Donald Trump’s postulated six week war against Iran has been dramatically inconclusive.
Despite the USA’s military might and Israel’s formidable defence capability, a convincing defeat of Iran seems illusory.
No doubt the USA and Israel have severely curtailed Iran’s military capability. And few of us would believe that is a bad thing, But they have had little success in diminishing the religious fervour that underpins the barbaric nature of this fundamentalist regime.
It was the famous philosopher Immanuel Kant who proclaimed that Western civilisation had advanced through The Enlightenment because we had learned that reason had triumphed over belief.
But Enlightenment largely avoided Islam. Consequently they had no Reformation, as was the case of Christianity, and its beliefs have remained anchored in medieval dogma that could only be challenged in the face of threats of death.
In such a regime knowledge is subjugated to ideology, reason is overwhelmed by faith and contrary opinions are not tolerated on the fear of death!
Now President Donald Trump came into prominence with his publication of the book he co-authored, The Art of the Deal. But I suspect doing deals in the business world with largely rational adversaries seeking to maximize economic benefit is vastly different from negotiating political deals with adversaries who want to maintain the mores of radical Islamist regime who have no concern for life but seek to maximize their religious influence!
Wesaw vividly the distinction between the two approaches when an American aircraft was shot down over Iran. The noble American ethos of “leaving no man behind” saw the USA forces expend huge resources in rescuing the pilot stranded in the mountainous Iran terrain. It concluded with the breathtaking rescue of the American airman. This is a demonstration of the sanctity of human life that is largely held by those in the West. Despite the secularisation of the West in recent times, it is a reflection of the Judaeo/Christian values on which our societies were built.
In radical Islam life in the here and ow is of little value. The goal of adherents to this radical theology is above all to maximize their opportunities to access the benefits promised by the Prophet in the afterlife. The surest way of doing this is through martyrdom to the Islamic cause.
Their disregard for the sanctity of human life is demonstrated by the ruthless way they punish and kill citizens who oppose their medieval beliefs. There can be no compromises with such people. History has shown they have a propensity to renege on agreements and use negotiations as stalling tactics while they try to advantage their own position.
So it is no wonder the USA has failed to reach a peace agreement with Iran.
It surprises me with the decimation of the country’s leadership that the USA can be confident they are even negotiating with anyone who can attest they can really represent the Iranian Government!
To begin with they believed that their overwhelming military might was all they needed to batter the Iranian Islamists into submission. For the reasons I have outlined, they were wrong. The fanatical beliefs of their protagonists resisted all the physical assaults the USA and Israel bestowed on them.
I am sure from the outset Trump underestimated their resilience.
The sticking point seems to be the absolute determination the Islamists have to secure nuclear weapons.
Former Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, used to refer to radical Islam as a “death cult”. This is essentially true, but they are words Anthony Albanese would not have the courage to utter! So of course it is no wonder they are obsessed with the desire to have nuclear weapons which are the most deadly of weapons mankind has ever devised. Consequently it seems to me that a peace deal with the Iranian theocrats is all but impossible.
But I wonder if our hankering for such an unlikely outcome is helpful or even necessary.
I am old enough to remember the Korean War.
The Korean War was a civil war between North Korea and South Korea. North Korea had the support of the communist Chinese, whilst South Korea was supported by the Western allies, principally the USA but also the United Nations.
The war was commenced with a number of guerrilla type skirmishes initiated by the North. But in June 1950 hostilities increased when the communist North Koreans crossed the 39th parallel to invade the South. Chairman Mao of China decided to join with the North Korean forces in this endeavour.
But after several years of war in July 1953 an armistice was agreed which ceased the fighting.
Note there was never a peace agreement but now for more than seven years North Korea and South Korea have continued an enduring truce.
I suspect there are irreconcilable differences between Iran and the United States. But I believe if they could commit to an enduring ceasefire and restore freedom of passage through the Hormuz Strait for shipping, we might have compromise the world could live with.