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war & peace
One Certainty About Israel’s Attack on Iran? We in the US Must Try to Stop It
Whatever the president or the secretary of state or any other official says or refuses to say, Washington is supplying the weapons and preventing accountability for Israel’s wars.
Jun 13, 2025
Israel’s attack on Iran opens a huge danger—a predictable pattern of escalation ushering in a new phase of the long-standing crises roiling the Middle East region. Certainly Israel has a long history of attacking Iran—including bombing raids; assassinations of political and military leaders as well as nuclear scientists; cyberattacks; assaults on Iranian allies in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen, and beyond—and Iran has on occasion struck back. But although it is too soon to know exactly how this will play out, this latest assault holds the prospect of full-scale war between the two strongest military forces in the region, one of them backed by the strongest military power in the world.
The specific role of the United States in the first hours and days of Israel’s war against Iran remains uncertain; we don’t know if U.S. forces were directly involved, whether or how much the Israelis relied on U.S. intelligence or other immediate assistance in carrying out the assaults on Tehran and other cities across Iran. What we do know is that Israel has always been able to count on continuing U.S. backing—economic, political, diplomatic as well as military—whether or not any particular White House administration supported or disagreed with any particular military attack, and whether or not that support involved direct U.S. military participation.
Beyond that, we can examine what we know about Israel’s (still-underway) attack on Iran, what we know about U.S.-Israeli relations that shape how we understand the U.S. role, what we don’t know yet, and what may lie ahead.
What We Know About Israel’s Attack on Iran
On Thursday night, June 12, Israel attacked nuclear facilities and other targets across Iran. It attacked the nuclear facility at Natanz, but did not go after the deeply-buried and thus well-protected Fordow fuel enrichment plant until the next day. The United Nation’s nuclear watchdog agency, the International Atomic Energy Agency, confirmed that conditions at Natanz were safe, with no evidence of radiation leakage. The impact of the attack on Fordow is not yet clear.
While a full report of casualties—military, civilian, scientific, children and more—is not yet available, we know there were explosions all over Tehran and in other cities across Iran. The Israeli strikes killed at least six nuclear scientists, unknown numbers of ordinary civilians including children, and important military leaders, including the chief of staff of Iran’s army and Ali Shakhani, who served as the main liaison between Iran’s top leader, Ali Khamenei, and the diplomatic team meeting with U.S. negotiators. Israeli officials bragged of having had agents of the Mossad, Israel’s international intelligence force, on the ground setting drone targets long before the attack began. While Iran’s initial response involved 100 drones that were all reportedly destroyed by Israel’s anti-aircraft systems, subsequent Iranian attacks have caused damage and injuries in Israeli cities.
We know that there is only one nuclear weapons state in the Middle East region. Israel maintains an arsenal that reportedly includes at least 90 nuclear weapons, and while it is widely known as one of the nine nuclear weapons states in the world, it is the only one that refuses to confirm or deny its arsenal. Iran has no nuclear weapons, and does not have a program to create such a weapon.
Israel remains the main destabilizing force in the Middle East.
We also know that while President Donald Trump abandoned the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, known as the JCPOA, in 2018, he has shown an eagerness to return to some version of a deal based on the same principles—the U.S. ending sanctions in exchange for Iran not getting a nuclear bomb. The long-standing obstacle to such an agreement was always Israel—which insisted that Iran be denied not just a nuclear weapon but any nuclear enrichment capacity, including civilian uses. Until just a few weeks ago, Trump had maintained the demand that Iran be denied a nuclear weapon in return for lifting sanctions, which Israel continued to reject as insufficient. In the last two weeks, Trump and others in the White House began to switch back and forth between the long-standing U.S. position and the Israeli demand, something they knew would be impossible for Iran to accept.
