This was not inevitable. This is a war Israel chose. It could have been prevented. Diplomatic talks were ongoing when the bombers took off for Iran. Israel’s continuing, illegal, unjustified airstrikes are unlikely to achieve their stated aim – permanently ending Tehran’s presumed efforts to build nuclear weapons – and may accelerate it. They must stop now. Likewise, Iran must halt its retaliation immediately and drop its escalatory threats to attack US and UK bases.

This conflict is not limited, as was the case last year, to tit-for-tat exchanges and “precision strikes” on a narrow range of military targets. It’s reached a wholly different level. Potentially nothing is off the table. Civilians are being killed on both sides. Leaders are targets. The rhetoric is out of control. With Israel fighting on several fronts, and Iran’s battered regime backed against a wall, the Middle East is closer than ever to a disastrous conflagration.

Reasons can always be found to go to war. The roots of major conflicts often reach back decades – and this is true of the Israel-Iran vendetta, which dates to the 1979 Islamic revolution. The so-called “shadow war” between the two intensified in recent years. Yet all-out conflict had been avoided, until now. So who is principally to blame for this sudden, unprecedented explosion?

Answer: three angry old men whose behaviour raises serious doubts about their judgment, common sense, motives and even their sanity.

  • vga@sopuli.xyz
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    11 hours ago

    Who knows for sure? But we can assume that Putin had something to do with Hamas launching the strike just by the fact how much it helped him. It did cause half of the world to turn their eyes away from Ukraine, to believe that Gaza is now the most important crisis on this planet.

    • RadioFreeArabia@lemmy.world
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      11 hours ago

      Why would a population living under a military occupation since 1967 do such a thing? And why would the world see a genocide as the most important crisis?

      Putin, of course.

      • vga@sopuli.xyz
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        10 hours ago

        You’re biased, based on your handle. You think Gaza is important.

        I’m also biased, because I live next to Russia. I think defending against Russia in the current situation is much more important than anything that could happen in Gaza. And if you want to take the historical perspective, Russia has violated my country and the people of my country several times during the last 300 years at least, and probably more. Middle East obviously has the potential to beat us on the historical record, given how the whole of human civilization practically rose in that area, but still. It’s not like this is happening for the first time over here either.

        It’s not that I don’t care about their tragedies, it’s just that it’s nowhere near a top priority right now. If Russia stops being a crazy asshole, things farther away from my country’s borders may become more important to me. Still, note that if what I’m suggesting is true, Putin and Russia are partially to blame about what’s happening In Gaza. With a handle like yours, you probably cared about Gaza already before Putin’s manipulations, but half of the eyes of the lefties in west were looking at Ukraine. They are not looking at Ukraine anymore, like they should be doing.

        Truth to be told, geopolitically speaking it seems much more sane to be on Israel’s side because they’re against Iran, who’s on Russia’s side. And Palestine seems to be kinda on Russia’s side as well so remind me again why I should support them at all?

        • BrainInABox@lemmy.ml
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          7 hours ago

          You’re biased, based on your handle. You think Gaza is important.

          Well at least liberals are being open in their belief that only white people matter…

          But you’re literally a Gaza genocide supporter, so maybe you’re more of a fascist than a liberal.

    • BrainInABox@lemmy.ml
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      10 hours ago

      But we can assume that Putin had something to do with Hamas launching the strike just by the fact how much it helped him.

      This is like a parody of what a BlueAnon liberal would say, my god

      • Honytawk@feddit.nl
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        7 hours ago

        With all the awful manipulation putin and the Russian state have done in the world play, I would be surprised if they didn’t have a hand in Hamas.

        • BrainInABox@lemmy.ml
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          6 hours ago

          Yup, that is indeed a Qanon tier conspiracy theory. Liberals literally just reinventing the Judeo–Bolshevik conspiracy theory to blame Russia for those dirty browns fighting back against being genocided.