Is it ‘stupid,’ or ‘idiotic’ or ‘doomed to fail’? Or is it something entirely different: wanton murder? moral depravity? and the like…
Political scientists generally limit their commentary on current events, however tragic or drama-filled, to what is quantifiable, to effectiveness of the given strategy and likely outcomes. Moral judgment is by nature outside their purview. And so it is no surprise to me that on the most widely watched youtube platforms of commentary in the past week, my colleagues focus their minds on how realizable Donald Trump’s stated objectives in his war of choice against Iran may be. Does the United States have enough munitions and air defense missiles for a prolonged fight? Is it possible to force open the Straits of Hormuz? Can Trump withstand the growing threat of political disaster in the November elections if gasolene prices continue to rise at the current rate?
In this brief essay, I put aside my degree in political science and speak to you as I would around a dinner table, as your uncle or grandfather. And I do not hesitate to introduce judgments grounded in Christian values rather than in efficacy.
Readers of my writings going back several years may recall that in the autumn of 2017 I called for the impeachment of Donald Trump following his outrageous speech to the UN General Assembly in which he spoke of wiping North Korea off the face of the earth. Of course, Trump’s actions against North Korea never went beyond bringing a U.S. aircraft carrier to its shores. The realization that Pyongyang had several nuclear bombs and missiles for their delivery persuaded Trump to back off.
Iran, by contrast, has no nuclear weapon and now we see the consequences: Trump’s savage attack on the country, his decapitation strike on its civilian and military leadership, his bombing of Tehran and other cities across that country, and his step-by-step implementation of threats to utterly destroy the nation.
The only thing worse than Trump himself is the actions and talk of his Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, who is the embodiment of a bloody serial killer.
Of course, the obscene behavior of this American President is only the culmination of a process that in recent history began with George W. Bush’s invasion of Iraq in 2003.
The world hailed the election of Barack Obama in 2008 and he was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize solely for the fact that he was not George W. Bush and there was the widely held expectation that Obama would bring the USA back into the civilized world. For that to happen, Obama should have called for a judicial inquiry into the crimes against humanity committed by Bush and most particularly by his Vice President Dick Cheney, who was the evil genius behind so many of the abuses, both domestically and in foreign policy of the Bush administration. However, from the very first day in office when the Obamas allowed themselves to be hosted by the Bushes and taken around the White House rooms that would be their new residence it was clear that there would be no accountability for the outgoing criminals at the apex of the U.S. government.
‘Accountability’ is a word that we have heard used repeatedly in public discourse in the past week or so of this war. Trump violated the Constitution and federal law by not going to Congress for approval of his planned war on Iran. He and his team were not being held accountable, i.e. answerable for their actions.
However, I maintain that this is too indeterminate a censure. The real rot in the upper levels of the U.S. government is properly identified by the Russians as ‘безнаказанность’ or ‘impunity,’ going unpunished. No one has been forced to pay for their crimes. To be sure, this is not a uniquely American problem. Europe has its share of unpunished violators of international law, leaders or followers in waging wars of aggression. So far only one devil among them was properly brought to justice and sentenced to prison, from which he is presently temporarily let go free– Nicolas Sarkozy, who faces a return to prison shortly for crimes that seem petty insofar as they relate to illegally taking electoral contributions from Muammar Gaddafi, but in truth led to France’s leading the way to Gaddafi’s eventual barbaric murder.
In the past week, Pete Hegseth has made public statements about the launch of the war on Iran, about the bombing of the elementary school and killing of 165 young female students on the first day of the war. If these statements were to be released to a Nuremburg style tribunal they could rightfully end in his being sentenced to public hanging. Donald Trump’s public statements have been similarly outrageous in demonstrating utter contempt for human life.
If this war on Iran continues to go badly for American forces and for the global economy, there is the prospect of Trump losing Congress and essentially losing all power in November. That is not quite the same as a Nuremburg trial, but it does chip away at impunity.
©Gilbert Doctorow, 2026
Gilbert Doctorow 