Chicago Tribune editorial ‘Israel’s rationale for change in Iran is clear. But the American rationale is murky indeed’ is a masterclass in deflection from the unfolding catastrophe in the Middle East

Chicago Tribune editorial ‘Israel’s rationale for change in Iran is clear. But the American rationale is murky indeed’ is a masterclass in deflection from the unfolding catastrophe in the Middle East

 

It starts with the title. Calling a horrific war that is killing thousands, destabilizing the Middle East, possibly crashing the US economy, even risking nuclear war, “change”. is astonishing in its denial of reality.

 

The Trib defends Israel’s rationale for launching all out war on Iran as “self-evident” national security concerns. What is self-evident is that for decades Israel has been calling for destruction of the Iranian regime, if not the entire country, to remove Israel’s last hegemonic rival for Middle East supremacy.

 

What is also self evident is that Israel has been plotting this war with President Trump thruout his second term. They sucker punched Iran last June by attacking while conducting fake negotiations. Iran’s tout defense forced Israel to demand Trump affect a ceasefire.

 

They both tried again by infiltrating the Iranian protests over the economy last December. Provoking a violent government response was to be the fuse to justify a second attack to achieve regime change. But the government quickly quashed the protests and regime change 2.0.

 

Three months later the US and Israel once again used the cover of negotiations to launch all out war that has backfired spectacularly.

 

The Trib errs in quoting local Israeli official Elad Strohmayer that ”the military bombing of Iran by Israel and the United States enjoyed very wide support among Israeli citizens” Nonsense. The Israeli populous is fractured by Iran’s devastating response causing widespread destruction. Military morale, already degraded from endless deployments to in Gaza and Lebanon, will only get worse due to all out war in Iran. The outlook for a stable Israeli citizenry and government is bleak.

 

The most outlandish statement in the long editorial is “only a fool cannot see that the vast majority of Iranians wanted this regime to be removed from their lives.” But only those not fools can see a near totally united 90 million Iranians who are successfully punishing the US and Israeli war mongers determined to destroy them. 

Nether the US nor Israel has an exit strategy for their impending failure in Iran short of totally destroying it, possibly even with Israeli nukes. That, and not narrative devoid of reality on the ground should be addressed in the next Trib editorial on this unfolding catastrophe 

Walt Zlotow  West Suburban Peace Coalition  Glen Ellyn IL

Back on its heels, will Israel nuke Iran?

 

Back on its heels, will Israel nuke Iran?

 

Trump’s deranged war on Iran is spiraling out of control. US bases are being pounded, neutralizing their ability to monitor, much less shoot down Iranian drones and missiles. But Iranian firepower is no threat to the US homeland 6,000 miles from Iran.

 

Not so for Israel which is being devastated by Iran’s enormous stockpile of drones and missiles. Having been dastardly attacked by Israel and the US last June while negotiating in good faith, unlike Israel and US, Iran was ready for dastardly attack 2.0.

 

Assassinating Iranian leader Ali Khamenei, the leader who issued a Fatwa prohibiting nuclear weapons, was astonishingly stupid. It had the opposite effect of encouraging the Iranian people to rise against the Islamic government to allow delusional Trump to pick a US puppet successor.

 

Iran’s response has been ferocious, creating both physical chaos and now societal unrest thruout Israel. Prime Minister Netanyahu, hoping to avoid Khamenei’s fate, is spending most of his time flying around the region while communicating with his beleaguered government and military. He doesn’t plan to go down with the Israeli ship of state.  

 

Netanyahu is seeing the existential threat he unleashed upon Iran boomeranging back on Israel itself. That conjures up the worst nightmare scenario of this nightmare war. Will Netanyahu dip into his stock of 300 nukes and drop one on Tehran to stop further Israeli disintegration they brought upon themselves?

 

This possibility should have the hair on fire of everyone in the Trump administration promoting this senseless, self-destructive war. Then again, some of them are so deranged they view their folly as a holy war which will create Armageddon, bring Jesus back to earth to lift up to heaven those who believe, while us sane folks fall into hell. This madness is being fed to bewildered soldiers in dozens of military stations in every service branch.

