The US says it’s ready for a unilateral military operation if the international community doesn’t react. Iran affirms that it can resist the US even if there is no international support. At this point, we need to understand the US, which asserts that Iranian support for the groups in Iraq is the main reason for the insecurity there. Secondly, if every country were to develop nuclear capabilities, the world wouldn’t be safer. That’s why Iran must be punished to set an example. But we should also understand Iran; it wants to know why Iranian efforts at uranium enrichment are a problem while many other countries’ similar efforts are not. Iran also tries to say that it is understandable to stop the US from staying in Iraq since US forces are now on the Iranian border. Iran tries to expose the fact that the US interventions against Iraq and Afghanistan are not legal in the eyes of international law, while Iran is criticized for not respecting international law and institutions. In fact, the US has already lost its chance to use international law to justify the war in Iraq, even if it can use it in Afghanistan. That’s why Iran appears to have strong arguments when it points out what has happened between Iraq and the US.
Before the intervention in Iraq, the US tried to justify the war. The main argument was the Iraqi regime’s efforts of developing weapons of mass destruction. As proof, some pictures taken from space showing trucks and buildings presented as factories were distributed to the press. The second argument was the alleged cooperation between Saddam and al-Qaeda. This argument was presented to use the legitimacy of the September 11 attacks and the war in Afghanistan. These two arguments were assembled to create a third and stronger argument: Iraq would transfer weapons of mass destruction to terrorist groups. But after the war, all these remained unproven. What is happening with Iran gives a feeling of deja vu. The US argues that Iran is about to produce weapons of mass destruction and is openly supporting Shia radical groups in Iraq. Some pictures taken from space are distributed to the press. With the help of the Mahdi Army, the connection between the weapons of mass destruction and terrorists has been established. Radical Shia groups are not attacking US territory directly, but they are the enemies because these Iranian-supported groups kill American soldiers in Iraq. In brief, the resemblance is clear. The US alleges that it has the right of self-defense as its soldiers are under attack. Besides, the US has appointed itself the mission to save the world from the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
Another deja vu is watching war simulations showing sites to be bombarded and weapons that will be used on television, as before the war in Iraq and even before the gulf war. This “show” can have many purposes. Maybe the US is trying to coerce Iran and other forces in the region by using this, when in fact it doesn’t have the intention of fighting a war. Or maybe the die has been cast and there is no turning back. In any case, we can say that the US is not very creative about tactics.
We should understand that the US is really stuck; we should understand Iran which is also stuck. What is not possible to understand is why other actors are still waiting while these two call for help.
