LETTERS: AFTER the killing of top Iranian commander Major General Qasem Soleimani, US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, in a 22-second video, tweeted that Iraqis were celebrating the death of the commander by “dancing in streets”.
But there were also Iraqi processions shouting “death to America”.
The American media also claimed that Pakistan tacitly supported the US strike.
In an attempt to woo India, US President Donald Trump said, “Soleimani plotted terror
attacks in India”, apparently al luding to the February 2012 bomb blast in New Delhi, in which Israeli diplomat Tal Yehoshua Koren was injured.
All these threats of war and forced regime changes have made a mockery of the United Nations.
Wars become inevitable when world leaders develop hallucinations of diabolical enemy images.
Kaiser Wilhelm saw devils in both Russia and England. This perception led him to attack Russia and England.
During the Korean War, the UN lost its credibility to act as a mediator because it supported the American cause.
America’s humanitarian intervention in Vietnam led to the dropping of seven million tonnes of bombs (80 times the amount that was dropped on Britain during the Second World War), equivalent to over 300 atomic bombs dropped on Japan in 1945.
In his book Why Nations Go To War, John G. Stoessinger said : “A victor’s peace, history teaches us, is seldom lasting. Neither is total defeat”.
Peace with Iran means peace in the Strait of Hormuz and Yemen.
Iran can target US troops in Iraq, numbering about 5,000, either using mid-range rockets or ballistic missiles.
Iran-backed proxies in the region, from Hizbollah in Lebanon to the “popular militia force” in Iraq and the Houthis in Yemen, can carry out attacks on America’s allies.
Iran may avoid direct military confrontation but it has numerous attack options.
Shia proxies may hit US assets in West Asia or use cyber weapons to cripple networks in mainland America.
For the time being, Iran is unlikely to shut down the Strait of Hormuz, lest supplies to China are truncated.
AMJED JAAVED
Rawalpindi, Pakistan
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times