FLASH
Shkruar nga Antonio Polito
The real strategic objective of the war, and also its only ethical and political justification, is to prevent another Middle Eastern power from acquiring the atomic bomb. Israel's nuclear status, according to this doctrine, must remain unique in the region...
We are witnesses, shocked and helpless, of another war, once again. The extent of Europe's distancing from the Great Game that is changing the global balance of power is evidenced every day. Our feelings are divided. On the one hand, there is the bitter and alarming realization that the world is increasingly governed by force. War as a "means of settling international disputes": practically what we, in our Constitution, reject. National sovereignty is now little more than a simulacrum if not defended by sufficient military force.
This is a reversal of the very raison d'être of the European project. Where we had chosen to rely on the "soft power" of trade and culture, the reality of this new era tells us that what matters is instead "hard": the will to power, military superiority, technological innovation. Three assets that we do not possess. The future will bring dependence and subjugation if we do not act, and soon.
A “new war,” moreover, waged with artificial intelligence, equipped with a seemingly surgical precision that could make seduction easier and more commonplace. A barrage of “targeted assassinations” for the third time in a few months has brought to its knees a power like Iran, once seen as impenetrable in mystery, fearsome in repression, and rampant in terrorism. If it’s so easy to do, they’ll do it again.
On the other hand, we cannot mourn the death of Ali Khamenei, the world's longest-serving dictator, nor that of the 48 leaders of his brutal regime, capable of killing in a few days a number of Iranian civilians comparable to the Palestinians exterminated by Israel in the Gaza war. Although, I fear, the natural tendency of many of our domestic demagogues to always side with tyrannies and against the free world may not spare us the spectacle of some street demonstrations in defense of the rights of the ayatollahs, as happened with Maduro.
On the other hand, the darling of these demagogues, Vladimir Putin, who has tortured the Ukrainian people for four years, has now dared to challenge, on the basis of "international law", the American action against a traditional ally of Moscow, the supplier of the Russian Army with drones to be launched against Ukraine, a precious part of the "axis of resistance" that Moscow does not have the means to defend.
But it is too early to choose which sentiment to favor: whether to despair about the way the world is going or to hope that at least all of this will serve some purpose. Much will depend on the objectives of this war and its results.
First of all, we know that we should have no illusions. The attack on Iran was not born of the intention to export democracy or the rule of law to Persia, held hostage by the ayatollahs. Although Trump has appealed to the legitimate aspirations of millions of brave Iranian citizens to be free from tyranny, and although that may well be the ultimate outcome of this war, it was not undertaken with that intention in mind. Trump is not George W. Bush. Iran is not another Iraq. The new American right is too nationalistic, “America first,” and focused on Maga to commit manpower and economic resources to such an ambitious and long-term project.
The real strategic objective of the war, and also its only ethical and political justification, is to prevent another Middle Eastern power from acquiring the atomic bomb. Israel’s nuclear status, according to this doctrine, must remain unique in the region, to prevent a full-scale war from breaking out sooner or later. This is what Netanyahu means when he speaks of “a war to end all wars.” The interests of the Sunni Islamic states of the region, from Saudi Arabia to the Emirates, guarantee the US-Israeli alliance the security of action with their considerable support.
The ayatollahs' regime is paying for the evil guilt of arming and inciting Hamas to commit the October 7 massacre to prevent Saudi Arabia from signing the Abraham Accords with Israel. Since then, it has no longer been considered, by Jerusalem and the new White House that follows its line, as a potential negotiating partner. The negotiations that took place for months, it is now clear, only served to prepare the attack.
But we do not know whether that regime will be toppled by the “Epic Fury” that descends from the sky upon it. Above all, we do not know what will come next, even if it does collapse under the blows. The answers to these questions will decide whether this latest war by the president of the Peace Board, who boasts of having ended eight wars, makes sense for history or only for himself. Whether he will declare it won when he has fixed the domestic election polls, or only when Iran is stabilized and peaceful. Perhaps even leaving it in the hands of the same people as before, but forced by the war to accept more moderate advice, according to Trump’s Venezuela-style plan.
Indeed, unless a virtuous process is initiated, which the country's social and religious structure and the political weakness of the domestic opposition make extremely difficult, the potential dangers of a larger conflagration could translate into permanent damage for the West as well. The queues of oil tankers waiting in the Strait of Hormuz, the attacks on that corner of the West that Dubai has now become, the outbreak of violence against Americans in Pakistan, make us understand that the road will be long and winding, and fraught with danger. Tyrannicide has even been glorified in ancient history. As long as it does not cause worse evils: civil war or more cruel tyrants./ Adapted from "Pamphlet" by "Corriere della Sera"
Lini një Përgjigje