-rich areas of the world that have either not come under the control of the U.S. Empire or had been taken away. Iran and Venezuela nationalized their oil and infrastructure. The Saudis have learned their lesson and have learned to curtail their mouthiness. As soon as they step out of line, they’ll have a proxy war on their hands, too.

These are just high-level plans, though. On the ground, It never works out this way. Military capability, goodwill, and good standing will continue to be burned for the benefit of a handful of elite winners at the helm of the U.S. war machine.

“It is high time to put an end to the myth that Israel is an actor independent of the United States. Israel’s primary function is as an attack dog and instrument of the interests of American imperialism throughout the entire region.”

What did the illustrious “opposition” leader Walz have to say?

“Walz said, “We will protect our forces and our allied forces, and there will be consequences.” Vance added, “Look, it is up to Israel what they think they need to do to keep their country safe. And we should support our allies wherever they are when they’re fighting the bad guys.””

The “bad guys.”

Oh. Ok. So, everyone is simpering and stupid.

“[…] no one bothered to note, first, that such an attack would be completely illegal, and second, that it would have monumental and historic consequences for the entire world.”

Neither of those things—illegality or consequences—are of particular interest to the people in charge. They don’t recognize laws as applying to them, and they never feel consequences.

Their supporters live in a propaganda bubble so impenetrable that they couldn’t even begin to process the idea that anything the U.S. or Israel might want to do is “illegal”. The notion doesn’t even compute. How can a nation that never does anything wrong do something illegal? It’s inconceivable.

Nor can they imagine that anything the U.S. does would lead to anything but positive consequences, as long as the U.S. extends its governance and grip on the world. How could that be a bad thing? The U.S. is an unprecedented force for good in humanity’s long history.

“The US media is presenting a looming Israeli attack on Iran as a response to the strikes launched by Iran on Israeli military bases on Tuesday. In fact, Iran’s attack was a response to a series of US-Israeli bombings, murders and terrorist attacks that have killed thousands of people throughout the Middle East.”

I really don’t think that it’s going to suffice to term the U.S. media “useful idiots” anymore. They are complicit. They know exactly what they are doing. They are well-compensated propagandists for Empire, no different than Goebbels and his crew were. Or, as These Are US Wars. These Are Biden’s Wars. by Caitlin Johnstone (Substack) puts it: “No matter how much you might despise the mainstream press, it’s not enough.”

The originally cited article concludes,

“The Iranian regime has repeatedly adopted an attitude of restraint to these US and Israeli provocations. There was no significant response to the murder of Qasem Soleimani in 2020, and Iran’s regime has tolerated repeated assassinations of scientists, and most recently, an Israeli bombing in Tehran itself. The president of Iran, Masoud Pezeshkian, speaking for the Iranian ruling class, has repeatedly adopted the most conciliatory attitude toward the imperialist powers. These efforts at conciliation have now failed, and the Iranian regime is coming under increasing pressure to resist and retaliate.”

Give ‘em an inch and they take a mile.

Has the lesson been learned? Is Iran prepared? Or is it just as powerless before the military might of the U.S. Empire as Venezuela? Will it be unable to fire a shot for fear of what might come as punishment for having defended itself?