Be Careful What You Shout For
Forewarned is forearmed but mistakes happen
Stop me if I’m talking against the official truth, but did something very performative just happen in the Middle East?
Iran threatens to fire missiles. The US calls for calm. Iran fires missiles, Israel shoots them down. The US calls for calm.
Israel threatens to retaliate. Iran counter-threatens. The US calls for calm. Israel fires a missile. There’s an explosion. The US calls for calm.
Iran threatens. Israel threatens.
And the BBC reports “an audible sigh of relief in the Middle East”.
A great big domestic international incident
Somewhere in the middle of all that, we were told that British jets participated in shooting down those Iranian missiles.
Actually, it sounded as though just about everybody (with the possible exception of the Iranian airforce) participated in shooting down those Iranian missiles.
But the weird part was how Iran’s threats gave Israel time to ramp up its air defences. Almost as though … almost as though … the whole thing, on both sides, was done for domestic consumption.
Not to start a war. Or even a battle. But (1) to show the Iranian people that their government is taking action against Israel, and (2) to show the Israeli people that their Iron Dome works. Oh, and (3) to show the American people that their government is on the case.
Somewhere lost in the post there’s probably (4) a message about how strong and resolute the UK prime minister is, in this run-up to the general election that he’s so widely expected to lose.
Hostility Signalling
I don’t know. Probably it was just an exchange of missiles. But I just have this nagging feeling that … something about it … was off.
As though there was a lot of hostility-signalling between governments before it started … and a lot of making sure the other side could see exactly what was and wasn’t going to happen…
…as though it all came from the same playbook as “measured responses” and “proportionate responses” and all that guff.
Wouldn’t it be awful if governments thought that way? If governments could fire missiles, and deploy jets, just to reassure the crowds back home that they’re big and tough and not backing down?
I mean — imagine a world in which crowds waved banners and shouted “Death To The Enemy!” and governments listened.
But hey — imagine a world in which crowds waved banners and shouted “Peace!” and governments listened.