 

2,473 nukes have been exploded in tests since the 2 nukes America fired in anger destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki 80 years ago. There are many reasons for this insane, unprovoked, criminal war to be ended. Topping the list is keeping Netanyahu from making nuclear explosion number 2,477 the first to obliterate a city since number 3 obliterated Nagasaki.

 

Walt Zlotow  West Suburban Peace Coalition  Glen Ellyn IL

Good grief…Jesus freaks taking over military indoctrination

 Good grief…Jesus freaks taking over military indoctrination

As a non-theist I both respect freedom of religion and demand separation of church and state.

Most violations of the latter concern relatively minor infractions such as school prayer or posting the 10 Commandments in the public square.

Never in my life could I imagine our government promoting America’s grotesque, criminal war on Iran by telling military personnel in all the services that this war is God’s plan to cause Armageddon and mark his return to Earth,”

This was not one-off insanity by a rogue military leader. The
Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) reports over 100 complaints from 30 military installations about their commanders’ instructions. One NCO complained their commander “urged us to tell our troop this was all part of God’s divine plan and supported it with numerous citations from the Book of Revelation referring to Armageddon and the imminent return of Jesus Christ.”

While Christian nationalism has simmered on the back burner of the military for decades, under fanatical Christian Nationalist and War Secretary Pete Hegseth, it’s now official US military policy. Hegseth is egged on by irreligious President Trump, who cynically uses Christian nationalism to justify his warfare in the Middle East on behalf of Israel.

You do not have to be a non-theist to oppose this religious madness Trump and Hegseth infect our military with to promote endless war in the name of God. You just have to be a decent, morally centered person.

Walt Zlotow  West Suburban Peace Coalition  Glen Ellyn IL

Trump’s 3 day ‘quickie’ war turning into a 3 year catastrophe

Trump’s 3 day ‘quickie’ war turning into a 3 year catastrophe

President Trump bet his entire criminal attack on Iran as a quick 3 day operation which would force Iran’s capitulation. Kill its leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the 90 million Iranians would rise up against their government and make peace with new master America

It has backfired spectacularly. The vast majority of Iranians have rallied around the Islamic government. When Trump demanded Iran surrender, the remaining government publicly told Trump ‘Go to hell.’ Instead they have launched thousands of missiles and drone explosives on US instillations thruout the region. American deaths and injuries are occurring. They are successfully bombing America’s criminal war partner Israel, the real mastermind of this self-destructive war. Iran has closed the Strait of Hormuz which will quickly destabilize the world economy over oil pricing. Iran’s attacks on US resources in the Gulf States will possibly destabilize the entire region.

Trump, realizing he’s both failed and trapped, is becoming increasingly more detached from reality. The US is already running low munitions to fight a long war, but Trump claims we have enough to fight multiple wars “forever”. But he quickly contradicted himself by claiming any shortages are due to negligence of his predecessor he only refers to as “Sleepy Joe”. This from a debilitated president falling asleep at public events. He’s cut off all trade with Spain because they refuse to help Trump wage his criminal war. Trump hints at boots on the ground in Iran, setting congressional critics’ hair on fire.

Why doesn’t Iran fold against the largest military in the world and its criminal war partner Israel? Simple. After trying to negotiate peace with these two brutal, vicious countries for decades, Iran realizes both represent an existential threat to their existence. Facing obliteration, Iran has decided to go down fighting, taking America and Israel with them.

Knowing it was coming, Iran has been preparing years for all out war. It’s has tens of thousands of missiles and drones scattered and well-hidden to prevent US, Israeli destruction. The US, Israeli hunters are now becoming the hunted. US embassies in the region, some already under attack, are telling their staffers they cannot help evacuate them.

Trump has nearly 3 years left in office. His failed 3 day quickie war to destroy Iran as an Israeli hegemonic rival may turn his last 3 years into an unrelenting personal catastrophe. Alas, it may also be a catastrophe for Israel, America, the Middle East, possibly the entire world.

