Donald Trump and Marco Rubio assured the world that conflicts with Iran were terminated.
Today, the United States announced it attacked Iranian military sites after alleged “unprovoked Iranian attacks” against three American destroyers in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran accused the U.S. of firing on an Iranian oil tanker. Israel expanded its ongoing strikes against Lebanon, where over 1 million people have been displaced. The UAE has pulled out of OPEC, and Saudi Arabia and Kuwait recently denied their ally, Trump, access to their airspace and military bases.
Mission obviously accomplished.
What a stunning victory for Donald Trump, who did something no other president has been dumb enough to do in the past 47 years by joining Israel in an illegal and disastrous regime change in Iran. Now, the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, gas prices keep skyrocketing, there are food shortages, thousands of people have died, and our allies are moving away from us and towards China.
Dr. Robert Pape, who has studied this phenomenon for the past three decades, predicted all of this three months ago. He takes no joy in being right but wishes the Trump Administration would read his research, listen to wise counsel, or learn from history. Military conflict will only entrench hardliners in Iran and further drag America into an unwinnable quagmire. Trump must take the L, nurse the black eye, and move towards diplomacy, but that would require introspection, humility, and competence.
Sadly, he has none.
The escalation abroad is tied directly to a rise in violent populism at home. Since the January 6th insurrection, Pape has been studying the root causes and profiles of that violent uprising incited by Trump. Looking at historical models, Pape predicts the upcoming elections might be the bloodiest yet as American democracy and trust in our institutions continue “fracturing.” Trump is only pouring gasoline on the fire as Republicans are openly trying to steal seats and gerrymander black voters out of existence in Southern states. With rising income inequality, America - a country with more guns than people - is on the brink of implosion.
He joins The Left Hook again to discuss the escalation trap and the rise and mainstreaming of violent populism in America.
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Thank you Amy Gabrielle, LC - Silence is Complicity, Marnie Screams Into the Void, Captainlippy, Laura A. Drury, and many others for tuning into my live video with Prof Robert Pape! Join me for my next live video in the app.
