The U.S.-Israel war on Iran weakens democracy, not strengthens it

Military interventions are always said to be ‘for democracy,’ but they are ultimately its downfall

The justification behind the war in Iran is to promote peace and democracy — at least, according to President Donald Trump’s administration. However, reality indicates that this war has done nothing but worsen those very conditions. Threats and attacks to human rights have only become more imposing since the beginning of Operation Epic Fury.

Rapidly spiking oil prices and fertilizer shortages (and the added problem of El Niño weather patterns) contribute to a shortage of global resources. In many countries, the increased inaccessibility of these essential resources, in a year with already harsh weather, has pushed disenfranchised people toward the brink of famine.

Within the Middle East, conditions are even worse. Millions of people are already displaced in the region, and those numbers are only increasing due to the recent campaign by the Trump administration. People are living in unfathomable fear for their lives and the lives of their children. With their nations trapped in a state of brutal survival, getting home is far from their top priority. The military intervention in Iran has pushed an already fragile region into crisis as more and more areas — oil export hubs like Kharg Island, schools and more — are bombed to smithereens. The April 8 United States-Iran ceasefire helps little — there have already been violations on the American side, and according to Israel, their attacks on Lebanon are still permitted.

Innocent people in Iran are being unceremoniously murdered by drone strikes because important men in suits decided the Iranian government was a threat — despite the American army’s capability to flatten any country it comes into conflict with. This isn’t to say that the Iranian government has not committed numerous human rights violations, but that civilians do not deserve to be decimated for the crimes of their leaders.

American military actions are distinctly anti-democracy and anti-peace. Creating instability in the Middle East prompts reactionary tendencies; the people affected have no reason to care for the supposed good nature of their “saviors” as they see, firsthand, the burned and desecrated bodies of their friends and the bombed-out shells of their factories, bridges and homes. Iranian civilians cannot create a functioning society (let alone a democracy) when they are more worried about whether or not they will wake up tomorrow or if their final sensation will be the eardrum-cracking explosion of a remote air strike.

“A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Tuesday, April 7. These words are not from a man who seeks to bring peace.

The U.S.-Israel-Iran war is not the first time democracy has been threatened by a thwarted promise to protect it, either, and it certainly won’t be the last. The Gulf War, the war in Afghanistan and the Syrian civil war are all examples within the region. In each instance, while leaders promised to restore peace and uphold democratic integrity, they ultimately used their powers to destroy, oppress and steal. There are similar instances outside of the Middle East too — Vietnam, Cuba, Chile, Guatemala and even the recent bombings in Venezuela are all evidence of the American war machine disemboweling a country.

Every single time America has struck a country, regional instability reaches a new height. America’s military has done nothing but stir up reactionary power struggles in other countries, which have led to the brutal deaths of thousands.

We cannot continue to stand by and watch as people around the globe are incinerated with bombs made on our land, by our people. Educate yourself and your loved ones on the repeated war crimes of the American imperial machine. Ensure that the secrets that have been lurking under the pristine grounds of the White House are brought to light. We as a society are responsible for ensuring our own media literacy and promoting that of those around us. It is imperative that we pay attention to who is telling us the information we rely on, and to carefully choose trustworthy sources when crafting our interpretation of the world around us. The more people there are that know the truth, the more people can begin to demand change — real change.

Written by: Sage Kamocsay— skamocsay@ucdavis.edu

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