Washington, May 15
The West Asia conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran has destabilised the security architecture in the region with far-reaching and unpredictable consequences. For years, the Gulf countries had depended on the US for their security, hosting American bases on their soil and procuring expensive US weaponry. However, Iranian attacks on these bases during the conflict raised questions over the effectiveness of US air defence systems, which have not delivered the level of protection anticipated, a report has mentioned.
"The US has locked itself into a trap by unleashing a war on Iran. It has the power to batter Iran militarily, which it has done. Iran's top political and military leadership has been physically eliminated. But this has not broken Iran's will and compelled it to accept US terms for ending the war," India's former Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal wrote in India Narrative.
Sibal argued that the US has attempted to win the war through air power and intimidation, but the strategy has not proved adequate for victory.
He added that Washington seeks to avoid land operations, as these would risk American lives and carry significant political costs for President Donald Trump, particularly at a time when the US remains divided over the war, including within his MAGA (Make America Great Again) base.
"This war is clearly illegal. It violates the UN Charter. This is not to say that US and Israeli grievances against Iran's policies and actions in the region have no basis at all, but the rights and wrongs in this regard have a long history, and there is shared culpability,' the former Indian diplomat stated. This war is causing severe stress in the region and well beyond. It is difficult to comprehend why the US did not anticipate the regional and global consequences of this war," he added.
Sibal mentioned that it is difficult to understand how Trump could treat a conflict with such profound global consequences as a social media spectacle.
"He is constantly using social media posts and press conferences to make pronouncements on the war that are disjointed, contradictory, counterfactual, overstated, menacing, lacking civility, and even outlandish," the seasoned diplomat said, criticising the US President.
According to the expert, Iran is effectively engaging in "asymmetrical warfare" against the US by blocking the Strait of Hormuz to disrupt maritime traffic.
Highlighting the US President's inconsistencies in handling the crisis, Sibal wrote in India Narrative, "Trump has wavered on a US response, claiming at first that the US was not affected by this step and those affected should act to open the Strait. He then asked for NATO's help and later said he did not need it and subsequently chided NATO for not showing solidarity.
"He then announced a US blockade of the Strait, attempted to use naval force to open it, retreated in the face of Iranian resistance, and, to cap it all, appealed to the UN to pressure Iran into opening it as the closure was hurting the international community."
The irony, Sibal noted, is that the Trump administration has repeatedly bypassed the UN while undertaking military interventions, including actions against Iran on two occasions, while "generally trashing the utility of the UN" and "both reducing and holding back its contributions to its budget".
- IANS
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