Walt Zlotow West Suburban Peace Coalition Glen Ellyn IL

Marco spills the beans…’Bibi made us do it’

 Marco spills the beans…’Bibi made us do it’

In 4 days of immoral, criminal war on Iran, the Trump administration changes the rationale every day, indeed almost every hour.

The most preposterous comes from supreme American warmonger Marco Rubio who masquerades as Secretary of State while every fiber of his damaged soul plots endless war.

“It was abundantly clear that if Iran came under attack by anyone, the United States, Israel, or anyone, they were going to respond and respond against the United States. If we stood and waited for that attack to come first, before we hit them, we would have suffered much higher casualties. And so the president made the very wise decision. We knew that there was going to be an Israeli action, we knew that that would precipitate an attack against American forces,”

Rubio could not have been more disingenuous. He’s pretending we’re a neutral observer that will be involved if Israel attacks and must attack first to avoid US casualties. . He knows full well the US and Israel have been plotting together to destroy Iran for decades. He's spent the last year as Secretary of State involved in that war plotting. The US wants to extend its dominance over the entire Middle East while Israel wants to eliminate its only hegemonic rival in the region. Together the US, Israeli tag team  seeks to accomplish both imperialistic goals.

 

The combined attack February 28 was a replay on steroids of the smaller combined preemptive attack last June. Since it didn’t accomplish regime change and Iran’s destruction, Netanyahu and Trump decided to launch an all out war to the death. This time Americans are dying along with Israelis, and the shutdown of oil production and transit may send America spiraling into a major recession.

Since few Americans are buying into this madness, rejecting one Trump justification after another, Rubio came to the rescue. ‘I’ve got it’ he proclaimed. ‘We’ll tell the public that we had to attack because it was the only way to save American lives after Israel attacks Iran. We're simply playing defense.'  

Rubio’s logic would be hilarious if not for the fact that it guarantees US body bags coming home as a result of Rubio’s self-licking ice cream cone.

Walt Zlotow  West Suburban Peace Coalition  Glen Ellyn IL

Chicago Tribune needs to confront the ghastly criminality of Trump’s second criminal war this year

Chicago Tribune needs to confront the ghastly criminality of Trump’s second criminal war this year

 

The Trib’s long editorial on Trump’s unprovoked, immoral, criminal war on Iran gives tacit approval to it without a hint of its murderous criminality. “Trump and his Israeli partners knew what they did not like in Iran and we don’t disagree.” That sure sounds like an endorsement of criminal war that should have Trump and his partner, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in the dock at The Hague for war crimes.

 

Trump’s attack had nothing to do with defense of America’s national security interests. Alleging Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei led a repressive, theocratic, medieval regime is not a justification for launching preemptive war.

 The Trib accuses Iran of sponsoring terrorism when, unlike Trump, Ali Khamenei didn’t bomb 7 countries in 2025 killing untold thousands. If the Trib is concerned about sponsors of terrorism, a good starting point is Donald J. Trump. 

 The Trib notes that Ali Khamenei “threatened the security of Israel,” but fails to note that Israel killed over a thousand Iranians in their 12 day preemptive war last June. Ali Khamenei and Iran were never a threat to Israel’s security. They represented a potential rival to Israel for Middle East dominance that had to be eliminated with American firepower and now American blood. Being a hegemonic rival is not grounds for preemptive war.  

 

Trump’s ongoing, murderous war aside, the Trib focused instead on Ali Khamenei’s “plans for a nuclear weapon.” Why does the Trib ignore that Ali Khamenei not only forbid nukes, he signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2015 which guaranteed Iran would never get one. Guess who blew up that signature Obama achievement? Donald Trump in 2018. Reason? The JCPOA prevented regime change demanded by Israel to be implemented by the United States.

 It took 8 years but that regime change is underway in a grotesque criminal war that will kill many thousands, possibly destabilize the Middle East and likely drive up energy prices in America to recessionary levels. 

