Stephen Walt Names Names

In his regular column at Foreign Policy, Stephen Walt argues that we should hold responsible the people who have been agitating for a war against Iran, most of them for years and even decades.

We didn’t do that with the 2003 Iraq war, and some of these folks are repeat offenders.

The war with Iran is a case in point. It remains to be seen whether the cease-fire announced on Tuesday will hold, but it is already clear that going to war again was a terrible blunder. Two months ago, the Strait of Hormuz was open, Iran was contained and its leaders were unpopular, oil and gas prices were lower, and its U.S. weapons stocks were fuller. Today, oil and gas prices have soared; inflation is rising; Iran controls the strait and is earning money from tolls; and its government is younger, more hard-line, and enjoying greater public support. U.S. missile stocks are depleted, and some key facilities in the region have been severely damaged. And the entire world has been shown that the United States is led by an impulsive old man who has no idea what he is doing. At this point, there’s no reason to delay imposing accountability on those responsible for what has been an unnecessary strategic disaster. (my emphasis)

They made it sound easy.

The formula for war is almost always the same: After portraying the chosen enemy as the epitome of evil and incapable of reform, the war party assures us that the campaign will be quick, easy, cheap, and bring far-reaching and long-lasting benefits. They repeatedly warn that time is running out and failure to act now will have dire consequences. They tend to be studiously silent about the innocent civilians who will be killed and the hardships survivors will face after we’ve blown a lot of stuff up, and they confidently predict that the populations we are attacking will welcome our actions. This familiar recipe is then endlessly repeated until the stars line up and some foolish leader decides the warmongers are right.

He is quite specific:

• Bret Stephens of the New York Times
• Matthew Kroenig of the Atlantic Council
• American Enterprise Institute: Danielle Pletka, Marc Thiessen, and Michael Rubin 
• Niall Ferguson of the Hoover Institution
• Retired four-star Gen. Jack Keane
• Mark Dubowitz and his various associates at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD)
• former U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton

He’s omitted politicians and talking heads, but you can add them in the comments!

Photo credit: By Maarten, CC BY 2.0