Yet More Middle East Wars Have Been Initiated by the Biden Administration

A Look at the Retaliatory Strikes in Iraq, Syria, and Yemen

In committing an act of revenge against some mysterious Iran-backed group (or groups) for killing three Americans and injuring forty or more at Tower 22 in Jordan (along with one hundred sixty-six other attacks on American installations since October), the Biden administration launched airstrikes at eighty-five targets across seven Iraqi and Syrian locations (with one hundred twenty-five pieces of munitions), and apparently, this is just the “beginning.” The Iraqi government condemned the airstrikes for killing civilians (it is acceptable for the United States to kill people overseas, but if another country kills Americans, it is lights out) and weakening the fragile structure of the region (will Iraq turn on the United States?), and the Syrian government made the argument that the United States was unnecessarily expanding regional conflicts (Iran considers the attack a “strategic mistake”). However, the American Empire with its bully tactics will not listen to reason, and it will do what it wants regardless of what the nations on the receiving end of the bombs think (the United States government claims to care about the territorial integrity of sovereign nations, but in reality, that is not the case).

Aside from the obvious question of why American troops are even stationed in Jordan in the first place, a natural follow up would be to find out what evidence the administration has that Iran was linked to the attack. Furthermore, the articles and press conferences have simply just said that Iran-backed militias are responsible, but they will not pinpoint exactly which group committed the attacks (they lump every group together under one organized supergroup, such as the made-up term of “Islamic Resistance of Iraq,” which is absurd). If we are going to be dragged into yet another war by the Biden administration, you would think that the American populace should know the details of the conflict that they or their family members are being asked or forced to die in.

Yet, none of the officials have provided any evidence that the attack was carried out by Iran or its proxies, and in fact, the latest information suggests that the administration is still trying to determine which group killed Americans. Although this does not necessarily mean that Iran was not a participant, as governments lie, the Persian nation has denied involvement, and it should follow that the burden of proof is on the United States government. Interestingly, the primary suspect, Kataib Hezbollah, announced that it was suspending its terrorist operations to prevent trouble for the Iraqi government, and this decision came before the Biden administration even bombed Iraq in retaliation (Iraq is host to installations for both American and Iran-backed groups, and it is in the middle of the conflict and losing control of the situation). Instead of looking for a diplomatic solution to the problem, the United States government was quick to react aggressively and show the Middle East who is boss, and this complicates matters, since the culprit of the attack in Jordan may have been willing to surrender or negotiate before the bombing campaign began. However, that is a minor detail that does not further the agenda of warmongering.   

Our government is essentially launching airstrikes because it thinks that someone may have been responsible for an attack, and even if it does not know which group did it, it knows Iran is automatically guilty, just so that there is an excuse to attack targets linked to that country. Speculation of Iran being involved is enough to bomb any country, after all. What if Iran had nothing to do with the attack in Jordan? Someday, when that would be made clear, the United States would look like the bully that just wanted to punch back regardless of where the evidence pointed, but most Americans would forget about it because it was a long-ago minor event in lands faraway.

The irony of the whole thing is that President Biden thinks that all Americans are fools, as he has stated, “Our response began today. It will continue at times and places of our choosing. The United States does not seek conflict in the Middle East or anywhere else in the world. But let all those who might seek to do us harm know this: If you harm an American, we will respond.” Well, Mr. President, if you are planning more airstrikes across Iraq and Syria, you are indeed pursuing engagements in the Middle East, and of course, as long as Americans troops are forced to shill on behalf of the military-industrial complex by being present in almost every country on earth, there are going to be threats against these personnel. So, really the United States government is setting up its own troops as decoys to be attacked by multiple groups and then vowing vengeance when they are killed. To me, that seems an awful lot like the administration seeking war with the Middle East.

Then, you have unserious politicians, such as South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, who want to “strike targets of significance inside Iran” and “Hit Iran now. Hit them hard.” These neoconservatives overtly want war with Iran, while the Biden administration wants to wage it covertly or through proxy wars. Either way, the price of these Middle East conflicts is the deaths of American troops and the possibility of this spreading beyond Iraq and Syria and having Russia and China enter a large-scale global war. A hot war with Iran, or the even worse World War III, would be much deadlier than any war we have fought in recent years (potentially bringing the fighting to American soil), and people like Graham are quick to pull the trigger and bomb other countries into oblivion, simply reacting emotionally and not thinking about the consequences. It is easy for them because they are not the ones who will be sacrificing their lives, and they just have to direct their pawns onto the battlefield (the elites can hide in their nuclear-proof bunkers.

