Middle East : End or Worn-out

No conflict in the Middle East seems to have an end in sight. Every state looks after its own interests. When a conflict of interest arises, one state may fight against another, if necessary. But can war be fought only for the sake of war? The damage of war is not limited to the armed forces, but it almost always causes the loss of innocent lives and destroys valuable resources. For this reason, peace-loving people oppose war. They are vocal against war. They put all their efforts into stopping a war. Therefore, they try to resolve hostilities that may lead to war through diplomatic negotiations.

It is important to apply proportionality while conducting a war. Russia has nuclear weapons. This does not mean it can use that devastating weapon in the ongoing war with Ukraine. Similarly, even if the United States does not achieve the expected outcome in the Iran War, the use of nuclear weapons cannot be a logical step. However, both the United States and Russia threaten their opponents with nuclear weapons. Trump boasted this time that the next day, the world would see the destruction of a civilisation. But common sense has prevailed. Trump did not act so crazily.

The case of Israel is different. Israel is a war-mongering country. Especially the Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu is absolutely war-mad. While the United States and Iran were negotiating to permanently end the war, Israel was inciting war through various means. When the United States and Iran announced a ceasefire and started negotiations under the mediation of Pakistan, the prime minister of Pakistan stated that this ceasefire was also effective between Israel and Lebanon. Iran claimed the same. But Israel never accepted it. When Iran added it as a precondition for the negotiations, the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon took effect under the mediation of the president of the United States, much to the dislike of Netanyahu. Elections in Israel are two months away. Netanyahu is lagging behind in popularity. There is a severe corruption charge against him. Netanyahu’s opponents say that he has achieved nothing through war. He has failed as a leader. Neither Iran, nor the Lebanese Hezbollah, nor the Yemeni Houthis have been defeated. That is why prolonging the war is Netanyahu’s only defence.

Even though it is involved in the war, the United States still respects and maintains some international norms. This is the first time that the United States has no Western allies other than Israel while conducting a military campaign against Iran. China and Russia are perhaps behind Iran’s surprise resistance. Moreover, the United States’ inability to protect its allies in the Middle East is causing hesitation and discomfort among them. As a result, Trump is perhaps realising his limits and therefore no longer wants to remain isolated. Rather, he wants to quickly get out of the Iran War. For the past three months, Trump has been claiming continuously all by himself that he has already won the war. Unfortunately, no one is taking his words seriously. Neither the world leaders nor even his staunch supporters at home. Meanwhile, Netanyahu himself is causing a big stir. While Trump wants to end the war and declare victory, Netanyahu wants to keep the war going and make it a campaigning tool during the upcoming elections. As a result, a conflict of interest has arisen between Trump and Netanyahu. Recently, Trump did make a direct telephone call to Netanyahu. Later on, when he faced the media, he said that he warned Netanyahu over the phone against inciting war.

The people around the world generally worship peace and stability. Therefore, such a warning by Trump makes everyone optimistic. Oil prices fall. The stock market becomes buoyant. But the war situation is like a pendulum. Trump himself is an oscillating leader. Israel’s militant nature cannot be stopped by providing all the means of war to it and then just uttering warnings. Again, when Trump himself expressed his determination to retaliate after hearing the news of the crash of an American helicopter, all optimism was evaporated. The question of what that helicopter was doing in the Strait of Hormuz, which is within the territorial waters of Iran, is not taken into consideration. In fact, Donald Trump is no less of a warmonger. That is why many thoughtful people say the hostility in the Middle East may have been there for a long time, but so far, no American president has followed the words of an Israeli prime minister, and therefore, we have not seen a war like the Iran war.

At this stage, establishing peace and bringing stability to the Middle East practically depends on American President Donald Trump. The poet Bharatchandra Raygunakar of ‘Annadamangal Kavya’ has a saying, “What happens to the temple when the city burns down?” Indeed, when the house burns, the hearth is not spared.

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The writer is a former Bangladeshi Ambassador