Grim but realistic analysis as always Ethan. By design or inadvertent, the fact that Israel, armed and backed heavily by the US, attacked while using US talks with Iran as cover, struck me as a point of no return for war. Can diplomatic efforts ever recover from this? Trump and the administration have said contradictory things, unsurprisingly. The idea that bombing alone can trigger regime change also strikes me as delusional. The US bombed Iraq between 1991 and 2003, over which time Saddam actually became more solidly entrenched.
“The fundamental problem remains: when diplomacy becomes a blunt instrument, surgery becomes demolition. And in the Middle East, the rubble has a way of burying everyone.” What bleak but cogent analysis—scary in the extreme.
Grim but realistic analysis as always Ethan. By design or inadvertent, the fact that Israel, armed and backed heavily by the US, attacked while using US talks with Iran as cover, struck me as a point of no return for war. Can diplomatic efforts ever recover from this? Trump and the administration have said contradictory things, unsurprisingly. The idea that bombing alone can trigger regime change also strikes me as delusional. The US bombed Iraq between 1991 and 2003, over which time Saddam actually became more solidly entrenched.
“The fundamental problem remains: when diplomacy becomes a blunt instrument, surgery becomes demolition. And in the Middle East, the rubble has a way of burying everyone.” What bleak but cogent analysis—scary in the extreme.
Ethan, I appreciate your informed and convincing analysis.