Letter: Will Trump’s misguided actions have a positive effect?

I read with great interest Joseph Shortino’s experiences and opinions that appeared in the Pennysaver published on March 8. Direct contact with the country is very valuable. I try to keep up with the news as best I can, but making sense of a conflict that changes its perspective every few hours is taxing.

Iran, known as Persia in ancient times, is one of the oldest continuous civilizations. It has an incredibly rich history and culture. Unless you read news from a leftist perspective, everything starts with Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran. Prior to Pahlavi, Iran had a democratically elected government under Mohammad Mosaddegh. When he tried to nationalize the oil economy, a CIA-backed effort removed him from power.

The Shah certainly made some genuine efforts to modernize the country but there was political repression from the beginning of his tenure. The SAVAK was a secret police force that stifled dissent, arrested opposition leaders and engaged in torture. The CIA also helped form this unit. These abuses helped topple the Shah in 1979.

I don’t see this military effort to bring down the theocracy ruling Iran playing out very well. I would certainly like to see those regimes gone, along with dozens of others around the world but our efforts to achieve this through military force haven’t been very successful.

Many Iranians and others around the world are celebrating this action. Many feel that this was the only way to get rid of this regime. Perhaps this misguided action can have a positive effect but I doubt it.

I have read that negotiations were taking place that had a reasonable chance for success. Launching a military campaign while still attempting diplomacy is very counterproductive. Trump launched the war from a “feeling based on a fact.” 

Does that make any sense? Was Trump too cavalier about the deaths of our military? How influential were people like Sen. Lindsey Graham, Jared Kushner, Netanyahu, and Mohammed bin Salman in starting this military campaign? Since Israel was planning to attack, did this justify joining them? 

We have also just sent around 20,000 bombs to Israel, once again bypassing Congress. With the restrictions on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, petroleum fuels are already taking a jump. What about the Americans who found themselves stranded in the Mideast?

Trump has denied involvement in the horrendous attack on the girls’ school, but many other sources are pointing the finger in our direction. Part of the justification for the attack was Iran’s nuclear program; didn’t we obliterate this a few months ago? 

And what about Trump’s campaign pledge to stop America from engaging in “forever wars?” The Trump administration has been using clips from movies and video games to promote our actions. Is this another way to desensitize us from the carnage that has enveloped the Middle East? 

Many troops have also complained that they are being urged to look at this as a “holy war,” part of God’s plan. And then there is the depletion of our weapon stocks and the enormous cost which keeps adding to the national debt. These are all questions that need answers and careful deliberation.

Lastly, using Patton as a model of how to run a country is ludicrous. He was assigned as military governor of Bavaria at the end of World War II but was relieved of the post for not removing former Nazis from leadership positions, making extremely antisemitic remarks, and fearing that he would provoke a war with the Russians.

In Venezuela, there has not been a regime change, only the removal of Nicholas Maduro and his wife. He is being charged with Narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine-importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and related conspiracies. His wife is a co-conspirator. 

I can’t imagine the clown show of legal geniuses such as Todd Blanche, Jeanine Pirro, Halina Haba, and Lindsey Halligan convincing a jury in federal court that these charges are legitimate. Maybe Gershowitz will come out of retirement.

Sincerely,

Ed Nizalowski

Newark Valley, NY