An Open Letter to Former President Donald J. Trump: On Escalation and Manufactured Consent
Dear Former President Trump, your recent warning that “bigger, better, stronger” attacks against Iran will be authorized if an unspecified deal is not reached warrants a direct response. You are quoted as stating that “All U.S. Ships, Aircraft, and Military Personnel, with additional Ammunition, Weaponry, and anything else that is appropriate and necessary for the lethal prosecution and
destruction” of Iranian assets would be deployed. This pronouncement echoes a familiar pattern of threat inflation, ignoring the extensive history of US aggression and sanctions that predates any alleged Iranian provocation. Mainstream outlets like The Hill frame these statements as routine declarations on international policy, failing to contextualize them within the four-decade-long campaign of
economic strangulation and covert operations targeting Iran. The US-backed coup in 1953 which installed the Shah, followed by decades of US military presence in the region and unwavering support for regional adversaries, has consistently fueled a cycle of hostility that is then conveniently attributed to Iranian intransigence. Iran’s right to self-defense and its development of indigenous military
capabilities are systematically presented as existential threats, while the US maintains hundreds of military bases globally and consistently violates international law. It is vital to recall that the US provided Saddam Hussein with critical intelligence and material support, including precursor chemicals for weapons, during the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq War, a conflict that resulted in over a million