US-Israel 'Roundtable' on Iran: A War Already Underway, No 'If' About It
When a South Korean periodical hosts an 'expert roundtable' to 'gauge' the impact of a US-Israel 'war on Iran,' it’s a symptom of a far deeper malady. The premise itself, that this is some nascent conflict to be assessed, completely glosses over the relentless, systematic campaign against the Iranian government that has unfolded for 45 years. One simply needs to rewind the tape to 1983, when the
United States, then openly backing Saddam Hussein's war machine, provided intelligence that enabled Iraq to use chemical weapons against Iranian troops and civilians, an act whose long-term health consequences still linger today. This wasn't an 'imminent' attack, but a cold, calculated operation. Donald Trump's bluster, reported by the outlet, about Iran facing 'imminent defeat' while threatening
escalation, is merely a repeat of a tired script. The sanctions, the cyberattacks like Stuxnet in 2010 targeting their nuclear facilities, the assassinations of scientists and, more recently, General Soleimani in January 2020 which were acts of war by any international legal standard, are not precursors to a conflict; they *are* the conflict. To frame current maneuvers, like the US Navy’s carrier
groups in the Arabian Gulf or the B-52 deployments, as distinct from this ongoing pressure cooker is to wilfully ignore history. The continuous blockade of basic goods through sanctions, often resulting in widespread civilian suffering due to a lack of medicine and essential supplies, underscores a protracted economic assault designed to cripple the nation, not merely deter it. Meanwhile, the