Then, of course, there is the authority to declare war. Article I Section 8 Clause 11 of the United States Constitution gives the sole power of declaring war to Congress. Although the War Powers Act of 1973 and the Authorization for Use of Military Force of 2001 have watered this down and unconstitutionally granted the executive branch the power to bomb any country it wants, the fact of the constitutional matter is that presidents are not allowed to fight wars without the consent of Congress. Article II of the Constitution, which covers executive power, mentions nothing about initiating conflicts (only that the president is commander in chief once war is declared by Congress). Even if one were to argue that in the case of an emergency or situation involving an invasion or imminent attack, quick responses were necessary to protect Americans, this recent incident involved retaliatory strikes, and President Biden bragged about how he was going to do this for the last week or so. There was certainly sufficient time to go to Congress to ask for permission, but the dictator (and his oligarchs) with warmongering impulses did not think it necessary to do so.

Launching airstrikes against Iraq and Syria is hardly the only front in the new series of Middle East wars that the Biden administration has started. In fact, on the day after the retaliatory attack aiming at the unknown Iran-backed group (or groups), the Houthis were supposedly preparing for another round of cruise missile attacks in the Red Sea, and the United States military neutralized the threat. Then, a new American bombing campaign, in conjunction with the United Kingdom, against thirty-six Houthi targets across thirteen locations in Yemen commenced, and despite this escalation in fighting, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin would have us naively believe, “Our aim remains to de-escalate tensions and restore stability in the Red Sea but let us reiterate our warning to Houthi leadership: we will not hesitate to continue to defend lives and the free flow of commerce in one of the world's most critical waterways in the face of continued threats.” The Houthis have promised that these airstrikes “will not pass without response and punishment,” and skirmishes between American and British ships and Houthi cruise missile launchers and unmanned aerial vehicles have continued in and around the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden (the USS Carney and USS Laboon, which is part of the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group, have shot down drones in both bodies of water).

This war is far from deescalating, and if we are not careful, our wars against Palestine and Gaza (due to unconditional Israeli support), Iran (cold war), Iraq (against alleged Iran-backed groups), Syria (against alleged Iran-backed groups), and Yemen (against Houthi-controlled areas) could expand to a larger conflict outside of the Middle East. Russia and China, looking for opportunities to weaken the American Empire’s influence, may jump in to the fray to assist Iran and its proxy forces, thus bringing us to World War III (Russia and China will soon be conducting another round of joint naval exercises with Iran). In this scenario, a lot of people, including Americans living in the United States trying to mind their own business and not get involved in foreign affairs, would perish. The Biden administration, knowing that a hot war with Iran would lead to deadly consequences, may be conducting a covert war against Iran to hit their interests abroad without targeting Iranian forces directly. This approach, however, is still dangerous because one accidental target or false calculation could cause Iran to retaliate and lead to a hot war, and this is a very fine line that the administration is walking.

Do Americans want or need another war? The question is ultimately irrelevant because the elites and politicians certainly want as many simultaneous conflicts as possible, and the people have no say in the matter. Even if the majority of Americans do not want war, they will likely still vote to keep President Biden and his puppet masters in power because they are being manipulated to believe that Donald Trump is the Great Satan in our “democracy.” The powers that be are not going to surrender the ability to wage wars in as many countries as possible, and since Trump represents resistance to those war powers (whether he would actually halt them or not is another issue), we should expect the 2024 election to be rigged to reflect the political and corporate interests of the establishment. A peace candidate, whether Donald Trump, Robert F. Kenedy, Jr., Cornel West, Vivek Ramaswamy, or somebody else, will likely never be allowed near the White House. War is America’s great pastime, and the will of the people does not really matter to the so-called advocates of democracy, as the most important thing to them is to keep Donald Trump from office and unable to shake up the system and to keep the corporate profits flowing as they have been for many years.

Thank you for reading, and please check out my book, The Global Bully, and website.