Now with 3 Americans dead and 5 seriously wounded due to Trump’s criminality, the Chicago Tribune might consider a follow up editorial titled ‘We will not miss the President of the United States. His only plan was endless, senseless war.’

Walt Zlotow  West Suburban Peace Coalition  Glen Ellyn IL 

Obama Center defiles Jackson Park, Hyde Park, Chicago

Obama Center defiles Jackson Park, Hyde Park, Chicago

 

Lived in Hyde Park for 10 years and marveled at its architecture, both old and new. Uplifted by the famed UChicago campus every day I traversed it 4 years as an undergrad. The surrounding Hyde Park neighborhood was filled with architectural gems.

 

While visiting my Hyde Park sister Saturday, we took a quick mile hop to see the Barack Obama Presidential Center. As we approached by car I exclaimed “Is that ugly slab arising out of Jackson Park the BOPC?”

 

It sure was. We exited the car for a closer look. With each step it became uglier than first viewing. The inscription halfway up intended to inspire was so scrunched together as to be near unreadable.

It was the most hideous public building I’ve observed in my 81 years. As one always offended by ugly buildings that will last beyond our lifetimes, I’m thankful I will never see it again. It takes top prize in buildings I wish were never built, surpassing previous contenders for ugliest, the Thompson Center in the Loop and the renovated Soldier Field on the lakefront.

 

I have no quarrel building a presidential library. I’ve visited those of Honest Abe, James Garfield (located in his home), FDR, Truman, Ike, JFK and Gerald Ford. All were decent to inspiring (Fords') architecturally and were befitting of the president they honored. The Barack Obama Presidential Center is not.

 

I do hope the completed BOPC will benefit the community and serve historical presidential and American scholarship.

 

But a word of caution to Joe Biden, Donald Trump and the architects they select to design their presidential libraries. Don’t do ugly.

 

Walt Zlotow   Glen Ellyn IL

Schumer, Jeffries blink…Senate, House to vote on War Powers Resolution next week to stop Trump’s criminal war on Iran

 Schumer, Jeffries blink…Senate, House to vote on War Powers Resolution next week to stop Trump’s criminal war on Iran

The two Democratic leaders in Congress failed in their attempt to quash a bi partisan War Powers Resolution demanding Trump hold off any war on Iran till he makes the case before Congress. That’s not just morally required, it’s constitutionally required.


Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries would much prefer Congress to remain constitutionally silent. They both would like to see Trump demolish Iran on behalf of Israel, while self-destructing his presidency when the toll of senseless war visits the homeland. But they’re now on board, bowing to pressure from congressional Democratic peace advocates and the majority of Americans who loathe the rush to war to serve Israel’s regional hegemonic interests, not America’s national security interests.

Alas, the vote next week could be seven long days from now, plenty of time for Trump to act unilaterally, the Congress, the Constitution, the American people be damned.

Walt Zlotow West Suburban Peace Coalition

Democratic congressional leaders are working to stop War Powers Resolution opposing Trump’s criminal Iran war

Democratic congressional leaders are working to stop War Powers Resolution opposing Trump’s criminal Iran war

Senate Minority leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries are horrified that a bipartisan War Powers Resolution to stop Trump’s planned criminal war on Iran might actually come to a vote this week.

The last thing they want is for Democrats, including themselves, to go on record to stop Trump from his dastardly planned attack. Why? Both leaders, like many fellow Democrats, support the likely upcoming Trump attack but are loathe to admit such. They either truly believe the nonsense Iran is seeking nuclear weapons and represents a threat to the homeland…or they are simply aligning themselves with Israel’s interests, not America’s, due to the millions pumped into Democratic campaign coffers by the Israel lobby.

Neither Schumer nor Jeffries utter a word about their pro Israel, pro Iran war beliefs. They know a large majority of voters reject Trump’s rush to war to cater to Israel’s military interests over America’s national security interests. Schumer and Jeffries stay silent so Trump can self-destruct when US body bags arrive home from Iran’s missile killing fields.

