By George C Michalopulos
We certainly live in interesting times. And nowhere are they more interesting than in the Middle East.
It should be obvious by now that these United States were pressured into war with Iran by the Zionist lobby. Indeed, “pressured” is not too strong a word; “blackmailed” and “threatened” might be more like it. Regardless, many in President Trump’s base view it as a betrayal of the highest order.
I can certainly see why.
Then-candidate Trump ran as the anti-neoconservative/anti-permanent war candidate. That, and immigration put him over the top, comfortably so, I might add. We can surely see other reasons which made his reelection possible. I, for one, am grateful that he was successful. I still am.
How can I say this? Because he actually did stop several regional conflicts, including in Gaza, the most horrific one of all. That said, when it came to Iran, he ran into the buzzsaw known as the Zionist lobby. We must be honest: this lobby has an iron grip on both political parties when it comes to Israel. Lest we forget, Trump wasn’t president in 2022 when Israel began its genocide in Gaza. As to the Left’s flirtation with the anti-Israel stances of the so-called Democratic Socialists, we can be sure that they will be whipped into shape in due time.
Admittedly, Israel’s stance in the American body politic is in the toilet. As for the rest of the world, it’s a bona fide pariah state. That doesn’t mean that the neoconservatives don’t have any tricks up their sleeve. They do. The most recent one being the danger of Muslim immigration. In some states, candidates are running against Sharia law.
This is not contained to America. In Europe, Israeli influencers are raising the alarm against Islam. Some are praising Christendom and white ethnonationalism. King Charles III, possibly the most Islamophilic European leader, praised Christianity during his recent address to the Congress. Weeks earlier, Vice President J.D. Vance extolled Christian values while in Budapest, campaigning for President Viktor Orban.
Why am I pointing this out? Because just a few years ago, any positive mention of Christianity or European civilization by any politician would have brought out howls of outrage from all the usual suspects. Now, we hear nothing.
Nothing that is, except how the West must do more to fight Islam. Even go so far as to send our sons to fight yet another useless forever war in the Middle East. This time against Iran. At this point I wouldn’t be surprised if the entire Knesset stood up and sang “Onward Christian Soldiers!” if that’s what it took to rouse us from our skepticism.
Like most Americans, I’m not at all happy with the present military campaign against Iran. Regardless of the depravity of the Iranian regime, I see our action as unjust. That said, I do see a silver lining. As I wrote recently in Helleniscope, I predicted that Iran would gain greater control of the Strait of Hormuz and become the hegemon of the Middle East. By not losing, they can claim a victory. That appears to be happening as we speak.
While this appears to be a military defeat for the United States, it’s not a geostrategic defeat. America does not need oil from the Middle East; thus, it can safely decamp from that part of the world with little impact on its economy or its military standing. Lest we forget, under Biden, we left Afghanistan in a humiliating retreat. It was America’s longest war, and neither Biden nor the Democrat Party suffered any political consequences.
Enough, as they say, was enough.
I expect that when all is said and done, the American people will be more than happy to wash their hands of the Middle East and the “Greater Israel” project. While this will displease the tens of millions of Evangelical Christians, their political influence at present is at its apogee. Many are starting to question their heretical dispensationalist beliefs. And not a moment too soon.
Whether the Republican Party can survive the undertow of a military defeat remains unknown. As for the America First movement, it will keep growing. The question will be whether Trump can adjust his political fortunes in the interim. I believe he can. As to whether the Israelis will engineer a false flag to keep us in the region, that is another question altogether.
If so, like the present anti-Muslim backlash, such an action will be equally transparent and probably futile.
As Bob Dylan said several years ago, “the times they are a-changing.”
