The US was founded on a pledge to limit the damages of war, even if it has often failed to uphold its commitment
Far from expressing remorse for his threat to bomb civilian infrastructure, Donald Trump is doubling down as we approach his deadline for Iranian submission: 8pm ET on Tuesday.
It’s not enough for the US to achieve a military victory – one that continues to elude him, with his stated goals for the war still unmet. Instead, “a whole civilization will die, never to be brought back again,” as he posted on social media. He then added that we are approaching “one of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the World”.
That last point may actually be true, but it is hard to feel confidence in the commander-in-chief in the fifth week of a conflict that has extended well past its sell-by date, and a promise on 9 March that it would be “a short-term excursion”.
Trump has threatened to bomb Iran “back to the Stone Ages”, a quote that came from Gen Curtis LeMay, who promised to bomb Vietnam “back to the Stone Age” in a 1965 book.