Unlike pro Israel Republican lawmakers who brag about their fealty to Israel and the need to topple Iran into failed state status, Democratic lawmakers want it both ways. Destroy Iran while laying the blame for all the lethal blowback killing Americans on Trump’s doorstep.

Schumer and Jeffries had no issue supporting the War Powers Resolution to stop Trump from invading Venezuela to kidnap its president. That resolution neither affected Israel nor was likely to incur massive US casualties. Voting for the resolution, bound to fail due to solid Republican support, brought no political fallout.

Schumer and Jeffries will not publically oppose bringing the Iran War Powers Resolution to a vote. They can’t leave any fingerprints on their opposition to it. Behind the scenes they offer process concerns, objections and caucus unity arguments to slow down the march to a vote; indeed possibly prevent it before Trump launches possible the most catastrophic war this century.

Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries want their cake and eat it too. Destroy Iran and the Trump presidency by remaining AWOL from the most critical issue they have ever faced. You cannot get more cynical than the Schumer, Jeffries tag team allowing Trump to blunder into catastrophic war to serve a foreign government.

Walt Zlotow

West Suburban Peace Coalition 

Republicans and Democrats on loving US wars worldwide: Tweedledum and Tweedledee

 Republicans and Democrats on loving US wars worldwide: Tweedledum and Tweedledee

There is only one issue upon which Republicans and Democrats generally agree. War.

In the first 26 years of century 21, two Republican and two Democratic presidents have followed the hallowed American mantra that war is the health of the state. Not for the people, just the leaders who practice war.

George W. Bush killed hundreds of thousands including, over 5,000 Americans, in his made up Afghan an Iraq wars. Barack Obama killed thousands turning Libya into a failed state, weaponized Islamic terrorists to destabilize Syria, and fueled Saudi Arabia’s four year war destroying Yemen. Joe Biden enabled Israeli genocide in Gaza and largely destroyed Ukraine in his senseless proxy war to weaken Russia. Donald Trump bombed 7 countries in 2025 killing thousands and is now on the cusp of igniting the most massive war this century to destroy Iran.

Presidents use war to goose the economy by destroying other lands rather than uplifting the domestic commons. War extends their control over other countries and their resources. It serves to distract from unsolved domestic problems, even deflect from personal failings and scandals. It expands the imperial presidency.

Republicans, more than Democrats, glory in starting endless wars and boasting about them, but not by much. While Trump and his war loving advisors march a massive armada off Iran and tout their ability to destroy Iran to please Israel, Democrats remain largely silent and AWOL from the urgent need to prevent what could add thousands of Americans and Israelis to the massive Iranian body count incurred should Trump attack.

Instead of calling Trump’s rush to war a deranged, criminal war that should get him prosecuted as a war criminal, Democrats confine their criticism to Trump’s refusal to have Congress declare war. Democrats basically agree with Trump’s war justification that Iran is building nuclear weapons and represents a direct threat to US national security interests. They imply that Congress would greenlight the war if Trump would only allow them to do their constitutional duty.

Bunk. Democrats have no interest whatsoever in being consulted. Their War Power Resolutions, whether to prevent Trump from attacking Venezuela to kidnap their president or launching massive bombing on Iran, are empty virtue signaling. Democrats vote for them knowing they will fail. If Trump’s war goes well, such as with kidnaping Venezuelan President Maduro, Democrats simply move on to trash his domestic policies and character flaws instead of calling out the barbarity of his war polices. If Trump’s militarism backfires, Democrats play politics, falsely charging the resulting disaster would never had occurred had they been consulted.

Did congressional Democrats offer up War Power Resolutions to stop Democrat Biden from weaponizing and cheering on Israel’s genocide in Gaza or demanding Ukraine keep fighting Russia with tens of billions in US weapons when an early peace treaty was ready for signature? Of course not. Democrats scrubbed the word genocide from their vocabulary, saying those tens of billions in genocide weapons were simply for Israeli self defense.

And that hundred seventy billion to keep the war in Ukraine raging? Democrats concurred that was to keep Putin from recreating the Soviet Union, marching into Western Europe, maybe even threatening America. That was a bipartisan fantasy to justify senseless and failed proxy war.

