Trump is edging towards another American ‘forever war’ in Iran

CNN:

It is the ultimate sanction. But somehow for President Donald Trump – who once sought a Nobel Peace Prize for ending wars – military force has become a casual measure, a kind of background effect used to cajole Iran into diplomacy.

Deploying the largest military machine in history is the most serious task faced by the United States’ commander-in-chief. The Pentagon may have reduced public information about US casualties and damage to its facilities, but both remain a risk and a reality. Dozens of Iranians have died since the last bout of strikes and counterstrikes began, and thousands since February.

Normalizing violence should, in itself, be a red line, and its resumption or threat not reduced to a throwaway remark. The disruptive powers of the Trump administration can bring real –- perhaps unintended –- benefits, and the president’s approach is certainly novel.

Yet as the demise of the memorandum of understanding seems increasingly obvious, and the ceasefire that came with it beyond preservation, Trump talks of “devastating” Iran often as an aside – just one of many topics raised with reporters. It is a complex, if not troubling, moment both for the ethical use of force, and its practical application as a deterrent.

The nature of the threatened strikes chips away at the norms of American behavior that were once the country’s greater strength. For all the criticism of US foreign policy over the past decades, it was still clear they tried – on the surface – to adhere to international humanitarian law and presented the use of force as the last resort.

Instead, Trump talks about devastating Iran’s infrastructure – hitting bridges and power plants. This is illegal – a war crime, legal scholars and lawyers will tell you.

Trump’s proponents may argue these definitions are ageing, and precedents have been set in recent years that leave the battlefield a wholly more callous place. But in black and white, the rules remain the same, for good reason, and Trump casually talks of flouting them. When Russian President Vladimir Putin strikes this type of target in Ukraine, there is rightly Western outrage.

The surface reluctance of the United States, over past decades, to use force helped preserve the potency of the Pentagon. The US fought a lot, but carefully explained why. Trump’s second term has bizarrely veered into territory his predecessors would have eschewed on principle.