Letters to the editor

Iran war was a costly mistake
Sadly, Dan Perry has it exactly right in his column “The Iran war ended terribly for the US, and even worse for Israel” (June 19).

It is telling that President Trump referred to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as “difficult” and “(expletive) crazy” while characterizing Iranian leaders as “rational” and “pragmatic,” and it is reasonable to conclude that it represents a rupture in American-Israeli relations.

Trump was desperate to end a war that had become a debacle.

Although he will never admit it, it is now clear that what was to be a four- to six-week “excursion” in Iran (which grew into almost four months) was a grave error, something which has harmed and humiliated our country and inflicted economic hardship and fuel scarcity on many other nations.

We were told the president’s goals were to ensure that Iran is never able to secure a nuclear weapon, to destroy its ballistic missile capability, to ensure that Iran can no longer fund terrorist proxies, and to create conditions that would enable the Iranian people to end the rule of its theocratic government. None of these objectives were achieved, nor is there anything in the Memorandum of Understanding that ensures the fulfillment of them.

Instead, Iran will get relief from crippling sanctions, the ability to sell oil on the world market, and the unfreezing of billions of dollars of overseas assets. The nuclear weapon issue is the can being kicked down the road: a 60-day negotiation is prescribed to address it. If anyone believes Iran will submit to the United States, and that a 60-day timeframe is sufficient to resolve the issue, I have some choice swampland to sell.

Why would Iran capitulate? It rightfully believes it won the war. An accurate headline for Iranian newspapers would read, “We won! Trump, the weakling, blinked!”

Iran will continue to control the vital Strait of Hormuz, empowered to wreak havoc upon the United States and the rest of the world by closing it whenever it pleases.

This war has consumed tens of billions of our tax dollars, destroyed much of Iran, including historical artifacts, fouled its environment, killed and wounded countless people, including the deaths of 13 of our service members, and vastly increased the cost of living here and in other countries. We have severely depleted our stock of sophisticated weaponry and have caused other countries not only to see the United States as a diminished, once-great power, but we have provided reasons for much of the world to despise us.

Take it from a wise Republican like Sen. Dr. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who no longer needs to kowtow to Trump: The Iran war was “the worst foreign policy blunder in decades”.

The wisdom of President Obama in formulating the best possible deal with Iran at the time is painfully evident in examining the heavy price our country is paying and will continue to pay.

Oren Spiegler
Peters Township