The Gandhi Option: A Peaceful Way to Confound Trump’s Killing Spree
Given that Trump wants war to get re-elected, then that’s precisely the thing that you should not give him. You hit two birds with one stone. Avoid war
Photo: AFP
By Emad El-Din Aysha
This is an opinion piece, hastily written, and not based on any reading of strategic papers or leaked information. But the situation cries out for an opinion before things spin out of control, in the wake of the American assassination of Quds Force leader Qasim Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in Baghdad on Friday.
First, the American objective behind the airstrike. I am not sure there is an objective, as far as ‘America’ is concerned. I think US President Donald Trump’s calculus was more domestic than anything else, to solidify his position not only against the Democrats trying to impeach him in Congress but also to quiet all the rumblings among his key allies in the US, the Evangelicals. Also I cannot believe the Israelis had nothing to do with this. The excuse fielded by Secretary of State and former CIA chief Pompeo that the US committed this heinous act to block an Iranian-led operation threatening American lives isn’t convincing. If the Americans genuinely did this to stave off an attack – killing one person in charge of a battle plan won’t stop the plan going through – it was probably pre-empted by intelligence and analysis provided by the Israelis.
I would also wager that Trump took this fateful decision in an attempt to strong arm his own armed force into a military confrontation with Iran, something he has persistently failed to do over the previous period, with repeated provocation to Iran and repeated objections to getting into war with Iran by the Pentagon itself. And Trump may not have any strategic imperatives behind this desire for engagement, apart from getting re-elected and please the Jewish lobby and insuring their support come election time
Second, the timing of this attack. It comes as a surprise to us all because it came in the aftermath of the protest marches in Iraq against the US embassy in Baghdad. Things had finally calmed down, following American assaults against Iraqi militias, again no doubt prompted by the Israelis. (There had been previous attacks on Iraqi militias and the Israelis willingly took the blame). The Americans, or at least the Trump administration, is clearly not happy that things calmed down in Iraq and want to light things up all over again. Like I said above, Trump wants a confrontation with Iran and its allies in the region, to make good on his rollback pledges during his election campaign – doing away with the Iranian nuclear deal once and for all.
Third, response options facing the Iranians, and the Iraqis too. Given that Trump wants war to get re-elected, then that’s precisely the thing that you should not give him. You hit two birds with one stone. Avoid war, what Netanyahu desperately wants so he can get re-elected, and make it harder and harder for Trump to stay in power in the face of the Congress and the American voter. But that does not mean you shouldn’t do anything. The important thing is to capitalise on this American blunder and transform it into a whole series of blunders for the US in Iraq and the region.
When the Americans first invaded and occupied Iraq in 2003 under the reign of George W., the option was fielded in southern Iraq to engage in protest marches modelled on the first intifada in Palestine, a civilian approach that would win international support and sympathy to the plight of the Iraqi people and get the Americans out in a bloodless way. To this day I cannot understand why this did not happen in Iraq. It’s about time this option was dusted off and put back into action, driving American forces once and for all out of Iraq. And if the Americans fire back, the onus will be on them in the face of international opinion, slaying unarmed protestors.
Such an approach is no stranger to the Iranians. Not to discount economic options as well, such as the oil weapon. America’s got enough oil of its own thanks to shale and the Saudi approach of flooding the world with oil hasn’t knocked out the shale sector as originally planned. An oil price hike could do the trick since Mr Trump specifically wants low fuel prices at home to insure the American voter re-elects him. Then there’s international law and diplomacy too, since this unbridled act of violence has worried many in the world, and will be capitalised on by many in the world as well, like Russia. Not to forget China. And Turkey.
(The writer is an independent researcher, journalist and author based in Cairo, Egypt)
(Views are personal and do not represent those of International Affairs Review)