Before the June 12 attack, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was near the nadir of his popularity. He was close to facing the collapse of his government—and we know that citing Iran as an ostensibly “existential threat” to Israel, and claiming to be the only one capable of dealing with it, has always been at the core of his political career. On the morning of the Israeli assault, just hours before the missiles took off toward Iran, the Knesset rejected a no-confidence resolution brought by the opposition. That gives Netanyahu six months before another such resolution can be put forward. Whether it’s his political survival (he faces several trials and a likely jail term once he is out of office) or his long-standing commitment to challenging Iran at the top of his list, both were almost certainly part of the decision to launch this war.
We know that the U.S. government knew about the Israeli plans ahead of time—that was evident in Washington’s highly publicized decision to withdraw nonessential embassy staff, military families, and others from the region, citing the expectation of danger. The first acknowledgement of the Israeli assault came not from the White House but from the State Department, just a couple of hours into Israel’s bombing. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s statement focused on the claim that essentially “we didn’t do it,” and that Washington’s only interest was in keeping U.S. personnel safe. His statement urged Iran not to attack U.S. people or facilities because, you know, “we didn’t do it.” Significantly, it did not mention Israel, did not express the usual—however pro forma—expression of “we support Israel.” Trump, some hours later, wrote on Truth Social that he had told Netanyahu not to do it, and added that of course we support Israel. He did not, however, specify support for Israel’s actions against Iran.
And finally we know that this war stands to create new disasters across the region—most especially for Gaza. Because with the world’s attention pivoting to Israel’s war against Iran, the need to end the on-going genocide in Gaza is likely to slip far from the center of attention where it needs to be.
What We’ve Always Known About the Israel-Iran-U.S. Relationship
Washington has for decades provided Israel with enormous levels of military support, including the most powerful weapons short of nuclear weapons in the U.S. arsenal. For decades Congress and multiple administrations have guaranteed billions of dollars in military aid to Israel every year. In the last 20 months of Israel’s genocide in Gaza, that aid has skyrocketed. In 2024 alone, Israel provided Israel with almost $18 billion to purchase warplanes, tank ammunition, and thousands of bombs, including the massive bunker-buster bombs that Israel used in Gaza, but could also use against the hardened Fordow nuclear site just a few miles from Qom, Iran’s religious center. U.S. taxpayers paid 40% of Israel’s entire military spending that year—so regardless of whether or when U.S. officials knew of, or approved of Israel’s attack on Iran, there is no question that U.S. support still made it possible.
We also know that despite its recent massive attacks against countries and forces linked in some way to Iran—Hezbollah in Lebanon, Syria since the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad, the Houthis in Yemen, and of course Hamas in Gaza (whose earlier ties to Iran were largely eroded)—leaving them significantly weakened militarily, Israel remains very isolated in the region. For example, Trump launched the Abraham Accords in his first term—agreements for Arab states to gain increased access to U.S. weapons sales in return for normalizing relations with Israel. Now Trump still favors the Gulf States, but he’s abandoned the condition that they be friendly with Israel—convenient for Arab governments given the public outrage toward Israel because of its genocide in Gaza. Trump’s willingness to leave Israel off the table as a condition for privileged access meant he did not even visit Israel on his recent trip to the Middle East—stopping in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE.
What We Don’t Know
We don’t know for sure whether Rubio’s “we didn’t do it” and don’t mention Israel, or Trump’s “I told them not to” and “of course we support Israel…” statement most accurately reflects U.S. policy. We don’t know if Trump even saw Rubio’s statement, issued hours before the president’s own. Neither even hinted at any serious pressure to prevent an Israeli assault on Iran—and we know that U.S. military aid remains intact regardless of Israeli actions U.S. presidents may not like.
We know Netanyahu strengthens his domestic political position by attacking Iran, and that some Israeli officials believe a provocative attack leading to Iranian retaliation might bring the U.S. into the war. Those are likely both part of Netanyahu’s calculus—but we don’t know which is more important.
With the world’s attention pivoting to Israel’s war against Iran, the need to end the on-going genocide in Gaza is likely to slip far from the center of attention where it needs to be.
There are thousands of U.S. troops stationed in the region—a small number in Israel but thousands in surrounding countries. Right now the U.S. is sending two additional destroyers to the coast of Israel. While a military response from Iran is already underway, we don’t know if they will make good on their threat to attack U.S. targets as well as Israeli—and if they do, will the U.S. move from behind-the-scenes to direct military involvement, perhaps including airstrikes or troops on the ground?
