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IRAN WAR - The joint US and Israeli attacks on Iran are moving into their third month, with no end clearly in sight. Furthermore, the economic repercussions of this war will last for years, long after the US and Israeli bombing of Iran stops, as well as the Iranian missile counterattacks on nearby oil and gas exporting countries and on Israel.
So far none of the US-intended results of the war have appeared, and the chances that they will eventually emerge is nil.
The four results that the US and Israel expected from its attacks on Iran were:
· Destruction of Iran’s missiles arsenal.
· Obliteration of Iran’s navy.
· Eliminating Iran’s ability to produce nuclear weapons.
· Getting rid of Iran’s capacity to “fund, arm, and direct” regional allies.
So far none of these objectives have been achieved.
Nevertheless, US President Donald Trump is considering declaring a victory, ending US bombing of Iran, and withdrawing US troops from the area. There are, however, two flies in the ointment of this “solution.” The first problem is that it is one-sided, and Iran can and probably will still use its extensive missile arsenal to attack nearby oil and gas exporting Sheikdoms, as well as the other instigators – such as Israel – of attacks on Iran.
The second barrier is Iran’s wariness of peaceful-appearing actions by the United States government since the US twice used the cover of peace negotiations to militarily attack Iran.
So where does that leave the United States and Israeli governments? On one hand, they can declare a (false) victory and leave, discreetly granting Iran most of its demands, especially shutting down nearby US military bases. On the other hand, the US and Israel can bomb even more of Iran and hope for a miraculous military solution to its shared defeat.
Whichever way they choose nevertheless still leads to the same outcome, an Iranian victory, despite the destruction of much of Iran through two months of US and Israeli bombing. But, as we hopefully already know, no war – including this one -- has ever been won through bombing alone. Even the case of Japan in WWII does not support this claim since the Soviet Union’s successful assault of Manchuria and Japan’s northern Islands began on August 9, 1945, three days after the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima, several hours before the US bombing of Nagasaki, and one day after the formal defeat of Germany in WWII.
While it is too early to know exactly when the US/Israeli war on Iran will end, we already know the outcome, a victorious Iran in the military conflict that the United States and Israel initiated:
· There is no guarantee that if the US declares victory and withdraws from the war, Iran will do the same.
· The US government’s influence in the nearby oil and gas exporting sheikdoms will decline.
· Iran will emerge as a center of military and political power, largely because of its drones and missiles, but also because it retained two-thirds of its planes, the bulk of its missile launching capabilities, and most its speedboats.
· Israel will survive but will be seriously damaged by missile attacks from Iran, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the Houthis in Yemen. None of these forces have been defeated, and they will resume action if Israel, after replenishing its weapons, attempts another round of attacks on Iran.
Conclusion: The United States and Israeli governments may have disagreements over their preferred outcome of their war against Iran, but this is a moot point because Iran is already victorious.
(Victor Rothman is a California-based policy analyst and a frequent contributor to CityWatchLA.com)
