HATRED BEGETS HATRED

Timothy Snyder wrote on his June 21 Substack, “The war in Iran began with a dream of violence. The question now is whether the nightmare that followed returns to the United States.

The use of force does not magically lead to the outcome you want. You can think that firing some missiles and dropping some bombs will end Iran’s nuclear program, overturn its government, and lead to a victory that makes you feel grand about yourself; and then you can find that you no longer have any leverage over the nuclear program, that you have strengthened the power of the regime, and that you are paying hundreds of billions of dollars of reparations as the world draws conclusions from your capitulation.”

In the end, the United States won nothing but paid over one hundred billion dollars for the right to upset the world’s flow of gas and oil, to remove sanctions on Russian oil, and to help Trump’s buddy – Mr. Putin – increase the sale of their natural resources.

When the dust settles, Trump has once again shown the entire world that he works for Putin, and his loyalty is not to the United States. We the people gained nothing from this war instead the prices at the pumps across the U.S. increased one more time. More importantly, the animosity he created will last forever and provoke more violence. Trump is as oblivious to the hatred he has created, as President Bush I and II.

Trump’s UNJUSTIFIED and UNCONSTITUTIONAL war against Iran has singularly failed to achieve the objectives that the Trump administration set out for the ill-conceived military intervention. The costs of this war of choice, in contrast, have been immense and continue to accumulate daily. Simply put, the American people and the United States would have unquestionably been better off had Trump followed in the footsteps of his predecessors and rejected Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s arguments for war. Instead, President Trump’s Iran war has proved to be a strategic blunder that will characterize his presidency as did President George W. Bush’s disastrous 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Major conflicts between the U.S. and the Mid-East include:

(1) The Gulf War (1990-1991)

(2) The Iraq War (2003-2011)

(3) Operation Inherent Resolve (3014 to Present)

(4) Operation Enduring Freedom – Afghanistan (2001-2021)

(5) Operation Epic Fury, the Iran War (2026)

It was President Bush Sr. and Jr. who started three of these five wars – all failures.

In 2000, I had just flown from Ashgabat, Turkmenistan to Almay, Kazakhstan and was in the back seat of my driver’s car. I saw this poster on a telephone pole and retrieved it. It is hard to get all the Russian lettering printed, but basically it is a photo of an angry President Bush saying, “If you do not believe in our democracy, we will come to (fly to) your country next.” This poster was seen all over Central Asia in 2000.

It was only six months after this, that four planes were hijacked in the U.S. Two flew into the twin towers in N.Y, one flew into the Pentagon, and the fourth flew into a field in Pennsylvania that was supposed to crash into the Capitol.

Trump’s violence has been compounded by his incompetence and strategic ignorance. This chief executive is a reckless failure driving a superpower toward self-destruction – exactly what Mr. Putin wishes for.

“At the outset of the war, the Trump administration identified five ambitious goals vis-à-vis the Islamic Republic. Thirteen weeks into what was supposed to be a four- to six-week war, and with no end clearly in sight, none have been fully achieved, and any marginal progress is subject to rapid reversal.” (Ibid)

The American people are paying a steep price for Trump’s failure. “The U.S. national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline on June 1 was $4.32 or 45 percent above the prewar price. (In Arizona, I pay $4.67 per gallon) Researchers from Brown University estimated that as of June 1, the war in Iran had already cost Americans an extra $51.8 billion in higher energy costs, or $395 per household.” (Ibid) The following chart was included in the CAP article:

Indicator Feb. 27, 2026 (before war) June 1, 20206 % Increase

West Texas crude oil (WTI) $67.02 $94.38 +40.8%

Brent crude oil per barrel $72.87 $97.39 +33.6%

Dutch Title natural gas (TTF) 31.98 euro 48.66 euro +52.2%

Gasoline – per gallon $2.98 $4.32 +45%

Diesel – per gallon $3.76 $5.45 +44.9%

Jet Fuel – per gallon $2.50 $3.22 +28.8%

Heating Oil – per gallon $2.60 $3.73 +43.5%

Conservative estimates place civilian deaths in Iran, the Gulf, Lebanon, and Israel at more than 3,000, including 150 Iranian schoolgirls killed in a single misplaced U.S. strike. Thirteen American service members have been killed in this unnecessary war, with over 400 injured. (Numbers come from CAP article).

The Trump administration handed America’s adversaries—especially Iran—a major advantage by failing to prevent the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. intelligence – going back decades – had predicted that Iran would end up controlling the ‘Strait.’ This wasn’t new information.

Instead, this closure provided an excuse for Trump to lift sanctions on Russian oil – Trump’s gift to Russia at the expense of American taxpayers and American lives. The total unnecessary cost of this war is approximately $110,000,000,000 - paid by American taxpayers.

And Trump’s actions that closed USAID, have resulted in an estimated death toll by 2030 of 22.6 million avoidable deaths in Africa. (The Lancet) More deaths than any other dictator in history or around the world. Both Mr. Rubio and Mr. Musk testified before Congress and said, “No child has died on my watch.” NOTHING BUT LIES.

Our Congress has allowed this to happen, while a wide swath of Americans still believe Mr. Trump is doing a good job. This image is a product of propaganda and misinformation spread primarily among the Republicans.

In the long run, Americans must reshape their domestic politics to prevent any aspiring tyrant from starting wars on a whim – but first, we must recognize that Donald Trump is committing treason every day he is office. He not only must be removed from office, but face legal consequences for his actions: with Epstein and raping young girls, by starting unconstitutional wars and attacking other countries, for treason due to his relationship with Russia, and in my mind – most importantly, for the millions of deaths his bigotry and discrimination has caused in Africa and around the world.