What we do know is that Israel remains the main destabilizing force in the Middle East. Just in the last 20 months it has attacked and occupied new swathes of territory in Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank, and is carrying out a genocide in Gaza. It has bombed Iraq and Yemen. And now it is raising the level of instability to a qualitatively new level, directly confronting the other most powerful military and political force in the region.
As is true with Gaza, we in the United States bear a particular responsibility to try to stop it—because, whatever the president or the secretary of state or any other official says or refuses to say, Washington is supplying the weapons and preventing accountability for Israel’s wars. We have a lot of work to do.
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Those Who Would Be King
Trump’s June 14 spectacle isn’t just a parade; it is a flagrant exploitation of the military for personal and political gain, something we, who fought in America’s unnecessary and immoral wars, know so well.
Jun 13, 2025
After implementing significant budget cuts across various federal programs, including eliminating some 83,000 jobs at the Department of Veterans Affairs, 20,000 of which were filled by veterans, President Donald J. Trump plans to spend an estimated $45-96 million for a parade on June 14 to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the United States Army, and concurrently his 79th birthday. With a massive display of America’s military might, this event, according to the parade’s official website,“is designed not only to showcase the Army’s modern capabilities but also to inspire a new generation to embrace the spirit of service, resilience, and leadership that defines the United States.”
Trump has yearned to immerse himself in such a display of military extravagance no matter the expense and inconvenience to the public ($16 million additional in damage to Washington’s streets, the closure of two major airports, etc.) since witnessing France’s impressive Bastille Day celebrations during his first term. Much to his dismay, however, his plans were abandoned after pushback over cost and logistics from D.C. officials and opposition from then-Secretary of Defense James Mattis. Not unexpectedly, the current Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, never one to thwart Trump’s wishes and illusions of grandeur, enthusiastically supports the parade.
It is a waste of money that could better be used to restore much needed funds for healthcare, housing, pensions, and giving our troops and their families the best care possible.
Interestingly, for whatever the reason, in hyping the parade, Trump fails to acknowledge, nor does he have similar plans to showcase, the modern capabilities and the “spirit of service, resilience, and leadership” of America’s other military branches that also celebrate their 250th Anniversary later in the year, the Navy in October and the Marine Corps in November. One may speculate that this omission may have something to do with their anniversaries not coinciding with Trump’s birthday.
Despite the optics of this parade falling on Trump’s birthday,event organizers insist that there is no connection between the two events. However, one must consider this claim in tandem with other measures that have characterized Trump’s reign of terror in the White House. His flurry of presidential orders is clearly intended to reinvent the presidency by vastly expanding his authority, powers, and the deference accorded to the Office he holds. Basically, he is attempting to reinvent the presidency as something that resembles a dictatorship rather than the democracy it has traditionally been in American history. And what better to accomplish this than a parade to celebrate the military and the weapons of war, an event befitting other megalomaniacal world leaders and dictators like Kim Jong Un, Vladimir Putin, Joseph Stalin, and Adolf Hitler.
Further, given the myriad incidents of flagrant animosity and disrespect Trump has exhibited toward the military in the past, i.e., his disparaging the parents of Humayun Khan, an army captain killed during the Iraq War; his characterizing soldiers who died defending this Country as losers and suckers; his refusing to visit, while in France, the graves of American service members killed during World War I because it was raining; his not wanting to be seen with wounded veterans because “it doesn’t look good for me;” his mocking of the late Arizona Sen. John McCain for being shot down and captured during the Vietnam War; his calling the military officials with whom he had worked “some of the dumbest people I’ve ever met in my life,” etc., one can understand why many veterans (and nonveterans alike) are skeptical of the organizers claim that this parade is intended to honor soldiers and veterans and celebrate America’s Army.