When Democratic President Obama was enabling the coup that ousted Russian leaning Ukrainian President Yanukovych in 2014, Democrats were all in, proclaiming Russia was powerless to respond. When Russia finally responded militarily eight years later, Democrats bought Biden’s astonishing claim ‘no US provocation here...Putin woke up one morning and decided to invade’

As we head into the midterms that may bring Democrats congressional control, Democrats will utter nary a word about Trump’s murderous foreign policies bringing death to thousands, further destroying Ukraine, continuing the genocidal ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in Gaza and possibly crushing Iran. Why not? Democrats know they are Tweedledum to Republicans Tweedledee when it comes to endless war…the only thing on which they agree.

66 years of US sanctions and embargo degrading Cuba have become depraved under Trump

 66 years of US sanctions and embargo degrading Cuba have become depraved under Trump

President Trump just made one of the most depraved statements about destroying living conditions for a foreign people ever uttered by a US president. “THERE WILL BE NO MORE OIL OR MONEY GOING TO CUBA – ZERO! I strongly suggest they make a deal, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.”

Trump doesn’t just talk depravity. He practices depravity. He’s ratcheted up America’s 66 yearlong campaign of economic sanctions and embargo to unprecedented heights. For the 11 million beleaguered Cuban people that means a new low in living standards from Trump’s cruelty.

Trump‘s criminal intervention in Venezuela allows him to cut off Venezuelan oil which suppled one third of Cuba’s oil. Not satisfied with that, Trump is pressuring Mexico to cut off the 44% of Cuban oil it supplies. If successful that would cut Cuba's oil supplies by 78%. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum cancel one oil shipment but says Mexico will still provide Cuba oil based on "humanitarian needs." Tho reducing oil shipments, Mexico is sending two ships containing 800 tons of desperately needed food, water and hygiene products. Hopefully Trump won’t mistake the Mexican ships for drug boats to be obliterated.

The oil shortage has already created a humanitarian crisis as less than half of Havana’s garbage trucks have fuel to cope with mountains of waste. Russia has ordered all its tourists out of Cuba. The collapsing tourist industry is destroying one of Cuba’s last economic lifelines.

But that is not good enough for Trump who’s considering a total blockade on oil imports to collapse the Cuban economy and depose the communist government. Last month Trump signed an executive order imposing tariffs on any country that sends oil to Cuba. Seeking to out-deprave the depraved Trump when it comes to Cuba, U.S. Charge d Affaires in Havana Mike Hammer told his staff “Now there is going to be a real blockade. Nothing is getting in. No more oil is coming.”

Nine years ago my wife and I visited Cuba for 10 days before newly elected Trump began dismantling Obama’s wonderful détente with Cuba. While his détente reestablished diplomatic relations and increased badly needed US tourism, it did not end the embargo which requires Congressional legislation. It was heartbreaking being there to ponder the madness of US policy inflicting such cruelty on such a beautiful country and its people for the past 57 years.

I’d been studying US Cuban relations since January 1, 1959 when news broke on Castro’s successful takedown of the brutal US supported Batista regime. I welcomed the news that 60 years of US exploitation of Cuba following our takeover of Cuba from Spain in 1898 had ended. Sadly, Ike rescinded his initial outreach to Castro within a year over US obsession in destroying any popular left wing government seeking to uplift its people suffering under colonialism.

My visit greatly expanded all I’d been studying about Cuba since 1959. It inspired me to develop a talk entitled ‘US Cuban Relations 1898 to Present: What They Didn’t Teach Us in School’ which I’ve presented many times. I end the talk imploring attendees to stay informed, support end to America’s cruel, heatless embargo, and visit Cuba to see for yourself its beauty and the need to end senseless US cruelty.

Alas, at next presentation I’ll drop the third request they visit Cuba to see for themselves its beauty and its people. The current depraved US administration is making Cuba unlivable for its 11 million citizens and any tourist who dares visit.

Walt Zlotow West Suburban Peace Coalition Glen Ellyn IL