Many of us who served in the military, who shed our blood and sanity for this country, certainly remember. War never goes away and is with us for the remainder of our lives. But we who know the truth about war do not celebrate its horror and tragedy. Those of us who can, labor to live with it. Tragically, as indicated by the 18 veterans who commit suicide each day, many could not.
Many march to remember, others to forget.
But for those who truly know war
and suffer its consequences,
no ceremony or parade is necessary
as the memories,
the images of war,
and the faces of our comrades wasted in battle
visit us each night in our dreams.
Nor do the ceremonies and parades
help us to put to rest
the turmoil of a life interrupted
and devastated by war,
or to forget the killing and the dying.
Such ceremonies and parades accomplish nothing,
save to allow those who make war easily
or distance themselves from its insanity and horror
to feign support and appreciation
and to relieve their collective guilt
for immoral war and crimes against humanity.
Nor do ceremonies and parades
honor, educate, inform, or lessen the burden of loss.
Rather they celebrate and perpetuate
the myth of honor and glory,
and “The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori.”
I shall march no more—Camillo Mac Bica
This isn’t just a parade, therefore, it is a flagrant exploitation of the military for personal and political gain, something we, who fought in America’s unnecessary and immoral wars, know so well. It is an authoritarian display of power, and another means for Trump to celebrate himself and to expand his authority. It is a waste of money that could better be used to restore much needed funds for healthcare, housing, pensions, and giving our troops and their families the best care possible. Therefore, we must not remain silent. We must act, raise our voices in outrage, defy the ambitions of those who would be king, speak the truth about war, and not allow others, especially pretenders and posers, to misrepresent and mythologize that which they know nothing about.
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Courage: A Letter to the Oberlin College Class of 2025
Whatever the causes, the world has gone haywire and in the years ahead all of us will need courage more than ever.
Jun 12, 2025
I don’t know much about the theory of courage. But I believe that it shows up when summoned from the depths of our loyalties and affections—doing work for which we’re willing to live and die.
Whatever the causes, the world has gone haywire and in the years ahead all of us will need courage more than ever. A few examples to make the point:
- Some tech bros—about your age—are dismantling the Federal government, painstakingly assembled over 235 years;
- Immigrants—some U.S. citizens—are being arrested and shipped to foreign prisons... without due process;
- The president says he “doesn’t know” whether he must uphold the Constitution—that he swore to “preserve, protect, and defend” 125 days ago;
- Billionaires and mega corporations are getting more tax cuts;
- People, young and old, are dying in Ukraine, Gaza, South Sudan;
- Last week others died in heat and storms in the Midwest;
- During this one hour, we will release the heat equivalent from 18,000 Hiroshima-size bombs to an already overheated Earth; and
- Mendacity and oligarchy are on the march; Truth—our stock in trade—is under assault.
Future generations will think us “deranged” in Amitav Ghosh’s words. Your job—our job—is to prove them wrong and make a better future than that in prospect. So, “What is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” (Mary Oliver)
As you think it over, know that there is work for you to do—good work... and trouble to cause, what John Lewis called “necessary trouble.” But good work and necessary trouble always come with the courage to do it. With that in mind, a few observations:
- Get a life before you select a career... have a compass, not an itinerary... know whose side you are on;
- Stand for something that matters—and there is a great deal that matters;
- Be less certain of your certainties, but more clear about your values;
- Laugh at the human predicament and yourself... otherwise you’re just not taking things seriously enough;
- Pay attention to serendipity—those small chance occurrences, once defined as God’s way to remain anonymous;
- Be grateful always: You are the beneficiary of kindnesses, known and unknown;
- Remember that you are kin to all that has ever lived, is living, and by our forbearance will live; and
- In coming years, as you learn, in Rutger Bregman’s words, to “self-diminish,” become more kind, compassionate, and wise.
As for courage... remember the Lion in The Wizard of Oz walking down that yellow brick road looking for courage... only to find that the wizard was a phony and that he had courage all along, it was all around him and It’s all around you too and will come when you most need it. You will be surprised when you discover how much you can do in the years ahead, and there is not a moment to lose.
AND Congratulations, we’re very proud of you! Godspeed!
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